“Give it a taste,” I encourage her.
And to my surprise, she does just that.Her eyes flare at the sweetness and she shoves her whole fist into her mouth, inciting more uproarious laughter around the table.
“Da!”Grayce exclaims and then pats me on the face with her messy hand, leaving streaks of frosting behind.
The tide of laughter swells, and when I look up, Maddie’s staring at me.She’s no longer recording, the phone not even in her hand.
She doesn’t look away, and I’m held by her gaze.It occurs to me that others notice this as well as the room has gone silent.
“Maddie?”I ask softly, ignoring Grayce as she shoves her fist back in her mouth.“You okay?”
All heads swivel to look at Maddie.She ignores them, bright eyes latched onto mine.
She lifts her chin.“I’m okay.”
“Yeah?”My voice comes out rougher than I intend.
She nods.“It’s just… I wanted to let you know… I love you.”
The room goes still, and the only sound is Grayce sucking on her fingers.For a second, I can’t move.I feel like I’m perched on the edge of a cliff, waiting to fall.
“Maddie,” I whisper, completely unfazed that she’s just taken the biggest, bravest step of her life in front of a room of virtual strangers.“When you go all in, you go all in.”
“Go big or go home, Gray used to say,” she quips, and several people chuckle.
I grin at her.
“Like I said,” she continues, her voice strong and certain, “I love you, and not just as Grayce’s dad.Not just as my co-parent.But as someone who wants to be your everything, the way you’re my everything.I’m done running.I’m done pretending the past gets to make all my choices.I choose you.Today, tomorrow, and the day after that.”
Everything inside me cracks wide open and I stand from the table, vaguely aware as Brienne takes Grayce from me.I weave through the crowd to reach Maddie, relief, joy, shock weakening my knees.When I reach her, she tilts her head back and I pull her in to kiss her like I’ve been drowning and she’s air.
The room erupts.Cheering, clapping, someone hollering, “About damn time!”
Grayce screeches, “Da!”
I press my forehead to Maddie’s.“I love you,” I rasp.“I love our family.I’m never going to let you down.”
“I know.”Her voice breaks, but she’s smiling through it.“I believe you.I trust you.”
“I cannot believe you just spilled it all right in this moment,” I say, amazed at that extra bravery to be so public.
“I wanted you to know I meant it.It came to me as I was watching you with our daughter, blowing out that candle, that I needed to let you know.I couldn’t wait another minute, and so what if everyone was watching?”
I kiss her again, long and hard to another raucous swell of cheers.
“Get a room,” someone yells.Lucky, I think.
Brienne appears and then Grayce is in Maddie’s arms.She laughs as she gets some frosting slapped on her face, prompting her to announce loudly, “Cake for everyone!”
The party surges back to life—music, kids, dancing.Lucky wears a paper crown like it’s royal regalia, Kace starts a conga line, and Brienne shoots me a wink from across the room.
I huddle with the guys, watching as they pass Grayce around.Maddie whispers with the women, her new friendships a solid pillar in her new life.
Maddie was right.This day was for me and her, and it couldn’t have gone better.I’ll never tell her when I blew out that candle, I made a selfish wish that Maddie would give us a try.
I will never doubt the magic of a wish again.
The party winds down in a sugar crash of kids and Tupperware.Guests file out after hugs and well wishes.Grayce’s head is drooped on my shoulder, eyes hardly able to stay open.
