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“Are you nervous about the vote?” I finally ask.

“Not really.”

I turn toward him. “Not at all?”

“I know how much depends on it.” His hand continues moving over Percy’s back. “But we’ve answered every concern the council raised. The final plan is strong.”

“So you think it’ll pass?”

“I know it will.”

He says it without a trace of doubt. Tomorrow, he’ll walk into City Hall expecting approval while Rhonda is certain he’ll leave without it.

I put the chocolates aside and move closer. Percy remains stretched across Eric’s lap, so I rest my hand on Eric’s arm.

“Whatever happens tomorrow, we’re going to be okay, right?”

Eric’s attention shifts fully to me. “Yes.”

“Even if they reject it?”

“Even then.”

He answers without hesitation, which somehow makes me feel worse.

“What would you do if it didn’t pass?”

“It will.”

“Pretend it doesn’t.”

Eric considers this while scratching beneath Percy’s chin. “I’ll build a monument.”

“A monument?”

“To you.”

“A statue of me?”

“Twenty feet tall. Nice dress, hair in a bun, one hand raised to stop all future development.”

I laugh. “Grandma would approve.”

“Then we finally have a design everyone can support.”

I lean across Percy and kiss Eric. Percy makes an annoyed sound but doesn’t move from Eric’s lap.

“He’s mine,” I whisper to Percy.

Later that night, I sit against the headboard in a black camisole and matching sleep shorts, an open book resting in my hands, while Eric prepares for tomorrow.

He checks the suit hanging from my closet door, brushes a piece of lint from one sleeve, and straightens the tie draped over the hanger. Then he places his wallet and phone side by side on the dresser.

Once everything is ready, Eric pulls off his T-shirt and pushes down his sweatpants. He folds both over the chair, leaving him in fitted black boxer briefs with a tiny designer logo near the waistband. I’ve learned they’re the only kind he owns.

“You have an entire drawer filled with those, don’t you?”

“I like the fit.”