10. Epilogue

It"s time to blow the candle on Malcom"s birthday cake. One year old. I"ve been trying to teach him how to do it, but he"s still too little to understand, and I don"t like him close to the flames, so I ask his father to do the honors. When Noah blows the candle, everyone applauds around us, but I take a moment to make a wish. It"s already come true, but I don"t know if Noah will be on the same page as me.

All my BFFs are here, and they are helping cut and serve the cake. It"s chocolate. My favorite. Alice"s son turned one just two weeks ago. Hailey has her twins with her, and the guests are family and friends. All my besties are happily married, and we keep thanking Hailey"s dad for our good fortune. He"s the one who paid for the trip that made all our happy endings become a reality.

My mom and dad came and took Malcolm away. They adore him and dote on him. They"ve retired, and I get free babysitting any time I want. I search for Noah and find him sitting quietly in a corner, eating cake.

"I thought you didn"t like sweets, Dr. Richards."

"It"s my wife"s fault. She got me hooked on chocolate."

"That"s because you insist on licking it off my body, you dirty, wonderful man."

"Guilty." He looks up at me with concern in his face. "What"s going on? You"ve got a dreamy look on your face since I blew out the candle."

I twist my hands in front of me, uncertain.

"I… have some news." He frowns.

"Are you okay? Come, sit next to me."

He pulls a chair next to me, and I sit down at the edge."

"I"m sorry, Noah. We haven"t talked about this, but it"s happened, and there"s nothing that can be done about it." I blurt out in a rush.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What"s happened?"

"I"m pregnant."

His eyes go big, and his eyebrows almost pop off his forehead.

"Baby girl, that"s the best news you could ever give me."

He picks me up and twirls me around like he did when I confessed my love to him. I love this man so much. I shouldn"t have worried about his reaction.

"Do you want to tell everyone? Or wait?"

"Let"s wait a bit." I look up at him. "You"re happy?"

"Of course I am, Meg. You"re the best thing that"s ever happened to me, and the more children we have, the merrier."

I breathe a sigh of relief and walk into his arms, where I know he"ll keep me safe for the rest of our lives.