The three of us sat together as we once did, Cameron at the head of the table with Harper and me on either side of him.We ate while Harper talked with boundless energy, her words spilling out as she told us about her day.
My eyes lingered on the two of them, and suddenly the emotions swelled so strongly I couldn’t speak. All I could do was sit there and listen to their easy chatter. I tried to laugh along with Harper at one of Cameron’s jokes, but the sound came out thin, touched with tears. My chest felt tight, as if the sobs were caught in my throat.
It was because I was happy. A happiness so fierce and overwhelming it almost hurt, as if my heart might burst from it. My eyes stung, blurring the sight of them, and I tried to blink the tears away. They fell anyway, carrying with them everything I felt in that moment—love, gratitude, and the fragile fear of ever losing it.
“Hey.” Cameron’s voice tightened with worry when he saw the tears on my face. “What’s wrong?” He turned in his seat, slipping an arm around me. “Why are you crying?”
I glanced toward the front and saw Harper watching me with the same concern. She scrambled down from her chair and hurried to my side, her small hand resting on my arm. “Mommy?” she whispered.
I shook my head as the sobs grew harder, tears spilling freely. “Nothing’s wrong, honey,” I managed, brushing my fingers across her cheek. “I’m just so happy. So happy, baby. And I love you. I love you more than anything.”
Then I turned to the man beside me, the one who held my heart. My voice trembled as I whispered, “I love you. So much.”
“I love you too,” Harper and Cameron echoed together, their voices blending like a small, perfect choir.
I let out a shaky chuckle through my tears. With one arm, I drew my daughter closer, and with the other, I reached forCameron’s cheek. “Thank you,” I whispered. “Thank you for loving me.”
We lay on our sides in bed, facing each other beneath the warmth of the blanket. Neither of us spoke. There was no need. For a long moment, we simply looked at one another in the quiet. My eyes were still damp from tears, which had slipped free at random throughout the night, no matter how I tried to stop them.
At last, Cameron broke the silence. His voice was soft. “Are you happy now, Sloane?”
I nodded, smiling at him.
He returned the smile with a small nod of his own. “Do I make you happy?” he asked.
“Yes,” I whispered.
His smile widened. “Good. That’s my purpose in life. You and Harper. Nothing else.”
I shifted closer to kiss him. “I know.”
I hesitated for a moment before adding, “But maybe it’s not only Harper and me.” I searched his eyes, watching his reaction. He looked puzzled.
“Maybe there’s someone else who could be part of your purpose, too.”
His brows furrowed in thought, then his voice came carefully, though he couldn’t hide the hope in it. “You want to have another child?”
I grinned so wide that my cheeks hurt, and I nodded.
“Holy shit.” Cameron drew back, his expression stunned. “Are you serious? You really want that?”
“Yes. Do you?”
“Of course!” he blurted, sitting up. “One hundred percent!” His face lit with excitement. “Should we go somewhere to make babies? Remember the lake cabin we went to all those years ago? What if we go back?”
I laughed, sitting up too. “I’d love that. I’ve missed that place.”
“Then I’ll book it right now,” he said, already glancing around for his phone.
“But we don’t need to go there…” I teased.
He spotted his phone on my nightstand, crawled over, and snatched it up. “Of course, we can do it here too, in our bedroom,” he said, eyes still on the screen. “Here, there—everywhere.”
“No, I mean…” My throat tightened, nerves catching me. He looked up, meeting my gaze.
“It’s too late anyway,” I whispered.
His brows drew together. “What do you mean?”
