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Lydia blushed. She honestly hadn’t realized what she’d said, but it was true. Zann adored the soon-to-be-four-year-old just as much as she did. “Shut up.”

Jon laughed as he grabbed his coat from the closet next to Lydia and slipped it on. “She’s good for you.”

“I know.”

“You’re good for her.”

Lydia smiled. “I hope so.”

“I know so.”

He sounded so sure that Lydia couldn’t help but nod. “Thank you.”

“Call me if you need help with anything else?”

“I will,” Lydia promised. “Thanks, Jon.”

“You can make it up to me by going to the Morrisons’ thing next month.”

Lydia cackled. “No, I will not. But nice try.”

“Yeah, well…” He winked at her. “Seriously. I’m a phone call away if you need help with anything.”

“I will.” Lydia nodded and pulled him into a quick hug. “Thanks again for being here today,” she mumbled into his shoulder. “You were a big help.”

His arms tightened around her waist. “Any time, Lyds.” He squeezed her one more time and then let go. “Sunday?” he asked as he opened the front door.

“Sunday,” Lydia confirmed as she grabbed the edge of it.

They exchanged one last wave as he stepped onto the elevator, and she blinked back her exhaustion as she closed and locked the door. Thankfully, the movers had assembled their furniture, so she’d been able to make their bed before starting on the myriad of boxes that had been piled in their respective areas, but before she could consider convincing Zann to abandon working for the night and crawling onto it with her, her stomach growled, demanding to be fed.

“You getting hungry?” she called to Zann as she made her way back through the gallery to the living room. “I’m thinking something easy, like pizzas from that place on the corner that you liked?”

A beat passed, then two without an answer, and she pulled up short at the edge of the living room when she found it empty. Her brow furrowed as she blinked at the couch where she’d left Zann, but it smoothed a heartbeat later when she realized that the middle set of doors to the patio were open.

Her heart fluttered as her gaze landed on Zann, lit by the fairy lights tucked throughout the foliage surrounding the terrace and the Edison bulbs strung overhead, fiddling with the extra-large outdoor heaters they’d bought for the space. As they’d only visited during the day, this was the first time she was seeing it lit up at night, and she was struck breathless by how incredibly romantic it was.

How beautiful Zann was.

How utterly blessed she was to have found her.

It was insane to think that they had met, fallen in love, and moved in together in eight short months, but, at the same time, it felt it had been a lifetime in the making. While a part of her had feared the distance between them as they took those first tentative steps into melding their lives together would be too much, she had never once doubted that Zann was the woman her soul had always been destined to find.

It had been natural for her to worry, but now that they were here, in their apartment on the threshold of the rest of their lives together, she just felt blessed.

Her thoughts drifted to the little box hidden at the back of her sock drawer, and she smiled, suddenly energized and eager to make this official.

To ask Zann to be hers forever.

She took advantage of Zann being distracted by the heaters to duck back down the hall to their bedroom.

Her hands didn’t shake as she grabbed the ring box from her drawer, opened it, and pocketed the titanium band inset with diamonds that’d been tucked inside. She’d expected to feel nervous, had planned for it, and she was struck by how utterly calm she felt.

Jon’s words about how good they were for each other rang in her head as she stepped outside, the punch of each syllable somehow mixing and blending perfectly with the modern classical music coming from the speakers hidden around the terrace.

She’d been wracking her brain for months, trying to come up with the perfect romantic proposal, and here it was, presented to her on a silver platter.

She would have been annoyed if she weren’t so completely captivated by the slow smile that bowed Zann’s lips when she spotted her.