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Chuckling, I roll us over so she lies replete on my chest. We’re a wet, sticky mess—just the way I like us. Amelia stays still for less than a minute before propping her arms and chin on my chest.

She grins. Wicked—joyful. “Guess what?”

I tuck an errant hair behind her ear. “What?”

“Vince is going to be a big brother.”

It takes a few seconds for her words to filter past my pleasure-soaked mind. Then they register. Happiness pours through me like sunshine, building into a grin and misting my eyes with tears.

“Really? You took a test?”

She nods, smiling ecstatically. “Eight of them. You know, just in case. Aw, are you crying?”

I tug her to me, kissing her hard. “I love you. I’m so happy. Are you happy?”

Her laughter rings in the quiet room. “So happy I’m flying. I do have a favor to ask, though.”

Nuzzling her nose with mine, I answer her unasked question. “Julia for a girl, Jackson for a boy.”

She sighs contentedly. “Oh, and?—”

“Pistacchio gelato in the freezer.”

Her eyes soften with emotion—gratitude and love and the barest shadow of the old lie she told herself. That she doesn’t deserve happiness. That she isn’t worthy of it.

I kiss her until she remembers she is.

The End