"None. This is exactly what I wanted. You, me, our daughter, our people. That's all I need."
"Good. Because I already booked the honeymoon cabin and it's non-refundable."
I pull back to look at him. "You booked a cabin?"
"Just for the weekend. Up in the mountains. Levi's watching Emilia." He grins. "Figured we could use a couple days of just us. Sleep in, have uninterrupted conversations, maybe recreate our first time but in an actual bed this time."
I laugh. "Our first time was perfect."
"Our first time was on your couch, and you were definitely sore the next day."
"Worth it."
"Definitely worth it." He leans down to kiss me, slow and sweet. "I love you, Ivy Harper."
"I love you too." I rest my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, feeling our daughter's warm weight between us. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For coming back. For seeing me. For being brave enough to say what I was too scared to say."
"You said it eventually."
"After you said it first."
"Someone had to." He squeezes me closer. "Besides, best decision I ever made. Coming back to Blackwater Falls. Finding you. Building this life."
I look around at the people gathered in our backyard. Granddad Jim telling stories to anyone who will listen. Mrs. Silver dancing with one of Owen's colleagues. Levi with his girlfriend, looking happier than I've seen him in years. Our friends, our family, our community.
This is what I wanted when I stayed in Blackwater Falls all those years ago. Not the fancy career or the big city life. Just this: connection, belonging, love.
And I have it. All of it.
Emilia makes a squealing sound and reaches for the string lights, and Owen laughs and lifts her up so she can get a better look.
"Careful," I say. "She'll want to eat them."
"She wants to eat everything." He bounces her gently. "Just like her mama."
"I do not eat everything."
"You ate an entire pizza by yourself last week."
"I was hungry. And pregnant women get a pass."
"You're not pregnant anymore."
"Could be again," I say, watching his reaction.
His eyes go wide. "Are you—"
"No. Not yet. But someday." I take Emilia from him, settling her on my hip. "Maybe when this one's a little older and actually sleeping through the night."
"Sounds like a plan." He wraps his arms around both of us. "God, I love our life."
"Me too."
And I mean it. Every word.
This messy, chaotic, beautiful life we've built together, it's everything I never knew I wanted and everything I never thought I'd have.
The quiet librarian and the city doctor who came home.
Finally, perfectly, completely in love.
