And then it was done—the obstacles overcome, the fortune saved, the bad guys thwarted, the final phone call of victory placed. Somehow they had survived their cross-country odyssey, and here in this magnificent hotel at the edge of the continent, their quest was at an end. He should have been thrilled, ecstatic. Instead, he felt an inexplicable sadness.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
His mood had touched the satisfied look on her face, lifting her eyebrows and drawing a faint crease across her forehead. This made him feel even worse.
“It’s kind of a letdown, isn’t it?” he said. “I mean, it was an ordeal, but our journey together over now.” He gave her a wan smile. “It’s over.”
She took his hand in hers, and beneath the cool surface of her skin he could feel her heat. She embraced him, and the fading sunlight played over their faces. “It will never be over,” she said, her voice a half-whisper.
She tipped her face to his, and her eyes twinkled with the fire of a thousand sunrises. “This is only the beginning.”
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