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“You know,” Agán says. “There’s still a chance we could stop his pursuit of the land he’s after on the other parts of the island…”
“How’s that?” I ask around Mable’s wild, curly hair.
He arches a penciled brow. “We’ll start a petition.”
Penelope leans forward. “Agán, that’s brilliant.”
He wags a finger at me as if still formulating his idea. “If we get Ellen to help us rally some signatures, maybe even get some media coverage, we can present it to the prime minister and stop his mass expansion at the very least.”
I run my thumb along my lower lip in thought. That could honestly work if we pushed hard enough and had entire communities supporting us. “It’ll be hard work, for sure. But Pen’s right, that’s a great idea.”
Mable blinks up at me with her big doe eyes and gives me a vibrant, toothless smile. “Are you and Nellie gonna get married now?”
I grin when I say, “We sure are.”
“Oh my gosh. Really?” She beams at Pen. “You’re gonna look like a princess in your big dress, and we’re gonna eat all the cake and have so much fun!” Her palms slap her little cheeks as she gasps, “Are you going to have a baby?”
Penelope chuckles, and the sound flits around my heart, making it beat furiously. I glance at her stomach, flat beneath the dress she’s wearing, and a glimmer of excitement blooms in my chest.
“Slow your roll, bug.” Pen pokes Mable’s nose. “We’ve gotta find a place to live first.”
“You’ll live here, in Anchorage Harbor,” Ida says before opening the box to reveal what appears to be a diamond necklace.
Mable slides off my lap as I take it from her, studying its timeless, elegant design. The links are meticulously shaped, creating intricate frames for each crystalline diamond. They’ve lost some of their luster over time, but at the lowest point of the V, a teardrop-shaped diamond, with a pale-yellow hue, hangs suspended.
“I believe it’s worth around fifty-thousand dollars. I know it’s not enough to buy a house, and it needs a good cleaning, but considering how much you’ve given up, I thought it would help.”
I shake my head, trying to give it back. “Ida, I can’t accept this.”
“Yes, you can.” She shrugs. “I have at least three more just like it.”
Penelope gawks at her nonchalance. “You have more than one?”
“Oh, they’re just trinkets, I’m sure. But that’s the one I have the papers for.”
Agán reaches for the necklace, leaning back to bring it into the light, and tiny refracted rainbows litter his neck and chest. He looks absolutely scandalized when his wide eyes turn to Ida. “Honey, I think you may have missed a zero.”
“Five… hundred thousand?” I ask.
He sets the piece in the center of my palm. “With this clarity, and these cuts, I imagine probably more.”
“There you have it.” Ida casually places one hand on her hip, waving the other toward the necklace. “You can buy a house and pay for that wedding we’ll all be crashing.”
“Quick. Who’s coming with me to raid Ida’s trinkets?” Agán asks, standing in a rush.
Chairs screech and the entire table shakes as our friends make a dash—some comically slower than the others—for Ida’s apartment.
She shakes her fist, barreling across the courtyard after them. “Get back here, you greedy assholes!”
Penelope snorts. “I can’t believe her.”
“I can’t believe this,” I say, turning to cup her cheeks and bringing my lips to hers. “You, and the life we’re going to have together… It’s finally ours, sunshine.”
Her eyes fill with wonder when she says, “For the record, you’re going to be an incredible dad.”
I kiss her languidly, taking my time and savoring my woman until she’s breathless.
“I’m glad you think so, because I don’t want to wait.”
