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“To be a working mom, entrepreneur badass?” I grinned over at Brady. “Absolutely.” I parroted his words back to him. “Are you ready for this?”
“To be a stay-at-home dad, trophy husband?” Brady turned to fix those beautiful amber eyes on me. “I’ve been waiting my whole life.”
My insides clenched at the heat and love in his look. Most days I still woke up pinching myself. I’d found a man who not only loved me, but put my goals and priorities on the same level, or sometimes higher, than his own. It was empowering and humbling.
I moved to the couch, stretching a hand down. The diamond on my left hand winked at me as he gripped my palm, pulling me lower to press a kiss across my hand. His gaze caught on the ring, and I could practically see the happiness that flowed between us like some kind of tangible chain that tethered us together.
I’d ruined his proposal, of course. It was only fair since he had ruined the first one. I had been on a postpartum cleaning binge a few weeks ago and had stumbled upon that perfect little velvet box.
When Brady found me crying, holding it on the floor of our bedroom, he fell to his knees beside me. I’d said yes before he even finished opening the box, tackling him to the floor, where we made love amongst the chaos.
It had been messy. But still perfect.
“I have to go. If I don’t go now, I won’t make it at all.” Brady eagerly reached for our son, cradling him against his chest as he settled into the couch.
“I called in your orders at the coffee shop. I figured you’d need all the caffeine and bribery possible.”
I leaned down, pressing a kiss to his lips. “You’re a godsend. Text me tons of pictures?”
“No problem. Little man and I have big plans.”
“Wait… Really?”
Brady raised his brows, rubbing a hand over his stubbled cheeks. “No, Cecelia. I’m going to lie here for as long as humanly possible. We’ve slept five hours in the past three days.”
I grimaced but then smiled at him. “Yeah, stupid question.” I leaned in, huffing in one last breath of Evatt’s sweet baby smell before I forced myself to move across to the kitchen, where I heaved my work bag, my pumping supplies, and my laptop into my arms.
“Love you,” Brady called, his voice already slurred and sleepy.
I threw them a smile over my shoulder, even as my heart pounded in a mix of anxiety and sadness. It was time. I knew that, but it didn’t make it any easier.
By the time I made it to the coffee shop and picked up my team’s order, I was feeling less frantic. When I hit the front doors, I was hoping Luna would be there to distract me with her latest Hollywood gossip. Or at least Peter and one of his podcasts chirping into the air from his earbuds.
But neither of them were there.
Shrugging off the disappointment, I moved through the hall down towards my office. “Ashlyn? Emma?”
Nothing. The entire office was eerily quiet.
Pushing the door to my office open, I leaned in, using my elbow to flick the light switch up with a curse. The fluorescent lights kicking on, combined with a strange shout of joy, made me leap into the air, barely avoiding dropping everyone’s coffee in my efforts.
There, lined up a cute little row, stood my team. Luna with her resting suspicious face, Ashlyn in her soft yellow dress, Emma in a neat gray pantsuit, and Peter standing tall and awkward at the end. They were all wearing ridiculous hats, and a banner hung behind them, stretching nearly the length of my office.
“Welcome back Cici,” it said in huge, glittering letters.
I let my bags fall to the ground then clutched the coffee closer. “You did this for me?” My hormone-scrambled mind was already blubbering. I sniffed hard, staring at each of them.
It was Luna who stepped forward, her face tight with emotion as she pulled a box from behind her back.
“Welcome back, boss,” she said quietly, slowly lifting the fluffiest, most outrageous pair of sequin-covered red slippers out of the box.
My head dropped back as laughter filled the room, first mine, and then one by one they each joined in. I popped my feet out of my heels, and taking the slippers from Luna, I carefully stepped into one and then the other.
Raising my brow, I set the coffee on the edge of the desk and gazed at my team. My second family. Swallowing down the emotion that lurked just below my vocal cords, I kicked my high heels under the desk.
All of Grove Communications waited, watching me closely. I cleared my throat once, assuring myself there was no remnant of the tears that had lurked there earlier.
“Let’s get started.”
The End
