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“No,” I admit. “But I prayed it would be.”

“You don’t pray,” she teases.

“I did then. Every second I had you in my arms and didn’t know if I’d get another chance.”

She goes quiet, resting her head on my shoulder.

“I love you, you know,” she says softly.

I tighten my grip around her. “I know. I love you, too. More now than I did then if that’s even possible.”

The back door opens again, and Luca barrels in. “Uncle Jensen’s lighting the grill on fire!”

“I saidlighting the grill,not lighting iton fire,” Jensen shouts from outside.

Mabel groans, but she’s laughing again. I scoop up Indie as we follow our son into the yard. The sun is starting to dip low in the sky, bathing everything in gold.

This life… it’s chaos. It’s noise and kids and laughter and sometimes tears. But it’s also love. So much love.

I rescued my mate five years ago.

But the truth is, she saved me, too.