Page 70 of A Sinful Gravity

After getting home and putting Laila to bed, I sat alone in the living room, looking at the proposal.

These frighteningly detailed arrangements. How much time did he spend on this?

His words echoed in my mind.

"The future—I hope there's still time."

I closed the proposal, stood, and walked into the bedroom.

Laila slept deeply, clutching a teddy bear. Light spilled in, illuminating her small face, making her golden curls glow.

I sat on the edge of the bed, watching her.

"Baby," I whispered. "What should Mommy do?"

She didn't answer, just rolled over, hugging the bear tighter.

I lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

My head was full of this afternoon's scene. Him saying "even if she's not my child, I want to do something for her. I just want you to be happy."

And that look in his eyes.

That careful, waiting-for-my-answer look.

I closed my eyes.

Outside, the night was deep.

But I knew, tonight, I probably wouldn't sleep well again.

Chapter Sixteen

Luna

That night, I couldn't sleep.

My mind kept replaying the café—him standing in the doorway, saying, "As long as you're happy."

The sky outside my window shifted from black to deep blue, then faded to gray. I stared at the ceiling, then at the small figure curled up in the crib beside me.

At some point, I finally drifted off.

I woke to tinkling sounds.

Opening my eyes, I found Laila already up. She was sprawled on the floor in front of her plastic toy piano, poking at the keys with her little fingers.

Sunlight poured through the window, catching in her golden curls and making them shine.

"Baby, you're up early?" My voice came out hoarse.

Laila looked up, eyes bright. "Mommy! This piano makes so many sounds! Listen—" She pressed a few more keys. "This one's like raindrops, this one's like a frog jumping, and this one—"

She paused, head tilted.

"This one's like stars blinking!"

I couldn't help but smile. "Stars blink with sound?"