The bedroom door clicks open behind us, and I turn, and it’s a goddamn miracle I don’t hit the floor.
Adrianna steps out, and she looks—goddamn.
She looks fresh and beautiful and nervous and strong all at once.
Her hair is swept over one shoulder, her lips soft and pink, her cheeks flushed from emotion or stress or both.
Every inch of her is a punch to my chest.A reminder.A promise.A dream I never let myself have.
She freezes when she sees me kneeling with Bella, and I swear the whole room holds its breath.
Mrs.Bosco appears behind her and gives her a gentle nudge, smiling at me like she already knows what I’ve never said out loud.
“Everyone ready?”she asks warmly.
Ready?
I’ve never been more ready for anything in my entire life.
I rise to my feet, heart hammering, blood roaring in my ears.I extend my hand to Adrianna—because I meant what I told Bella.
I am all in.
And holy hell, I want this.
I want her.
I want this marriage.
I want this family.
I want this chance.
“I was born ready,” I say, and it’s the truest damn thing I’ve ever spoken.I swallow hard.“How about you, Ad?You ready?”
She looks at my hand.
Then at me.
And that moment—that one long, terrifying heartbeat—feels like the entire world balancing on the edge of her answer.
Then, she moves.
Slowly, almost uncertainly, she places her smaller hand into mine.
The second our skin touches, something clicks in my chest.
Like a lock finding its key.
Like a chord I haven’t heard in years finally ringing true.
I squeeze gently.
She squeezes back—tiny, hesitant, but real.
And whatever she thinks I’m doing this for—to protect Bella, to fix a problem, to help a friend—she has no fucking clue what the real reason is.
That I love her.That she’s mine.
