I spin at the chorus of voices and find them. Kade is hunched beside Aurora, helping her walk as they make their way toward me—her tiny hands clutched around his fingers, her curls bouncing with every wobbly step.
In his other hand is a cake. It’s lopsided and adorably chaotic with a rainbow painted in frosting across the top. The sides are covered in glitter that look like…
Like shooting stars.
My heart shatters in the best possible way.
“Say happy birthday, Mama,” Kade prompts gently, guiding her toward my legs.
She takes a few solo steps that are getting stronger every day and collides with my dress.
“Ha–p bird, Mama!” Rory squeals, clapping wildly.
Tears blur my vision as I scoop her into my arms and bury a kiss against her cheek. “Thank you, baby.”
Kade lifts the cake and flashes me a sexy grin. “She helped. Everything’s gluten-free. Even the decorations.”
“It’s perfect,” I say, choking on a laugh-sob combo. “Completely perfect.”
He leans in and kisses my temple. “Make a wish, darlin’.”
I stare at him, my daughter in my arms, the family around us, and my chest swells so big I’m surprised I can breathe. “What if I already have everything I want?”
He grins with a shrug. “Wish anyway.”
Aurora pats my cheek. “Wih, Mama!”
With a chuckle, I close my eyes and make the simplest, truest wish I’ve ever made—
Let this last.
Let it always bethis.
When I open them... the cake and Kade are gone.
But only for a second—because when I blink again, he’s on one knee.
Time stops.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment since the first time you wished on a damn eyelash,” he says, voice thick, ring box trembling in his hand. “Georgia Walker… you walked into my life like a wildfire and burned down every wall I had. You made yourself a home in my heart without even trying.”
He opens the box, revealing a ring with a storm-gray stone that looks just like his eyes, circled by smaller gems—each a different color of the rainbow.
“You told me once that storms mean something beautiful is coming. That rainbows are a promise. I want to be that promise for you. Wanna give you rainbows every damn day of your life. Marry me, freckles. Fill our big house with brothers and sisters for our daughter. Be blissfully happy at my side for the rest of our lives.” He chokes on his breath and inches closer, dropping his voice. “Be my forever.”
I’m crying before he even finishes.
I nod furiously, throwing myself into his arms, clutching his shirt like it’s the only thing holding me up. “Yes,” I whisper. “Yes. Yes, yes, yes.”
Applause breaks out as I sink into him, the ring between us, our mouths tangling with one another like we’re alone. I lose myself in Kade, my fiancé, my forever, and I don’t give a damn who sees it.
“Oh my God, that was so sweet!”
We freeze.
Staticky clapping breaks out, and I pull myself away enough to hunt it down. My eyes dart to the corner where my phone’s propped up against the sugar jar and find…
Abby’s wide-eyed face staring back at me from FaceTime.
