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“How long has it been?”

“Thirty seconds.”

He groaned, grabbing my hand and pulling me close while we waited. His heart thumped against my ear and I smiled. “Nervous?”

“Yeah. You?”

“So nervous.”

“Is it time yet?” he asked.

“No.”

I stayed in the circle of his arms until the timer I’d set on my phone finally beeped. Then I gripped his hand tight as we gravitated toward the vanity together, neither of us saying another word. Drawing in a deep breath, I rested my back against his chest when he slid in behind me, my knees weak for all kinds of reasons as I let my gaze drop to the stick.

Two lines.

At first, for just a fraction of a second, I couldn’t remember what that meant, but then I glanced at the box and my breath caught. Holden went completely still behind me. “Is that…”

“Yeah.”

I turned my head to glance up at his face, seeing shock, fear, wonder, and excitement flickering across his features in the space between one heartbeat and the next. “It’s positive?”

“Yes.”

A laugh broke out of him. He caught my face in his hands when I turned still in the circle of his arms. “We’re having a baby?”

I nodded, suddenly becoming aware that there were tears streaming down my cheeks. “We’re having a baby.”

Resting my head against his chest, I slid my arms around his waist and clung to him, wishing I could pick up the phone and call my parents to tell them. But somewhere out there, they already knew.

Holden’s hand dropped my lower belly, his thumb gently stroking across my skin like he was sending a silent message to whoever was in there that he already loved them. He caught my lips for a kiss that felt like my future, and in that moment, wrapped in the arms of the man I loved, with a tiny life we’d created together growing inside me, in the house left behind by the people who’d wanted me to have everything, I finally felt whole again.

Like I’d come full circle, able to fill these walls with joy, laughter, and the pitter-patter of little feet once more.

CHAPTER 49

HOLDEN

It turned out that domestic bliss wasn’t bullshit. In fact, it was actually pretty damn blissful. Who would’ve thought it?

Sitting in a folding chair in my driveway dressed as Batman, I wore a black cape that kept catching on the armrests every time I moved, and I’d still never been happier. The firepit was going, the grill was smoking, and the scent of hotdogs and roasted marshmallows wafted from every house on the street.

A neighbor up the block had a speaker outside, blaring a Halloween playlist that seemed to be never-ending, and not even that annoyed me. Every few minutes, another group of children appeared at the bottom of the driveway, shrieking as they ran toward the house.

Alicia was on the porch in a witch costume, dishing out candy. I’d volunteered to help, but she’d turned me down because according to her, I had the bedside manner of a serial killer. I’d argued initially, but when I’d smiled at one kid and she’d started crying, I’d realized my talents would probably be better off deployed at the firepit.

Something to work on before the baby comes.

I grinned as I lifted my bottle of water to my mouth, taking a long sip before setting it down on the side of the grill. So this is what it feels like to be living your best life, huh? It’s really not so fucking bad.

“Batman.”

I looked up to find Rex making his way across the street, dressed for the occasion in a black baseball cap and a sweatshirt with a skeleton printed on it. Chuckling as I stood up, I extended my hand toward him. “Skeletor?”

He laughed. “Next year, I’ll have to go to the store. Pick me up one of them fancy costumes, like yours.”

“This old thing?” I motioned toward the brand new suit I’d custom ordered from LA and had overnighted a couple days ago. “Nah. You don’t need it.”