Page 25 of Headstrong Like Us

“I just had a very giant heart attack,” I mutter under my breath to him.

He drops his hand. “You didn’t.”

“I did,” I say stubbornly.

He leans close and stares ahead at Jane as he whispers to me, “I’m the doctor.”

That was too damn hot, and I do everything in my power not to let him know that. And yeah, joking with Farrow is a great distraction to being serious. “I’m sorry. What’d you say? I think my heart attack busted out my eardrum.”

He laughs into an eye-roll, but the noise fades quickly as he focuses more on Jane.

Her blue eyes soften on us. “Are you okay to talk about babies now, Moffy? We can do this another day—”

“No,” I cut her off.

Someday in the future, I want to raise kids with Farrow, but we haven’t really delved into that topic yet. We’ve just grazed the surface of the iceberg while we’ve been concentrating on thenowand the wedding.

On one hand, I almost want to thank Jane. Because there’s a massive part of me that’s stupidly excited to discuss kids. Especially without the pressure of having them soon.

I never dreamed of falling in love or being married. I didn’t let myself have that chance. But maybe I can dream of having kids with Farrow for a while.

It seems easy.

Simple.

And so damn happy.

“We can talk about kids,” I say with confidence.

Farrow looks me up and down in surprise. “Really?”

“Yeah. Really.” I’m interested in what Jane has to say. “It’s not like we’re having a kid tomorrow.”

His lip inches up. I smile off his smile, seeing that he’s happy about this.That feels good.He leans a shoulder on the wall and waves Jane on. Farrow is in the dark with me, and I’m aware that he’s way more at ease.

I haven’t uncrossed my arms yet. Just in case this takes a detour into doomsday territory. I want to be ready for anything.

Jane peels a frizzed piece of hair off her lips. She smiles, less apprehensive than when she first brought us into the daycare. “I love you both so terribly.”

My chest swells, but I’m hanging onto a thread of suspense. “Nous t’aimons aussi, Janie.”We love you too, Janie.

She steps closer. “As I’m positive you’re aware, you have a handful of options when it comes to starting a family, and I want to give you one more.”

I know what she’s about to say and offer because she’s my best friend, my other half, and we look at each other with reddening eyes. Emotion surging like a tidal wave come to carry us to shore—years and minutes and moments washing down my body. And something else.

Something that transcendstime.

A love that understands without sound or reason.

And I feel one of the purest acts of love when Jane tells us, “I can carry your baby for you. I’d love to be your surrogate if you’d want that.”

I instantly hug Jane, my arms wrapping around her shoulders. Her arms glide around my waist. I want to thank her, just to be willing to do this for me, forus—it gets to me.

Words aren’t enough appreciation or gratitude to express all that balls up inside my body. I glance over at Farrow.

His chest rises and falls, overwhelmed, and his raw eyes hold exactly what I feel.

I pull back from Jane and wipe the silent tears that stream down her cheeks.