"I can't believe you said yes." Cassian squeezed my hand. "But I'm glad you did. And I'm going to spend every day making sure you don't regret it."
"I won't regret it." And looking at him now—tired, happy, covered in grass stains from kneeling—I knew it was true.
Leo had fallen asleep by the time we reached the penthouse, exhausted from the day's excitement. We carried him to his room together, tucking him in with Rex. In the hallway, Cassian pulled me close.
"Thank you," he murmured against my hair.
"For what?"
"For saying yes. For giving me another chance. For being brave when I couldn't be." He pulled back to look at me. "I love you, Isla Quinn. Soon-to-be Isla Barone."
"I love you too." And saying it felt right. Felt true. "Even when you're being an idiot."
He laughed, the sound warm and genuine. "Especially when I'm being an idiot. Someone has to keep me in line."
We stood there in the hallway, holding each other, listening to our son's soft breathing through the cracked door. Outside, the city lights flickered against the darkening sky—beautiful and dangerous and full of unknowns we'd face together.
But up here, in this moment, we were safe. We were whole. We were family.
And that was worth everything.
CHAPTER 23
Cassian
Three weeks had passed since I'd knelt in the park and asked Isla Quinn to marry me. Three weeks of waking beside her, half-convinced it was all a dream.
But this morning, watching her sleep in the sunlight streaming through half-drawn curtains, I knew it was real.
Isla slept beside me, her dark hair spread across the pillow, one hand tucked beneath her cheek. The engagement ring I'd bought the day after she said yes caught the morning light.
Mine.
The word didn't feel possessive anymore. It felt like a privilege. Like responsibility. Like the weight of being trusted with somethingprecious.
I'd spent most of the night just watching her breathe, still half-convinced I'd wake to find the proposal had been a dream. That she hadn't said yes. That I hadn't been given this second chance I didn't deserve.
Small footsteps pattered down the hallway. A soft knock on the door.
"Cass awake?" Leo's whisper carried through.
I carefully extracted myself from the bed, trying not to wake Isla.
I opened the door to find Leo in his dinosaur pajamas, Rex stuffed under one arm.
"Morning, buddy," I whispered. "What are you doing up so early?"
"Had good dream 'gain." His face was bright with excitement. "Happy one! Mama and Cass and me?"
Something in my chest expanded at his pure joy. "Yes, it’s the three of us."
"Make pancakes? Lelebrate?"
I glanced back at Isla, still sleeping. "How about we let Mama sleep a little longer? We'll make them super quiet, like pancake ninjas."
Leo giggled, pressing his hand over his mouth. "Pancake ninjas!"
We tiptoed to the kitchen, and I lifted him onto the counter. He took his job seriously, carefully measuring flour while narrating how ninjas had to be "very, very quiet."
