“So, you’re not mad at me?”
I rise to my feet, pulling her up with me so we’re standing face to face. I cup her cheeks in my hands, holding her gaze and letting her see the sincerity in my eyes as I speak the next words.
“Mila… there is nothing in this world I want more than to build a family with you.
Am I mad that it’s come a little sooner than we expected? Hell no! If anything, I’m actually fucking thrilled! I promised you forever, and I meant it. I didn’t even think I’d get another chance with you, and now, I get to watch you carry and grow our baby inside you. There’s no greater feeling than that.”
I lean in and kiss her tenderly on her lips. “I love you, Mila. You’re going to be an incredible mother tobothour children.”
She lets out a soft sob before pressing her lips to mine. When we finally part, I brush the tears from her cheeks with the pads of my thumbs. “Now that’s out of the way,” I whisper, “how about we head back inside and continue with the celebration?”
She nods slowly, and with her hand in mine, we walk back towards the marquee together.
Over the next hour we eat the best tasting foods, courtesy of Heath’s own private team of cooks, while listening to the speeches from the best man and Skylar’s best friend, Kirstin. Their words are heartfelt, drawing laughter and a few tears from the crowd.
As we watch the newlyweds sway to Richard Marx’sNow and Foreverfor their first dance, I hold Mila close in my arms—protectively, my hand instinctively tracing gentle circles over her stomach. Even as my eyes follow Skylar and Heath across the dance floor, my mind is somewhere else. Namely on the woman leaning against me, and on the little life she now carries in herwomb—our baby. A full smile spreads across my face, reaching my eyes. I still can’t believe I’m going to be a dad again.
When it’s time for the guests to join the dancing, I take Mila’s hand and lead her onto the dance floor, swaying together to the music, just like we did in the garden on our date, six months ago.
We’re dancing through another slow song when a gentle tap on my shoulder makes me pause. I ease away from Mila and glance over my shoulder, only to find myself face to face with Skylar and Heath.
“Care to swap dance partners?” Skylar asks while snug beneath her husband’s arm.
Mila’s head pops around my shoulder to look at her sister. “Sure, why not! I’ve been meaning to spend some one-to-one time with my new brother.”
Heath unhooks his arm from around Skylar’s shoulders and extends his hand towards Mila. “Alright, come on, kid—time to show me those dance moves you keep raving on about.”
“Bring it!” she says teasingly, planting a quick kiss on me before grabbing Heath’s elbow and pulling him to the centre of the dance floor.
I watch them for a moment as they do some weird robot, two-step, wriggly dance routine to a slow 90’s song. Neither of them is in tune with the music, and they look pretty fucking ridiculous. But their playful sibling-like vibe is actually quite entertaining.
I’m snapped back to the present by the sound of Skylar’s voice. “I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything?”
Fuck!I definitely wasn’t prepared for this. “No, not at all. I was just wondering when I’d get the chance to dance with the bride tonight.”
She steps closer, resting one hand on my shoulder while holding up the other for me to take. I slip my hand into hers, our touch feather-light as we begin to sway gently and slowly to the music.
“It’s good to see you, Jase. You look good,” she says as she surveys the grey suit pants and white button-down shirt I’m wearing.
“And you look radiant as always.” I give her a genuine smile. “I’ll admit, I wasn’t too sure if you’d be happy to see me here.”
“Oh? Why would you think that? You and I have always been friends. That never stopped when I divorced Kaden.”
“I didn’t know… I mean... I wasn’t sure if—”
“I knew that you were aware of Kaden’s affair?” she finishes for me.
I nod slowly, guilt pounding heavy in my chest. “Yeah. I’m so sorry, Skylar. I should’ve told you the moment I found out. I’ll always regret not saying anything.”
“I will admit, I was fairly disappointed at first, especially because I considered you a really good friend. Not only that, but you’d been through something similar with Elena. I just assumed that you’d have my back.”
I open my mouth, ready to beg for her forgiveness, but she quickly shakes her head, stopping me before I can say another word.
“I forgive you, Jason. In fact, I forgave you a long time ago. I knew you were torn between your loyalty to your best friend and doing what was right by me. But that’s all in the past now. So much has happened since then that none of that matters to me anymore.”
I let out a sigh of relief, the tension in my shoulders instantly easing. “Thank you, Sky. I really appreciate that. I’ll never let you down like that again. Our friendship means a lot to me—and to Mila.”
“Me too, Jase. Me too. But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”
