Two years later…
Wendy sat at her board in her home office, erasing the wall she’d just drawn. She heard dog nails on wood, accompanied by footsteps. Then someone coming up behind her and planting a warm kiss on her neck.
Katie’s nose against her thigh wasn’t nearly as warm, though Wendy was getting used to it now. Cold nose, warm heart, as they said. She chuckled as she patted Katie’s head. Or something like that.
“I thought you were just coming in here to make a quick note,” Zachary murmured against her skin.
She melted against him. “Sorry. I figured I’d go ahead and sketch the wall the way I saw it, then I realized it wouldn’t work and…” She sighed as he continued kissing down her skin. “Okay, I’m done.”
“I know you’re excited about updating the house, but I’m sure it can wait until tomorrow.”
“I still can’t believe this is our home now. And especially that Gran just gave it to us.”
“Our inheritance.” He kneaded her shoulders as he leaned down beside her. “Though I don’t like when she talks about dying. She’s so casual about it.”
“She’s not afraid of dying anymore. She knows she’ll see the love of her life on the other side.”
“True. I thought she might die of a broken heart after Granddad died. You coming into our lives, making me so happy, lifted her heart.”
“Aw. Well, I feel like she’s my grandmother. I just love that woman.”
“She loves you, too.” He pointed to the floorplan where the parlor and dining room met. “I like the way you opened this up, but what are you going to do with the ceiling details? They’re different.”
She got an odd flash of flat ceilings with geometric shapes. Starkly contemporary, ugh. She and Zachary were keeping as much of the wood and feel of the house as possible. “I’m going to leave them intact. They’ll subtly define the spaces.”
He kissed the top of her head and straightened. “Perfect. Lucky me, marrying an architect who loves historical homes.”
She took in the majestic ceilings and windows of the former living room, temporarily her home office. “I loved this house the first moment I laid eyes on it.”
“Because it has magic in it. And you knew you belonged here.”
She stood, crossing her arms in front of her as she faced him. “Are you going to go on about that crazy time travel thing again? The wedding dreams. Me appearing and disappearing.”
What really drove her crazy was that Morris and Zachary both relayed stories about her time traveling. Changing destiny. Gran had even supposedly seen her disappear by the stairs. Betzi claimed that she and Zachary visited her at her old cottage, something Wendy had no memory of. She thought they were all playing a joke on her. Thank goodness her dad was on her side. Of course, her mom believed because she bought into all things airy-fairy.
Zachary laughed. “It’s funny, you worked so hard to convince Morris and me, and now we can’t convince you.” He softly tapped his knuckles against her temple. “My left-brained beauty.”
“Why can’t I remember all of this supposed time traveling when you two can?”
“Because you came to us in our pasts. But you changed your future, so you never got to the point where you needed to time travel.”
She crossed her eyes as she always did when he tried to explain. Morris talked about paradoxes, and she ended up with a headache trying to figure it out. This strangeness was the only shadow in the sunshine of her life.
Zachary picked up the Pegasus figurine that he’d placed on the corner of her desk right after they moved in. “Even your very left-brained dad gave you something mystical.”
She snatched it out of his hand and set it back on the desk. “That was a reminder to believe in my dreams, not the impossible.” She leaned over and scratched Sam’s back. “Right, buddy? See, he agrees.” If his purring were actually agreement. “Can we not talk about this on our anniversary night?”
“I think it’s a perfect time to talk about it. Destiny. Fate.” Zachary tipped her chin up. “How about this, Angel? Let’s talk about ending the day the way we began it.” He kissed her, opening her mouth to his, that slow kiss as much an invitation as his words.
“Mm, yes,” she said when he finished. “Give me another minute here, and I’ll be right up.”
“You’d better, or I’ll haul you to bed.”
“That could be fun, too. Though the stairs would be tricky. I’ll come of my own volition. Be naked and ready.”
“Angel, I’m already ready.” He kissed her again and a few seconds later she heard his footsteps going up, then Katie’s.
She jotted down one more note and turned off lights as she headed toward the staircase. Sam kept going when she paused by the black cupid statute, the supposed catalyst for her time travel. It held no crystal pendant, nor had she seen it with one. Maybe Gran had hung hers there for a time, giving them the idea.
Cupid looked very ordinary as she took in its curves and glimmering eyes. “All right, you,” she whispered. “If this destiny time-travel thing happened, please let me remember. I…want to.”
Those odd déjà vu moments she pushed away now floated down like birds landing on a wire in her mind. Such as when she saw the portrait of Gran and Grandad, a man she’d never got to meet, and felt as though she’d seen it before. The first time she and Zachary had made love on his sailboat. And whenever the royal couple appeared on the news, she had the sense of having watched the wedding with Zachary.
“Silly.” She shook her head and ascended the stairs, stripping off clothes until she was naked by the time she entered the bedroom. The sight of Zachary stretched out on the bed supercharged her heartbeat. “I’m the lucky one,” she said, then threw herself onto the bed next to him.
She loved the way he loved her, lots of foreplay, tender kisses, hot strokes, and the way he filled her body…she couldn’t get enough of him. Yes, he was definitely her destiny.
As they cuddled afterward, his body curled around hers, she murmured, “I love you.”
“I love you too, Angel.”
Angel. He claimed that he’d started calling her that because she appeared like a guardian angel. She’d fought to free him from some plot in which his weird former business partner had trapped him.
She drifted into dreams, warm and safe in his arms.
In the dream, she walked into this very house. Felt a stark sense of déjà vu as she looked to the top of the staircase and imagined herself in a wedding dress…
Thank you so much for reading Changing Destiny. If you enjoyed this novel, please consider telling your friends about it and posting a short review on Bookbub.com/Authors/Tina-Wainscott, Goodreads.com/TinaWainscott, and/or wherever your purchase your books. Reviews from wonderful readers are an author’s best friend and so appreciated!
Find links to more stories in the Love & Light collection and other series by Tina at www.WrittenMusings.com/TinaWainscott and www.TinaWainscott.com.