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When I walk into the sunroom at the back of the house, there’s a man and a woman sitting at a table there, a stack of papers off to one side. They both stand up and smile at Harry and me as we stand together holding hands. He lets go of my palm and brings his hand up to the small of my back.
“Josh and Carrie, this is my wife, Winter Stone.”
I look at him and grin, his use of my new name sending a thrill of delight through me.
“And babe, this is Josh Carver, a family law attorney from Chicago, and Carrie Steinborn, a paralegal and notary who also works at his firm.”
“What’s this about?” I ask him.
Harry turns to face me. “Josh has some paperwork for you to sign. Once you do, he can get us a court date for an adoption hearing.”
My chin drops in shock. “You want to adopt a child?”
With a small smile, Harry says, “No, babe. I want you to. If you adopt Avery, she’ll officially be half mine and half yours. Then, whatever life throws at us, you’ll always have that protection. And if anything should happen to me, I feel better knowing that legally, she’d be with you.”
I was able to limit my crying during the wedding ceremony, not wanting black smudges and mascara running down my face in the wedding photos, but…
I let out a loud, uncontrollable sob, covering my face with my hands. Carrie stands up and brings me a box of tissues, putting a comforting hand on my arm.
“Should we give you guys a little time alone?” she asks gently.
Taking a tissue from the box and dabbing my eyes, I say, “Thank you, but no. I’m okay. I’m just so happy.”
I look at Harry and he takes my hand and squeezes it.
“This is the most incredible gift anyone has ever given me,” I tell him. “I can’t even…I don’t even know what to say, I’m just so shocked and happy.”
“This isn’t a gift,” Harry says, his expression turning serious. “This is what you deserve. It’s what Avery deserves. She’s a lucky little girl because she gets to have two moms.”
The tears return and I pull another tissue from the box.
“Sorry,” I tell Josh and Carrie.
“Don’t apologize,” Josh says from his seat at the table. “We’re glad to get to be part of such a joyous occasion. Take all the time you need.”
I don’t need more time. I’m ready to adopt Avery, and know she’ll be mine no matter what happens. My gut tells me Harry and I are going to have a long, happy marriage. Not perfect, because I have a temper and life is hard sometimes, but we’ll get through the ups and downs. Having this protection in place for me and for Avery means everything to me, though.
“Which name should I sign?” I ask Carrie.
“Sign with your unmarried name because you haven’t legally changed it yet. I’ve already got the paperwork started on that, but we can talk about it after you return to Chicago.”
She flips through the paperwork, little arrows indicating each place I need to sign my name. When I finish, she gathers up the papers and smiles at me.
“That’s it,” Josh says. “We’ll get things moving and get the soonest court date we can.”
I can’t contain my joy. I get up from my seat, which Harry is standing behind, and throw my arms around him.
“Thank you so much,” I say in his ear. “I love you.”
Josh and Carrie grab their briefcases and bags, heading for the door.
“We’ll let ourselves out,” Josh says, waving at us over his shoulder. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks,” Harry tells him, pulling back to look in my eyes.
“Could this day be any more perfect?” he asks me.
“Maybe a few hours of celebrating with Avery and everyone else, and then a few hours in bed?” I say, grinning.
“I’m in. We need to get to work making Harry junior.”
“Harry junior?” I raise a brow in question. “We might need to discuss boy names a little more.”
He kisses me and shakes his head. “First boy is going to be Harry. The only thing better than having one Harry Stone in your life will be having two.”
Gazing up at him, I say, “I couldn’t agree more.”
