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Her smile turned confused when I dropped to one knee and looked down at her, smiling so widely I thought my face would split in two. She put her hand over her mouth when I pulled out the ring box and popped it open. Pleased to see her eyes widen appreciatively at the sight of the ring her sister helped me choose, I put my free hand back over my heart.
“We didn’t have the most traditional start to things, even though we’re both hopelessly old-fashioned. But I adore you, Luna. From your stubbornness to your relentless optimism. I love how much you changed me for the better—”
“I didn’t change you,” she interrupted. “You’re perfect just how you are, grumpy and stuffy and all.” She sniffled as she gazed up at me.
“Marry me, then.”
She burst into tears, then laughter. “Yes, now get down here.”
I jumped off the stage and swept her into my arms, swirling her in a circle until she laughingly begged me to put her down. Holding out her hand, I put the ring on her finger and dragged her close for a kiss. One more perfect memory in the theater to add to all the ones I couldn’t wait for us to make together.
Epilogue - Luna
Three years later
I pulled into our long, winding driveway, eager to see Amelia after a long day at Dr. Harrison’s office. Dr. Keller finally retired, and the new, young pediatrician ran a tight ship. While we were only there three days a week now, we worked a twelve-hour day. It was rough, especially since I’d grown soft after I never started back up at the hospital after Amelia was born, but it was worth having those extra days with her. It seemed like she changed and grew every day and I didn’t want to miss a thing.
I wasn’t surprised at all to see Jax’s car in the exact spot it was when I left that morning. He’d rented an office space in town, with big plans to separate work and home life, even meeting me for lunch in the park a few times. Then he bailed on it completely, since working from home suited him, and he couldn’t bear to be away from Amelia when he didn’t need to be. He always sent the nanny home early without docking her pay, and now I didn’t know the last time she’d even been to the house since Jax gave up the pretense of going into his office some time ago. He did his meetings online with our daughter playing happily on the floor by his desk, then they’d go outside and toss a ball around or play kitchen creations until it was time for another meeting.
Sometimes I was a little jealous of all the time he got with her, but I wasn’t ready to give up nursing, and between that and overseeing the running of the theater, I was always racing home to my family to enjoy every precious moment with them.
Jax may have been right about the Dante never turning a profit, but it wasn’t losing money, and so many people were taking part in the community theater project, with a new play every two months, I considered it a rousing success. Jax completely agreed with me, but he agreed with me on most things those days. We still had little arguments here and there, but my feet were never cold where he was concerned.
There was one little thing I’d been a bit worried about bringing up to him, though. Lately I had become baby hungry. Ravenous, in fact. All I could think about now that Amelia was getting closer to preschool was having another one. And if we were going to go ahead with our plan to have at least two more kids, we really couldn’t wait much longer. But everything was going so perfectly in our life together, I didn’t want to upset the status quo.
The house was strangely quiet when I walked through the front door. Normally there was music playing, the sound of some raucous game, or even just clatter from the kitchen. Since there was still daylight, I figured they were outside, playing until the very last drop of sun faded below the trees and signaled bedtime.
A huge chorus of “Surprise!” nearly knocked me off my feet and Jax rushed to hug me as everyone laughed. My mom and Lynette stood near a table festooned with crepe paper sashes and piled high with presents. Silas and Harper stood with their arms around each other, beaming. Other friends and neighbors waved at me as I searched the sea of smiling faces in abject confusion.
“Happy birthday, Mama!” Amelia shouted, wrapping her arms around my knees.
“Oh my gosh, it’s my birthday,” I said, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. “I can’t believe I totally forgot.” I leaned down to scoop her up, kissing her chubby cheeks.
Jax grinned. “That just made it easier to plan.”
“Now that the guest of honor is here, can we fire up the grill?” Silas asked.
“Yes, please do,” I said. I was starving.
Amelia wriggled out of my hold and ran to dance around the backyard with Addy and after everyone came up to greet me and offer birthday wishes, I stepped back a little to watch everyone having a good time. The present table looked like it was going to collapse under the weight of all the boxes and the chocolate cake stood almost two feet tall. I shook my head mildly at Jax going overboard the way he always did. My chest constricted at how happy it all made me, the outpouring of love, the sweet surprise, the way Jax kept smiling at me from his post at the grill like he couldn’t wait until we were alone.
I shouldn’t have wanted a single thing more, but I did. I still yearned for another baby. Jax broke away from Silas and came to stand beside me, resting his arm around my waist.
“Did something happen at work?” he asked, concern in his voice.
“No, why?” I tried to smile but he shook his head at me.
“You look pensive.” He pulled me around to face him. “You sure you’re okay?”
I nodded, lacing my hands behind his neck. “I was just thinking about how happy I am.”
We started to sway as if we were slow dancing, even though the song playing was fast and rowdy. I rested my cheek against his chest and after a few moments, he pulled back and looked down at me sternly.
“I know something’s bothering you, so spill it. It’s your birthday, and I want to make your every wish come true.”
I looked into his moss-green eyes and knew he really did. Sliding my hands through his hair, I rose up on my tiptoes and whispered in his ear. “I want to have another baby.”
He whooped and twirled me around. “Are you serious? That’s great.” Ignoring our guests, he pulled me toward the house, a conspiratorial grin on his face. “Let’s start working on that right now.”
