Page 145 of Freefall

I bark out a laugh just as little feet pound down the hallway.

“Dad!” Daisy calls. “Mom! Are you guys ready? We’re gonna be late.”

She started calling us Mom and Dad instead of Mommy and Daddy about a year ago, and I still haven't gotten used to it.

The bedroom door flies open, and Daisy barrels inside without a care in the world. I make a mental note to yell at Nate later for not even bothering to lock it before he started his torture.

At ten, Daisy has somehow managed to become even more fierce than she was as a little girl, but her stormy blue eyes soften the second she notices my hand on my stomach.

“Did he kick again?”

I nod. “He hasn’t stopped. Want to feel?”

She rushes over and carefully places both hands on my bump. The moment our son gives a tiny kick, her face lights up. “I felt him!”

Ever since we found out the gender, Daisy has been on a mission to be the world's greatest big sister. She was excited before, but now she won’t stop suggesting names and dreaming up nursery themes.

The nursery that, mind you, hasn’t even been painted yet. A few months after Emory and Luke’s wedding, Daisy and I finally moved in with Nate. Nate’s condo was the picture of luxury, but it still screamed bachelor pad. It didn't take long for the three of us to realize we needed more space, so we bought a beautiful colonial on the border of Emberfield and Baybridge.

It wasn’t until closing day that Nate realized we had accidentally moved five minutes away from Declan and Skylar.

He was less than thrilled.

Personally, I love being able to walk to Skylar's house whenever I want.

The day after we moved in, while Daisy was at school, Nate dropped the box he was carrying upstairs, crossed the room, and kissed me. He ran his hand up my skirt, and we had sex on the kitchen island. Afterward, he got down on one knee.

I said yes before he could get the question out.

This time, it wasn't a surprise. I had stopped my birth control the month before.

And this time, I wasn't alone.

Nate was next to me when the second red line appeared.

He was there when I cried.

When I laughed through the tears.

He's been there for every doctor’s appointment, every late-night craving, every kick.

For years, I mourned everything we lost. The years Nate missed with Daisy. The family we could have been. The life we almost had.

Learning that my mom had lied to Nate all those years ago changed our relationship forever. I’ve forgiven her, and little by little I'm letting her back in my life. Some days it's easy. Some days I still wonder what our lives would have looked like if she had simply opened that door and told the truth.

But maybe Grace was right.

Maybe today is a day for new beginnings.

Strong arms circle my waist as Nate leans in and presses his lips to my ear. “You look beautiful,” he whispers.

Heat creeps up my cheeks. “You say that every day.”

“It's true every day."

I shake my head, unable to stop smiling as I reach for my bracelet on the dresser—the one Daisy made for me when we first moved back to Baybridge. The ‘M’ and the ‘Y’ are faded now, but you can still make out the rest of the letters.

Nate slips his hand into mine and gives it a gentle squeeze. “Ready?”