Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84114 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84114 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
She lifts her chin. “I’m okay.”
“Yeah?” My voice comes out rougher than I intend.
She nods. “It’s just… I wanted to let you know… I love you.”
The room goes still, and the only sound is Grayce sucking on her fingers. For a second, I can’t move. I feel like I’m perched on the edge of a cliff, waiting to fall.
“Maddie,” I whisper, completely unfazed that she’s just taken the biggest, bravest step of her life in front of a room of virtual strangers. “When you go all in, you go all in.”
“Go big or go home, Gray used to say,” she quips, and several people chuckle.
I grin at her.
“Like I said,” she continues, her voice strong and certain, “I love you, and not just as Grayce’s dad. Not just as my co-parent. But as someone who wants to be your everything, the way you’re my everything. I’m done running. I’m done pretending the past gets to make all my choices. I choose you. Today, tomorrow, and the day after that.”
Everything inside me cracks wide open and I stand from the table, vaguely aware as Brienne takes Grayce from me. I weave through the crowd to reach Maddie, relief, joy, shock weakening my knees. When I reach her, she tilts her head back and I pull her in to kiss her like I’ve been drowning and she’s air.
The room erupts. Cheering, clapping, someone hollering, “About damn time!”
Grayce screeches, “Da!”
I press my forehead to Maddie’s. “I love you,” I rasp. “I love our family. I’m never going to let you down.”
“I know.” Her voice breaks, but she’s smiling through it. “I believe you. I trust you.”
“I cannot believe you just spilled it all right in this moment,” I say, amazed at that extra bravery to be so public.
“I wanted you to know I meant it. It came to me as I was watching you with our daughter, blowing out that candle, that I needed to let you know. I couldn’t wait another minute, and so what if everyone was watching?”
I kiss her again, long and hard to another raucous swell of cheers.
“Get a room,” someone yells. Lucky, I think.
Brienne appears and then Grayce is in Maddie’s arms. She laughs as she gets some frosting slapped on her face, prompting her to announce loudly, “Cake for everyone!”
The party surges back to life—music, kids, dancing. Lucky wears a paper crown like it’s royal regalia, Kace starts a conga line, and Brienne shoots me a wink from across the room.
I huddle with the guys, watching as they pass Grayce around. Maddie whispers with the women, her new friendships a solid pillar in her new life.
Maddie was right. This day was for me and her, and it couldn’t have gone better. I’ll never tell her when I blew out that candle, I made a selfish wish that Maddie would give us a try.
I will never doubt the magic of a wish again.
The party winds down in a sugar crash of kids and Tupperware. Guests file out after hugs and well wishes. Grayce’s head is drooped on my shoulder, eyes hardly able to stay open.
When the last person leaves, the house exhales. I glance around at sagging streamers and limp balloons, but everyone pitched in to clean up all the food so we should be able to take down the rest of the decorations in no time. Maddie is pulling out the last full bag of garbage and knotting it.
I glance down and see Grayce is asleep on my chest, frosting in her hair like confetti.
“Trade you the kid for the garbage,” I suggest.
Maddie looks up and smiles at me. “Nah. You go ahead and put her down for a nap. I’ll take this out and get the last of the decorations.”
“Deal,” I say, and it’s just that easy. We’ve always split the duties so effortlessly.
I head upstairs and lay Grayce down in her crib, taking an extra moment to watch her. When I make it back downstairs, Maddie is just walking back in.
I meet her halfway in the kitchen and wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her close to my chest.
“Alone at last,” I say.
She sighs, snuggles in. “This feels different.”
“How so?” I ask, stroking her back.
“I don’t know how to describe it, but since giving you the words, admitting I was brave enough to love you and accept your love, it feels different. This hug feels just… more. Make sense?”
“Yeah. I feel it too.”
She tilts her head and meets my eyes. “I’ll always be a little scared, but I’m not letting fear decide for me anymore. I choose you.”
My throat tightens and I frame her face in my hands and kiss her slow. “You have no idea how good it is to hear that.”
She smiles, soft and brave. “Gray helped.”
Of course he did. “He’ll always be watching over us.”