Chapter 12: The Coffee Test
The days after their secret wedding are strange and wonderful. They do not tell anyone, not yet. They carry the knowledge like a precious secret, a bond that strengthens them against the world.
Allie moves through her days with new confidence. She is Mrs. Volkov now, truly, legally. The twins are protected, their father's name on their birth certificates, their future secured.
But the danger remains. Viktor is still out there, still plotting, still waiting for his moment. The Kovacs watch, patient and hungry. And Sergei declines, day by day, his deadline approaching.
On Wednesday, Allie is in her office when Dom appears with two coffees. He is smiling, nervous, excited in a way that makes her suspicious.
"For you," he says, setting one on her desk. "Black, two sugars. Extra hot."
Allie stares at the coffee. Then at him.
"How did you know?" she asks, her voice barely audible.
"Know what?"
"How I take my coffee. I never told you. Not this time. Not five years ago. We never had coffee together."
Dom freezes. He has made a mistake, and he knows it.
"Allie"
"You remembered," she says. It is not a question. "From that night. We were at the hotel, and I ordered room service in the morning, before I left. Coffee. Black, two sugars. You were asleep, but you must have... you remembered."
"Allie, I"
"Five years," she whispers. "You remembered how I take my coffee for five years."
Dom sets down his own coffee. He comes around the desk, kneels in front of her chair, takes her hands.
"I remember everything," he says. "The way you laugh, like you are surprised by joy. The way you touch your hair when you are nervous. The way you look at our children like they are miracles." He kisses her hands. "The way you looked at me, that night, like I was worth loving. I have carried that with me every day since."
Allie stands up. She pulls him up with her, holds his face in her hands, kisses him with everything she has.
"I love you too," she says when they break apart. "I think I have loved you since that morning, when I left with your watch in my pocket and your smell on my skin."
"Then marry me," Dom says. "Again. Publicly. In front of everyone. I want the world to know what we have."
"We are already married," Allie laughs.
"Then we marry again. As many times as you will let me. Every year, every day, every moment. I will never stop choosing you, Allie. Never stop loving you. Never stop being grateful that you came back."
They kiss again, deeper, desperate. The coffee grows cold on the desk. The world outside continues its threats and its dangers. But in this moment, in this office, they are just a man and a woman who have found each other after too long apart.
And that is enough.
For now.