“Two guesses what she wants.” Jake handed the bag to her, grinning as Sari pulled out her tablet.
Sari started the game, giggling at the cheeky cartoon characters as she chased them around the screen with tiny fingers.
Jake relaxed into the seat, looking at me over his daughter’s head. “Things are going pretty well, huh?”
Nodding, I peered down at the onscreen action and said, “It’ll be even better once I sort things out with your sister.”
“Don’t worry. She was calmer when I told her we were coming for a visit.” He drummed his fingers on the armrest. “It’s amazing the way you’re supporting Dara through her pregnancy. She even wants you in the delivery room.”
“She’s my best friend. It’s exciting, and Dean is all cute and sappy.”
“Dara’s positively radiant, and the way she looks at Dean … they’re closer than ever.”
“It’s not just about having a baby, though. They fit, one of those annoying couples—”
“Who finish each other’s sentences.” He reached over his daughter, trailing his fingertips over my cheek. “Maybe we should have a baby.”
I whipped my head around, unsure I’d heard him correctly. “What?”
“Not right away, but after the wedding. What do you think?”
“You were so certain about not having another kid.”
“What if I’ve changed my mind? I see that look in your eyes when you’re with Dara.”
That look? My acting skills must need polishing. I’d been trying to keep my longing well hidden.
“It’s hard to see you sad,” he said, lowering his voice. “I want to make you happy, and a family is what you want more than anything. You crave it like oxygen.”
“Are you sure it’s what you want?”
“Completely. Besides, what kind of selfish ass does it make me if I deny the woman I love the thing she wants most?”
“Well, when you put it that way …” I linked our fingers. “What made you change your mind?”
“You. I’m not afraid of the future now that you’re in it,” he said as the plane bumped across the tarmac and turned to the runway, engines revving.
Our eyes locked as the jet sped forward, the force planting me firmly in my seat.
“No regrets, Mare. Are you ready?”
I smiled. “I am.”
We were lifting off, soaring, cutting through the dark clouds to the blue sky far above. Whatever happened next, we would be together, creating our own family, surrounded by our closest friends and family. I couldn’t wait.
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