His eyes soften. “Nat?—”
“I mean it. You’ve been taking care of me for months. It’s my turn.” I keep my hand over his heart. “I want to be your safe place too. The person you come home to. The one who makes sure you rest and heal and know you’re loved.”
Something shifts in his expression, vulnerability mixing with relief. “You already are,” he says quietly.
“Good. Then let me prove it.” I thread my fingers through his. “Come inside. I have a surprise for you.”
thirty-seven
. . .
Jake
She takesmy good hand and leads me toward the house. That’s when I notice all the cars in the driveway. Blair’s SUV. Sophia’s Range Rover. Two others I don’t immediately recognize.
“Are we having a party?” I ask.
“Not exactly.”
We walk through the front door, and I stop dead.
My living room is full of boxes. Natalie’s boxes. Her books are stacked on my coffee table. Dishes are stacked on my counters waiting to be put in their place inside my cabinets.
“Surprise,” she says quietly beside me.
I turn to look at her. “You already moved in?”
“I hope that’s ok? I called everyone and?—”
I kiss her, cutting off the words. Deeper this time, my hand sliding into her hair, trying to pour everything I feel into it.
When we break apart, she’s breathless.
“I’ll take that as a yes?” she says.
“That’s a hell yes.”
Blair appears from the kitchen, Ruby still strapped to her chest. “Welcome home, Jake. Sorry for the mess.”
“Mess is good. Mess means she’s staying.”
Stella, Sophia, and Jess emerge from various rooms, all of them grinning.
“We tried to organize everything,” Jess says. “But Natalie has a lot of books.”
“And opinions about where things should go,” Sophia adds.
“I heard that,” Natalie calls.
I’m still holding her hand, still processing that she’s here, that all her stuff is here, that we’re really doing this. My chest feels too full, like my heart might actually burst.
“Thank you,” I say to all of them. “For helping her. For being here.”
“Of course,” Blair says. “That’s what?—”
Natalie gasps.
It’s a sharp, sudden sound that cuts through the room. Her hand tightens on mine, her other hand going to her belly.
