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I let her lead me back to where Grant was still working on his architectural masterpiece.

I glanced back at Beau. He was watching me with an expression that made my breath catch. Wonder. Love. Something deeper that I understood because I felt the same way.

Later, when the kids were worn out and the sun was starting to go down, we all gathered on the blankets for the last of the snacks. Katie had fallen asleep in my arms, her small body heavy and trusting against my chest. Grant was curled up between Callum and Victoria, fighting sleep with the determination of a kid who didn’t want to miss anything.

“She’s out,” Kensey observed, nodding at Katie. “That’s impressive. She usually won’t nap for anyone.”

“Darcy’s magic,” Drew said. “Clearly.”

I stroked Katie’s hair, marveling at how silky it was. How small she was. How completely she’d trusted me to hold her while she slept.

The conversation flowed around me. Stories and jokes and that way a conversation ebbed and flowed. I didn’t feel like an outsider anymore. I felt like I belonged.

Beau’s hand found mine, our fingers intertwining.

“You okay?” he asked quietly, under the cover of Cleo’s animated retelling of some fashion week disaster.

“Better than okay.”

He squeezed my hand. “I’ve been watching you today.”

“Creepy.”

He laughed softly. “I mean it. Watching you with Grant and Katie. The way you light up around them.”

I looked down at the sleeping child in my arms. “They’re pretty great.”

“They are.” He paused, and something in his voice made me look up. “I can’t wait until we have our own.”

The words hung in the air between us. My heart stuttered, then began to race.

“Our own?”

“Kids.” He said it simply, like it was the most natural thing in the world. “A family. With you.”

I should have panicked. The old Darcy would have panicked. I would have been calculating nanny costs and got our names on the best private school waiting lists. But I wasn’t the old Darcy anymore. I looked at Beau and the family gathered around us. I felt like I already had a large family. Any children Beau and I had would be well loved. They’d have cousins to grow up with. No holiday would ever be lonely.

“I’d like that,” I said, surprised to find that I meant it. “A family with you.”

His smile was brighter than the setting sun. He leaned in and kissed me with the promise of forever in it.

39

BEAU

The Corwin Gems headquarters had never looked better. Whoever had been in charge of decorating for today’s announcement had outdone themselves. Fresh flowers were everywhere. A table covered with a white cloth had several bottles of champagne sitting in ice buckets. Glasses lined up in neat rows. Another table had an assortment of appetizers.

Two young women wearing black slacks and white shirts were filling glasses with champagne anytime one was picked up. The Corwin crowd was taking full advantage of the free champagne. They’d all be drunk by noon at the rate they were going.

I stood near the back of the crowd, trying not to draw too much attention to myself. This was Darcy’s day. Her moment. I was just here to watch her shine.

And damn, was she shining.

She stood near the front, talking to board members and executives, looking every inch the leader she was about to officially become. Her hair was in a half-up half-down style. Gone was the severe braid that had been her armor for so long. This Darcy didn’t need armor. She’d figured out that her real strength came from being herself.

She had on a navy blue dress with a sparkly belt around the waist. Diamonds in her ears and a diamond bracelet on her wrist. She’d found that balance she’d been searching for, the one between who she was and who everyone expected her to be.

I caught her eye across the room. She smiled at me like I was the only person in the room. I winked at her. She rolled her eyes but the smile stayed.