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"I do love all of you."

Her eyes shine as she looks between us.

I can see the vulnerability all over her face. Laurel spends so much of her life taking care of everyone around her. Watching her hand us this piece of herself feels bigger than the pregnancy announcement.

Briggs answers first. "I love you too."

Laurel's lips tremble.

Briggs shrugs one shoulder, almost embarrassed by his own sincerity. "You kind of made it impossible not to."

A watery laugh escapes her.

Ashby reaches across the table and takes her hand. His thumb brushes over her knuckles. "I fell in love with you ages ago," he says. "I've been waiting for you to catch up."

Laurel lets out a choked laugh. "That's a terrible line."

I push back from my chair and cross the room before I can talk myself out of it. Laurel's eyes follow me the entire way. When I stop beside her, she tips her head back to look up at me.

I've imagined this conversation so many times, I should know exactly what to say.

Instead, all I can think about is a woman on a plane who smiled at me like she'd known me forever.

"I loved you before I even knew your last name," I tell her. Her breath catches. "I fell in love with you on that flight. It was love at first sight for me."

A tear slips down her cheek.

I brush it away with my thumb.

"I loved you when I got home, and I realized every place I looked reminded me of you. I loved you when I figured out I'd probably never see you again."

Laurel closes her eyes. When she opens them, they're shining. "And now?"

I laugh softly. "Now you're carrying our baby and making me cry in my own living room."

That earns another tearful laugh.

I lean down and press my forehead against hers. "I love you, Laurel."

Then I lightly press my lips to hers.

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

Laurel

Everything beyond Torin blurs.

His lips move against mine, and I sink into the kiss. His hand cups my cheek while the other settles at the back of my neck, holding me close. I breathe him in and stop fighting the feelings clawing through my chest.

Then the chair is pulled back, and suddenly, I’m on the floor, kneeling. Heat brushes my back. Ashby.

I know it's him before his arms wrap around me. He pulls me against his chest, holding me tight enough to feel the need in it.

Across the room, Briggs pushes out of his chair. His gaze catches on me and stays there as he crosses the floor in a few long strides. Every muscle in his body looks wound tight, like he's been waiting to move.

Torin is next to me, murmuring my name against my mouth.

I tilt my head toward him and kiss him back, pouring everything into it. I ache with how badly I want them.