Tina blinks down at the grainy black-and-white image, confusion giving way to something deeper, something catching in her breath. Her eyes lift to mine, then to Magnolia’s, and she gasps. “You’re pregnant?”
Magnolia nods, tears already brimming. “I am. Seven weeks.”
And that’s when Tina gasps—hand to her heart, eyes shining—and pushes away from the table. She’s on her feet in a heartbeat, pulling Magnolia into a tight hug. “A baby,” she says, voice thick with emotion. “I’m getting my first grandchild.”
Magnolia’s wrapped in Tina’s arms, and I swear I’ve never seen two women love each other more fiercely than they do right now.
“You’ve given me the best birthday gift of my life,” Tina says.
My father claps me on the shoulder. “Congratulations, my boy,” he says in that choked voice he only uses when he’s feeling something big.
And I just stand there, absorbing the moment, trying to swallow the lump in my throat.
This is the family Magnolia deserves. This is a love that wraps itself around you and never lets go. And our baby’s already in the center of it all.
Leilani lifts her glass with a grin. “Okay, but can we talk about how insanely cute this baby’s gonna be?”
Violet rushes over, bypassing me, and throws her arms around Magnolia with enough force to jostle Tina. “I’m going to be an auntie.”
Elias claps me on the back and pulls me into a quick, rough hug, then high-fives me like we just won a championship. “You’re gonna be a great dad.”
Sefina throws her arms around Magnolia. “You’re going to be an amazing mum.”
Nico and Asa bicker from the other side of the table.
“Obviously, I’m the godfather,” Nico says.
Asa bursts into laughter. “Doubtful. You can’t even keep a plant alive.”
Jack and Laurelyn are all smiles.
Everyone’s talking at once now. Laughter overlaps with sniffles, congratulations fly like confetti, and still—through all the beautiful noise—she finds me.
Magnolia looks up from the chaos, catching my eyes across the room, and smiles. That soft, world-tilting, heart-pulling smile that unraveled me the first time I saw it.
She doesn’t know how much I love her or how long I’ve dreamed of giving her a life that feels like home.
I cross the room and wrap my arms around her, pressing my mouth to the curve of her shoulder. She leans back into me, her fingers lacing with mine over her stomach.
This is it. The beginning of everything we never knew we needed.
A heartbeat on a screen. An ultrasound picture in a box. A room full of people already in love with someone who is only a little tadpole.
And Magnolia—my wife, my home, my whole damn reason—is glowing in the middle of it all.
I rest my chin on her shoulder, breathe her in.
Our story just changed forever. And I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.
Chapter 35
Magnolia Sebring
The boutique baby store smells of lavender and baby powder. It’s tucked into a sleepy corner of Sydney, a place with hand-painted signage and a tiny brass bell above the door. Inside, everything feels soft—washed wood floors, gauzy canopy tents, antique-style bassinets, and stacks of folded muslin blankets in every shade of cream, gold, and sage.
It’s exactly the place I’d hoped to find.
I glide my hand over the edge of a white oak crib, the finish buttery smooth beneath my fingers. It’s carved with enough detail to be special but not so much it resembles a dollhouse prop. Perfectly in-between.
