Page 25

EIGHTEEN

ALEJANDRA

We pull up to the medical treatment facility on base and Gage puts the truck in park.

Turning to face me, his hand caresses my cheek.

“You guys can wait here if you don’t want to go in with me.

I don’t know how long this is going to take.

” He looks into the backseat at Zoe in the little mirror that shows that she’s asleep. “It might be a while.”

I sit there silent for a moment. I know that if we go in with him, people are definitely going to make assumptions about us.

I bring my eyes up to his and any negative thought I had disappears.

He looks at me with such tenderness that I don’t care how crazy this may seem to others.

I’m proud to be with him, to be his fiancée.

“We’ll go in with you. I’m not ashamed, Gage. ”

“I’m not ashamed either, I just didn’t know if you wanted to wait in there for who knows how long.

” He leans in and his lips brush mine in the softest kiss.

“Afterwards, I’m going to go see my master sergeant.

If I’m cleared to return to duty, I’m going to have to get up to speed on what’s going on.

” Kissing me again. “Then I’m taking you straight to the courthouse to make you my wife.

We can have a big wedding once things calm down. ”

Once things calm down.

That’s one thing I haven’t really considered in all of this.

War.

My heart drops into my stomach and my face must give away the sadness that thought brings me because his eyes soften even more. “Ale?”

“I’m fine.” Blinking to keep the tears back and averting my gaze when one sneaks out. “I just never really considered... the war. And what it would mean… if…” I take a breath and let it out. “If we’re married. What is it going to mean for us?”

“Come on.” Gage takes the keys out of the ignition and opens his door. “We can talk about it more while we wait.”

We get Zoe out without waking her and head inside the building.

I take her from him and find a seat in the waiting area while he checks in, and when he’s finished, he comes to sit with us.

"Look, I know it’s probably freaking you out, and I would understand one hundred percent if it is.

But I don’t want fear to stop us from being happy, Hermosa .

We’ll figure it all out. Getting married is going to make things easier for you while I’m gone.

You’ll have health insurance, access to the base without me being here, and other shit that I know I’m not thinking about. ”

I give him a half-hearted smile, the overwhelming feeling making my stomach twist in knots. “What about work, Gage? I’m going to need to work so I can help my family.”

“My money will be your money, Ale. Your job is to raise our daughter,” and he leans over and whispers in my ear. “And hopefully grow our beautiful baby in that belly of yours.”

My face flushes and I bite my bottom lip and look up at him. “So you want me to be at home, barefoot and pregnant with our kids?”

“God, yes. For the foreseeable future, if I have it my way.” He playfully winks at me, and I know there isn’t a bone inside me that wants to argue with him.

Ay Dios Mio, We’re going to need a bigger house, I know it.

“Donovan,” A corpsman with a clipboard calls into the waiting room.

“Be right back,” he places a kiss on my head and walks toward them.

I watch him walk away, the calm confidence in his stride never failing to make my heart flutter.

I glance down at Zoe, her little hand resting peacefully over her tiny belly, her eyelashes fanning out like delicate feathers against her soft, chubby cheeks.

She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

Her warmth radiates from her little body, and as I softly rock her car seat back and forth, I try to push away the anxious thoughts creeping into my mind.

Gage has already given me so much—his love, his loyalty, his daughter—and now he’s offering me a life with him, one that’s built on a foundation of trust, respect, and tenderness.

But I can’t shake the sense of unease that lingers in the pit of my stomach.

It’s the war, I know. It’s the thought of him being sent back to the front lines and what that would mean for us, for me, for Zoe.

I breathe deeply, trying to clear the tension.

I’ve known Gage for such a short time, and I admire his strength.

But as we step into this new chapter of our lives, it’s becoming painfully clear that his job doesn’t allow for the luxury of normal.

For all the love between us, there will always be the threat of separation, of uncertainty.

Just thinking about it makes my chest ache.

Gage’s words echo in my mind— We’ll figure it all out.

He’s really good at offering reassurance, but even his confidence can’t erase the reality of what he does—the danger, the distance.

I know I can’t keep pretending it won’t affect me or us.

If we’re going to make this work, I need to prepare myself for a life I never quite imagined.

I run my finger over the delicate fabric of Zoe’s blanket and force myself to focus on the present.

Gage is right. I can’t let fear control everything.

This is a big step we’re taking—getting married, building a life together.

It’s more than just paperwork—it’s a promise.

And no matter what happens with the military, I know I’ll have Gage’s love.

That will be enough.

Almost thirty minutes later, Gage walks back into the waiting room, his face slightly more serious than when he left. My heart skips at the sight of him—so tall, so solid. Even in his fatigues, with his fresh haircut and stern expression, he still looks like the man who stole my heart.

The man I’m about to marry.

“Everything okay?” I ask, trying to keep the anxiety out of my voice.

He nods, but there’s a tightness in his jaw. “Yeah. Just routine stuff. They’re going to put in the paperwork to let me return to duty.”

Gage’s hand brushes my shoulder, and I glance up to meet his eyes. They soften when they land on me, and I feel the tension in my body start to loosen.

“We’re going to be fine, Hermosa ,” he whispers, his thumb gently tracing my knuckles. “You, me, and Zoe... we’re going to be just fine. One step at a time.”

His words are simple, but they carry the weight of everything he’s doing for me and for us.

I wish I could believe him completely and let go of this gnawing fear inside me.

But a small part of me, the part that can’t help but be realistic, knows it’s not going to be easy.

Not with the military, not with the way life has a tendency to throw curveballs.

Still, I nod, squeezing his hand in return. “Yeah. We’ll figure it out.”

We sit in silence for a moment, the quiet hum of the building around us only broken by the occasional shuffle of someone in the hallway. Zoe stirs in her seat, a tiny yawn escaping her lips. Gage’s eyes light up as he watches her, the soft smile he gives her makes my heart ache.

“Why don’t you hold her while we walk out?” I offer.

He leans over, carefully unbuckling Zoe from her seat with the same tenderness he reserves for her, cradling her against his chest. It’s the most natural thing in the world to see him with her, to see him care for her the way he does.

There’s no hesitation, no doubt in the way he holds her close, his gaze never straying from her perfect face.

“I’ll never get enough of this,” he murmurs, his voice low and almost reverent as he gazes down at Zoe. “I swear, she’s growing too fast. I can’t wait to do this from the beginning with you. To see them on the ultrasound and hopefully be born.”

I smile softly, my heart swelling. I never imagined I would be here with him. It’s overwhelming.

“We have time,” I say, my voice barely a whisper. “She’s only three months old.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll still miss every single second of it.” He looks up at me, his expression serious. “I want to be here for every moment. Every milestone, every first. I want to see all of it with our kids and I know I’m going to miss things and I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t break my heart.”

He chuckles to himself for a moment while he rises to his feet so I ask. “What’s so funny?”

“I just never saw myself wanting this. A wife and kids, yet here I am. A father and now, by the end of today, a married man. A man who wants nothing more than for his woman to have his babies.”

"Well, let’s get moving so we can work on some of that.

” I stand on my toes and kiss his cheek.

I lean into him, my head resting against his shoulder, my arms now wrapped around his middle.

“We’ll make it work, Gage,” I whisper. “Whether you're here with me or we are doing it via phone, we’re going to do this.”

He presses a kiss to the top of my head, holding me just a little tighter. “I hope so. Because I don’t plan on letting go of you, not now, not ever.”

The words hang in the air between us, carrying more weight than I think either of us realizes.

The truth is, this isn’t going to be easy.

There will be challenges—hard ones, ones we’ll both have to face, together and apart.

But for now, with Zoe’s tiny breath in the space between us, I know we can do it.

We have to.

And I’m willing to try. For him. For Zoe. For us.

Gage’s phone vibrates in his pocket, breaking the silence, and he lets out a soft sigh as he pulls it out. His face hardens as he reads the message, his jaw clenching just slightly.

“We’ve got to get to HQ,” he says, slipping the phone back into his pocket. “They need me ASAP.”

I nod, my heart sinking, but I smile up at him nonetheless. “Okay.”

He kisses the top of Zoe’s head and then mine, his touch warm and gentle. “Let’s go.”

“Lead the way.”