Page 133 of Manhattan Kiss

My parents and Aurora’s parents are here. We’ve seated them together. Chloe’s sitting next to Dad. Ben was meant to be sitting next to Avril, but I’m not sure that’s a good idea anymore.

Everyone’s here.

“Okay, so let’s get everyone seated. You okay?”

She smiles at me like she’s the luckiest person in the whole of New York. “Couldn’t be happier.”

“If you need anything⁠—”

“I’m fine.” She squeezes my hand. “Let’s get everyone sitting down.”

I press a kiss to her lips, then take a breath to settle my desire to pull her into the nearest bedroom and forget this dinner. “Okay, let’s do this.”

Aurora and I are seated at the head of the table, side by side, and when everyone has taken their seats, we both stand and I put my arm around her waist.

“So, just before we start dinner, Aurora and I have something to tell you.”

Darcy squeals, and I wonder if we’re even going to get to actually tell everyone our news before we get tackled like we’re on a rugby field.

“We’re having a baby,” I announce, pulling Aurora toward me.

Her green eyes sparkle up at me, like it’s just her and I here, talking about the family we’re expanding, rather than facing everyone in our lives who mean anything to us.

“We wanted you all to know at the same time,” she says.

I manage to turn my attention back to the table to see people smiling and clapping and clinking their classes. There’s so much love in this room, it’s almost overwhelming.

Aurora told her mum a couple of days ago, when her parents first landed in New York. But by the look on her dad’s face, she’s managed to keep it a secret. And we both told Gabby and Willow. But other than that, we’ve kept the news to ourselves. Just until we knew everything was on the right track.

“We’re due September 30th,” Aurora says, and glances up at me as she slides her hand over her stomach.

I bring our clasped hands up to my mouth and kiss the back of Aurora’s hand. She’s going to be a fantastic mother. I can spend the rest of my days being the happily ever after that Aurora’s always dreamed of. There’s nothing I’d rather dedicate my life to.

We take our seats just as the food starts to arrive. Hopefully it will keep people in their seats. We both know we’re going to get lots of questions about the pregnancy, given Aurora’s diagnosis, and we’ll answer them all honestly. But tonight, we just want to enjoy being with our friends and family.

Aurora leans into me. “Can you and I raise our glasses to the generous donor who made it possible for me to look forward to being a mother?”

“Whoever you are,” I say, to the donor of the egg that has meant Aurora and I can have a child together. “You’ve made Aurora and me the happiest people on the planet.”

“I love you,” Aurora says to me, and presses a kiss to my cheek. Every time I hear her say those words, my heart grows bigger and I feel like I’m capable of ruling the world.

I can’t believe I came so close to losing Aurora. But if the possibility of not being with her is what it took for us to be together forever, then I’ll bear that painful history. It’s history and everything else we’ll figure out together. I gaze into her eyes. “I’ll love you for the rest of my life and beyond.”

Bonus Epilogue

Ben

I wake up, not sure where I am, when I feel a sharp blow to my kidneys. And then another to my lower back.

Fuck. Who’s attacking me? And where the hell am I?

“Get out!” a woman screams.

I open my eyes but it’s pitch black, and then I get another kick in the back. I tumble out of bed and away from whoever or whatever is trying to inflict pain on me in the middle of the night. Memories start to form in my brain, but the hangover and lack of sleep aren’t helping me piece together what’s happening.

“I said get your clothes and get out of here,” the woman shouts. “You snore like an elephant with a respiratory issue. You need to leave.”

The voice is familiar, and I start to smile as I think back to the night before. The woman with the smart mouth and the incredible smile. Oh yes, she’s coming back to me now.