I look back up at Gage, chewing my lip. “Really? It’s not just about the baby, is it? Cos I’m happy to wait.”
Gage stops me with a finger against my mouth.
“I’ve waited my whole life for you. I don’t want to waste another minute.”
I nod, and he pulls the ring out, placing it on my finger.
I kiss him again, and a sharp whistle sounds in the distance, followed by a fizzling pop. Our heads pull apart in search. Through the glasshouse roof, I watch in awe as the inky black sky is filled with fireworks like a dazzling kaleidoscope of colours and shapes.
With my hand on his cheek, I look at Gage, stunned. “You did all this?”
“You say that like there’s a limit to what I would do for you.” He rubs a handover my stomach.
“There’s not?” I smile.
“Eternity has no limit. That’s what I want with you.”
Chapter forty-two
Twenty-four Weeks
“I’m telling you—that screw was a spare. I didn’t misread shit!” Mason protests as we walk down the hallway and back to the main living area.
The whole family is gathered at mine and Isabelle’s tonight to finalise wedding details, while my brothers and Joe help me build all the furniture in the nursery.
“You better hope not. My daughter will be sleeping in that crib.”
Mason scoffs. “I would never put my niece in harm’s way.”
We make it to the dining room, where everyone else is. Mum and Jennie are sitting together, flipping through a bridal magazine. Lex and Isabelle’s sisters are huddled over a laptop. Beth, of course, is standing at the head of the table, a giant whiteboard behind her and a pointer stick in her hand.
I head straight to Isabelle, where she sits at the end, one hand rubbing her belly. Her engagement ring sparkles under the light. My heart does a little dance every time I see it on her finger.
I lean down to kiss her forehead. “How’s everything going in here?”
“We’re still trying to pick a colour for the bridesmaids, but apart from that, everything’s decided.” She smiles.
“It’s going to be a beautiful wedding,” Grams says from the kitchen, where she’s finishing up dinner. Dad and Grandpa stand at the counter, helping with the side dishes.
Mason drops into one of the seats at the dining table. “So, are you gonna wear white, Iz, cos isn’t that considered virginal? And, well…” He chuckles, looking pointedly at Isabelle’s stomach.
“I think I’m going to go with something vintage,” she says with a laugh.
“Are you gonna make Gage wear actual dress shoes?” Mase asks.
Caleb drops his head back with a groan, then pushes his glasses on top of his head and clasps his hands together. “Please, I beg you. Tom Ford is destined for greater than your manky, old boots.”
“Actually,” Beth says as she starts to make room on the dining table for dinner, “Izzy found these cute personalised wedding sneakers where you can get your names or vows printed on them. Since she’ll be heavily pregnant, we thought these would be both cute and comfortable.”
“I was thinking of having this added to them.” Isabelle shifts a notepad in front of me where she’d been doodling. There’s a little sketch of two pinky fingers linked and the wordforever.
“Baby, I love this.”
“Yeah?” She looks up at me, her eyes sparkling, and those cute little dimples popping.
“It’s perfect.” I kiss her forehead.
“How sweet,” Mason says, grimacing in discomfort as he twists in his chair.
