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I hugged him, so damn glad he’d entered my life.

“I love you, Daddy.”

“I love you too, Son.”

I closed my eyes and wanted to brand this moment in my mind forever.

But when I opened my eyes, there she was.

Louisa had gone with the white dress, after all. She looked radiant with her black curls tumbling over her shoulders. Her blue stare locked on me with all her love. Watching me stand from hugging her boy, she drew in a shaky breath.

Adrik glanced at her, silently asking if she was ready, and she nodded once. She held on to my brother’s arm as she kept her eyes on me, mesmerizing me with the marvel that this was happening.

I was getting married.

And if this was a dream, I never, ever wanted to wake up from it.

40

LOUISA

Two months later…

The closer that Mila and Wren came to their due dates, the more I started to show. It also prompted Brady to ask a lot more questions.

He was most curious about how babies got in a woman’s belly and how they came out.

That was a natural mystery for kids at his age, but I made sure to answer him with the appropriate level that was right for him.

“But why can’t it be a baby brother again?” he asked me, for who knew what time, as we cuddled on the couch.

Paloma sighed. “It’s how the genes are,” she reminded him, helping me sort through the clothes that Nikolai had ordered. “You’ll learn about it when you’re older.”

He grinned, peering up at me. “I can’t wait to meet my tutor!”

I brushed his hair back. “Yeah?”

He nodded. “And Uncle Adrik says one of the gardener’s boys can take lessons with me. I met him yesterday. He’s really nice. His name is Nate.”

Every time he mentioned his family, I felt like my heart would swell to bursting.

He had uncles. Aunts. Paloma was like his grandma, too. Brady had left my apartment that one fateful night with no one but me to rely on. Now he had a full family.

He called Nikolai Daddy.

I had sisters-in-law. Brothers-in-law. Cousins. A niece and nephew.

Some days, I woke up and had to remember that this was my life now.

Never alone.

Always surrounded by love and having all the support I could ever want.

“I’m glad that you’re looking forward to it,” I told him. “And I’m happy that you can have a friend to study with.”

Brady nodded. “I’m super excited.”

Because he was also super smart, and very literate, it didn’t seem like a bad idea to start him with his education now, rather than waiting a year like I would have with his going to a public school for kindergarten.