A real smile. The kind that made his whole face soften.
“We’re having a baby,” he said quietly.
“We are.”
“I’m going to be a father.”
“You are.”
“I have no idea what I’m doing.”
“Nobody does,” my mom said gently. “That’s the beautiful part.”
“The terrifying part,” Julien corrected.
“That too,” my dad agreed. “But you’ll figure it out. You’re smart, you’re capable, and you love Athena. That’s all you really need.”
“And a spreadsheet,” Hayden added.
“Hayden!” I said.
“What? I’m just being supportive!”
“You’re being a menace.”
“I can be both.”
Julien was still looking at me, his expression soft and vulnerable in a way I’d never seen before. “Are you happy?” he asked quietly.
“I’m ecstatic,” I said honestly. “Are you?”
He was quiet for a moment, and I could see him processing, organizing his thoughts the way he always did. “I’m terrified,” he said finally. “And overwhelmed. And completely unprepared.”
“But?” I prompted.
“But yes,” he said, his smile growing. “I’m happy. I’m really, really happy.”
“Good,” I said. “Because the universe has plans for us.”
“The universe,” he repeated, and there was something almost fond in his voice now. “Of course it does.”
“Big plans,” I said. “Cosmic plans.”
“Chaotic plans,” he said.
“The best kind.”
He reached over and took my hand, squeezing gently. “I love you,” he said.
“I love you too.”
“Even though I fainted?”
“Especiallybecause you fainted.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“It makes perfect sense. It means you care. It means this matters to you.”
