And choices.
And all the ways I almost didn’t get here.
I turn carefully and look at her.
At the woman who walked into my life carrying a secret and stayed long enough to become my future.
“I’m going to marry you,” I whisper.
She doesn’t hear me.
But I mean it anyway.
101
Saint
Idon’t plan it like a mission.
There’s no checklist.
No backup location.
No contingencies.
That’s how I know it matters.
I just… wait for the right quiet.
It comes in the afternoon, when the house is full of soft sounds. Laney is on the floor with Emmy, making ridiculous faces that should not work but somehow do. Emmy squeals like she’s discovered the secret of the universe.
Laney looks up at me and smiles.
And that’s it.
That’s the moment.
I clear my throat.
Laney glances up. “What?”
“Come here,” I say.
Her smile turns curious. She stands, shifts Emmy onto her hip, and walks over.
“What’s wrong?” she asks.
“Nothing,” I say. “Everything.”
I take Emmy from her and set her gently in the playpen. She immediately objects.
“This will only take a second,” I tell her seriously.
She does not agree.
Laney laughs. “Saint, you’re scaring me a little.”
“Yeah,” I say. “Me too.”
