Chapter 42 - The Twilight on the Bluffs
The sunset over the Hudson and Great Lakes basins painted the sky in magnificent strokes of amber, violet, and deep crimson. We walked out onto the grand master terrace, the cool evening breeze carrying the crisp scent of pine and lake water.
Far down the shoreline, the distant Chicago skyline blazed like a sprawling constellation of diamond chips set into black velvet. The city hummed below us in endless, orderly waves—police cruisers patrolling clean streets, freight trucks moving seamlessly between automated terminals, and the ancient machinery of the city turning with clockwork precision under our invisible management.
Adrian set his coffee mug down on the heavy stone balustrade, the evening wind billowing his open shirt collar. He turned me gently in his arms, pulling me against his solid, unbreakable chest, looking down into my dark eyes with an intensity that time could never dull.
"Where to next, Mrs. Vale?" he asked quietly, the wind carrying his words softly out over the lake.
May you like
I smiled, looking out toward the endless, glittering horizon where the golden light met the endless blue sky.
"Nowhere," I whispered, resting my hands over his heart as the steady, familiar beat answered my every thought. "We’re right where we’re supposed to be."
