“You’re sure?” she whispers.
I don’t hesitate.
“I have never been more sure of anything in my life.”
I slide the ring onto her finger.
It fits.
Of course it does.
Emmy choosesthat moment to let out an indignant wail.
Laney laughs through tears. “She thinks she should’ve been included.”
“She was,” I say, going to pick her up. “She’s the reason I’m brave enough to do this.”
Laney rests her head against my shoulder.
Her hand—now with the ring—presses against my chest.
“This is really happening,” she whispers.
“Yes,” I say. “It is.”
And for the first time, the future doesn’t feel like a threat.
It feels like a promise.
102
Laney
Istare at my hand for a full minute before I remember how to breathe.
The ring is still there.
It doesn’t disappear if I blink.
It doesn’t turn into something I imagined because I wanted it too much.
It’s real.
Saint is in the nursery with Emmy, talking to her like she’s a tiny adult who just made a very serious life decision. I can hear him through the baby monitor.
“…and you’re going to have to help me keep her from bossing us around. I’m counting on you.”
Emmy answers with a sound that might be a burp.
I laugh into my hand.
Then I do what any woman does when something wonderful and impossible happens.
I need to tell someone.
I grabmy phone and hesitate.
My thumb hovers.
