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I had wondered why one of his closest friends wasn’t at the gender reveal…because he made him go to work instead.
But it’s a blue-collar thing, really. These men are workaholics and time off is not something they take lightly.
I turn to look up at the house and it really is beautiful. Nolan does amazing work, and I can’t help but feel the notion of how my dad would be proud.
“You like?” Nolan’s hand finds the small of my back, just as I feel something flutter in my swollen belly.
A kick.
“Hurry!” I demand, bringing his arms around to my stomach hoping he can feel her in time.
And the little girl doesn’t disappoint, kicking around as Nolan’s smile widens across his beautiful face, filling with utter satisfaction.
We both stand like that for a beat, watching Aria smell the flowers in front of the house.
“So?” he asks again.
“It’s beautiful,” I tell him. “But why are we here?” I ask, resting my hand against my tummy as he calls Aria over.
“Well,” Nolan says as he turns to face the house, “welcome to our new home.”
My heart skips several beats as Nolan cradles both of us in his embrace. He just keeps getting more and more perfect, proving to me day in and day out that this life with me is something that he’s going to cherish.
“Daddy, is it really ours?” Aria bounces up and down as I try to gather my jaw from the floor.
“Nolan? Did you build this?” I stare at him in shock.
“Of course I did, Firefly.” His smile is deep and sincere, branding my heart with his promise of forever. “I built this for us.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I admit, having rendered me speechless and in awe.
“Just say yes, baby girl.”
“You built us a house?” My expression is stunned, I just know it. But something more wiggles its way inside me. Something blissful and inspiring.
“A million times yes,” I say only for him to hear, allowing him to soak in some of the gratitude I’m experiencing in this place of peace.
Home.
“Can we tell himoursecret now, Mommy?” Aria reaches for my hand in a pleading gesture, her eyes shining with a powerful sense of love as I slowly accept what I’d just heard her call me.
Mommy.
Nolan and I glance at each other in a fit of excitement and surprise. Aria has never called me Mommy and the mere sound of her sweet little voice mixed with the word I’ve dreamt of hearing for so long causes me to shed tears.
“Yes, Aria.” I say to her and we both turn to Nolan, my heart beating uncontrollably out of my chest.
“We have a name for my baby sister, Daddy,” she announces nervously, bouncing up and down. She looks to me as she waits for me to answer.
“What is it?” Nolan asks.
“Maelie Iris,” I reply and saying it out loud has a whole different effect than writing it down on a yes, no, or maybe-so list does.
“Iris for your mommy of course,” Aria clarifies and I can tell Nolan tries to hold back his tears.
“And Maelie?” He looks between the two of us.
“Maelie means princess.” I feel the rise and fall of my chest, the pull of my heart being mended every which way.
