Page 109 of Sudden Summer

There wasn’t a single day—probably a single hour, unless we were sleeping—where I wasn’t kissing that spot. It was magic to me. I’d seen the way she hesitated the first time I kissed there. And I hated that some part of her mind said I’d find it anything other than a reminder of how goddamn strong and courageous she was.

Now, when I kissed her there, I usually got the prettiest blush to come out on her cheeks.

“I have to talk to you about something,” she whispered as I finally sat down on the swing next to her feet. I pushed a pillow up under her arm to support Juniper and pulled her feet onto my lap.

“That sounds ominous.”

“No, it’s good. I promise.”

I nodded. “Alright, spill.”

She adjusted the bottle, settling Juniper down further in her arms so that she would be comfortable if she fell asleep. Which—judging by the way her little lashes were already fluttering—she was well on her way to doing.

“I called Rory while you were making dinner.”

My fingers wrapped around her ankle and squeezed. We hadn’t talked about the offer for weeks. It was too overwhelming for Birdie to think about, so I took the paperwork and filed it away. “Okay. How did that go?”

“I told him that I would accept what his dad—their family’s estate—was offering. With two conditions.”

I nodded slowly, my tongue suddenly finding my teeth interesting. “I’m all ears, Chickadee.”

She smiled, looking down at Juniper. “The money is going to be deposited directly into a trust for Juniper. All thirty-five million dollars.”

Every muscle in my body froze. “What? No, baby. That’s too much.”

“It’s not. And it’s not just for Juniper.”

“No?”

“I want to add Beckett and Connor. And any other cousins who might come along.”

“That money is yours, Birdie. You don’t need to worry about the family.”

“I’m not. I’m worrying about our family.” She gripped the bottle tighter, wiggling her engagement ring at me. I’d slipped it on her finger the second I got her home from the hospital. Dropped right down on one knee when I opened the passenger side door and cried as I slipped it into place after she said yes. “I also want Lainey’s baby to be added. There will be rules in place, though. My mother will never see a cent of it. Neither will Greg.”

“Whatever you want, baby. I’ll make sure it happens.”

She sighed, looking down at Juniper. “That will be good to start with. And of course, our other children will be added to the trust when they’re born, too.”

I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face. My hand left her ankle, spreading across her belly. “What other children?”

She laughed. “There aren’t any others right now. But I hope one day there will be. What did you tell me? A brother for our berry girl? And then a sister…”

“And another sister after that…”

“See? By the time we’re done, that money will be long spent on educations and more houses being built on this land.”

“You think they’ll want to stay here?” I asked, looking over the back of the swing to the land that surrounded our home.

“I hope they will. This is my favorite place in the whole wide world.”

“What are you going to do about your safe haven project? I thought you’d end up wanting to put some of that money towards your non-profit.”

She smiled. “I’m actually happy to report that I’ve found our first investors. The Buchanan Group has generously agreed to fund an additional five million dollars towards the project now that I have my charity status. They’ve also agreed to separately fund the first house we build. We can do so much good with that money! I just need to find some land…”

It was my turn to laugh. “I should have known you would get it done. I’m so proud of you.”

My hand slid down her leg, then back to the foot sitting in my lap. I lifted it to my mouth and pressed a kiss to the arch.