I braced. Expected Jordan to stay quiet. To let me handle it. But he didn’t.
He covered my hand with his, grounding me. And then looked straight at them.
“With respect,” he said calmly, “your daughter’s not some impulsive kid. She’s the most thoughtful, grounded person I’ve ever known. She didn’t take this lightly. Neither did I.”
Mum’s mouth tightened. “And you think dragging her across the world pregnant is what’s best for her?”
“I think showing up for her is what’s best,” Jordan said, his voice firm now. “This wasn’t planned, but it’s happening. And we made the decision together. I want to raise our baby side by side. I want Kate to know she’s not alone. Not now. Not ever.”
He took a breath, jaw clenched.
“This baby was a surprise, but it’s the best one of my life. And I love Kate more than anything.”
Dad was watching him closely now, and something shifted in his expression. Because Jordan wasn’t bluffing. His voice was so calm and sure, I knew he meant it. I leaned into him, his arm instinctively wrapping around me, protectively.
I looked at Mum. Her lips were pressed into a thin line. But I saw it, the glint of something wet in her eyes. Then Dad cleared his throat.
“Well,” he said, his gaze softening on me, “you seem happy, sweetheart.”
Dad could see what this meant to me. He knew how brutal the divorce and everything that trailed after it had been. He was the only one who didn’t try to gloss over it in the months that followed. Hedidn’t always have the right words, but he showed up. The same way he was showing up now.
“I am,” I whispered. “Scared, yeah. But really happy.”
“Then that’s all that matters, love.”
He reached out and rested his hand over mine.
Mum looked ready to interject, her lips parted. But she caught Dad’s expression. The way he looked at me. The way he looked at Jordan.
And she said nothing. Which, somehow, meant more than anything else she could have said.
Later, I excused myself to the bathroom, heart thudding at the thought of leaving Jordan alone with them. But when I came back…
Mum was smiling at him. Properly smiling. I don’t know what he said, but his hand was resting on the table as he sat back in that easy, grounded way he had when he’d made his mind up about something. And for the first time in a long, long time, I didn’t feel like I was defending my life.
I was living it.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Jordan
We saidgoodbye to her parents in the car park.
Her mum hugged her. A little awkwardly, like it was full of unsaid things, but still, my shoulders started to unclench. Her dad shook my hand like I’d passed some test I didn’t know I was taking.
“Look after them both,” he said, firm but quiet.
I nodded, as if it were even a question. I was going to spend the rest of my life making sure Kate and the baby had the world at their feet.
I didn’t take my eyes off Kate for a moment. I could see she was barely holding it together.
Her mother was a tough one to crack. I could see it in the way she studied me across the table, like she was weighing up every word, every look I gave Kate. But when Kate slipped off to the bathroom, I took my chance.
I looked her straight in the eye and told her the truth. That I loved her daughter, that I was going to marry her. That I wanted to give Kate, and the grandchild she was carrying, a life where they never had to second-guess if they were safe, or wanted, or cared for. A life where they never had to worry about a thing.
We waved them off, hand in hand. Then I opened the passenger door for her. She climbed in without a saying a word.
By the time I dropped into the driver’s seat beside her, we both let out the same exhale. Long, shaky, and loaded.
