“The WWs are together again!” Wander squealed as they squished into a group hug. “It’s about time.”
“I just saw you guys like . . . less than a month ago.”
“Yeah, but you were all depressed and heartbroken and ‘I can’t live without him,’” Whitney said dramatically.
“Okay, okay. We don’t have to revisit that,” Willow said.
“We can revisit it,” I said as I stood behind Willow and wrapped my arms around her waist. “I’d like to hear more about how she can’t live without me.”
Willow playfully stomped on my foot, and looked up at me. “I can get that video from Miles and we can have a little viewing party. Would you like to continue fucking around? Because you will find out.”
I kissed her temple. “I’m kidding, cupcake.”
Her lips twitched in a smile as she closed her eyes. “I know.”
We joined the rest of the guests and settled into a long row of tables that had been pushed together for the baby shower. The pie was divine, and watching Whitney and Miles be loved by their found family was exactly what Willow needed after the summer of dealing with her family.
I draped my arm around the back of her chair and grazed my fingers up and down her arm. Willow leaned into me and watched Whitney pull out a stack of onesies and footy pajamas.
“I have one more question from the Ford Method to ask you,” she whispered.
My brows furrowed. Over the last two weeks, she had intently checked off each prompt that I had outlined in my program. She even had some feedback for how I could better explain the goals of each prompt and had given me new ideas on how to encourage users to implement them.
“We covered everything,” I said.
She shook her head. “Not everything.”
“Ask me, then.”
Willow chewed on her lip.
“Come on,” I murmured against her ear. “You know you can ask me anything.”
Her mossy eyes lifted and met mine. “Is this what you want?”
Panic stabbed at my gut. “What do you mean?”
She tipped her head toward Whitney and Miles. “The ring. The wedding. The baby on the way.”
“Yeah,” I said without a second of hesitation. “But only if it’s you.” I tucked her hair behind her ear. “Is that what you want?”
Willow nodded.
“Me too.”
“This is . . . kind of nuts. We weren’t supposed to fall in love.”
“We were,” I said. “I knew it from the moment we met.”
Willow just shook her head. “You can’t know something like that.”
I pulled out my phone and opened up the last text I had sent her. Instead of her name at the top of the screen, it said “Future Wife.”
“It’s never said Willow or Autumn. You’ve been my future wife since the day we met.” I tapped into my photos and opened the album labeled “FW.”
Photos of her reluctantly eating pierogies in the Village, photos of our first road trip. Of our breakfast in Virginia. Of every gas station stop, and passenger seat sleep session. I had photos of every moment with her.
“And you know what?” I said. “There’s gonna be room in here for a white dress. For his-and-her hand towels and pictures of wherever our home base becomes. For baby pictures. A dog if you want one. You and me riding off into the sunset. For all of it.So, when I say I’m sure, trust me. I’m sure. I’ve been sure since I laid eyes on you in the check out line.” I pressed a discreet kiss to her temple. “Are you sure?”
