Chapter Twenty-Seven

Callie

“We don’t want to get lost, Emery,” I say as she eagerly leads me through the Maplebrook forest.

It’s been a week since Wes read Sloane’s letter to us. So far, Sloane has stuck to her word, remaining in rehab and dedicating herself to being a better person for her daughter. I’ve spent every day with Emery, taking her on playdates, telling her stories—behaving just like I did when I was her nanny. Except, now, it’s more special. I feel freer to bond with her and care for her. I don’t let fear of commitment or being boxed in flood me with terror or the urge to flee. I embrace this beautiful life.

“We’re not getting lost,” Emery says, tugging on my hand as we slip into a clearing and then into some more densely clustered trees. “You’ll see .”

I’d be sure she was leading me on a wild goose chase if she didn’t seem so confident. One thing I’m learning about Emery is that she’s so advanced and clever for her age; when she seems certain about something, there’s definitely a reason. Finally, she stops before we break through the trees into a second clearing.

“C-A-L-L-I-E,” she says in a singsong voice, beaming up at me. “Are you sure you want to be happy forever and ever?”

“I knows like this nose,” I say, pretending to ‘steal’ her nose. It’s something I’ve started saying recently, and it almost makes her laugh like crazy.

She giggles, batting my hand away, then pouts cutely up at me. “But really ,” she says. “Because—’cause, we can turn back now. I promise I won’t cry. I’ll be a big girl.”

“Why do I get the feeling you’re planning something, huh?”

She smiles conspiratorially. “Can you answer the question, puh-lease?”

I laugh. “Okay, Miss Bossy. Yes, I’m sure as the sky is blue.”

She giggles again. “Okay, okay. Then you have to go that way. Puh-lease.”

I gently push past her and walk into the clearing. My breath catches as all the pieces begin to fall into place in my mind. Gray is standing amidst a sea of rose petals, reminiscent of the date Emery tried to make for us. The clearing is covered in petals. My brain does backflips as I try to figure out how he did this, the trucks, the workers hired with sacks and sacks of them.

In the middle of the clearing, Gray stands, wearing a suit. He’s got the sort of carefree smile I never could’ve imagined when we first met, back when he was interviewing me, keeping his feelings hidden. Now, he smiles freely, joy brimming from him.

I walk toward him on numb legs, my steps unsteady. “What’s this for?”

“What do you think, C-A-L-L-I-E?” He grins as he spells my name, then takes both my hands in his. “This is to show you how special you are to me. You’ve changed me, Callie. In no time at all—quicker than I thought was possible. You’ve shown me that I can be happy. Truly, unselfconsciously happy. You’ve made me want to strive to be a better father. You’ve inspired me. You do inspire me every single day. You make each day an adventure.” He clears his throat, getting choked up. “I know we tried to fight it, tried to pretend, tried to ignore this feeling. But I felt it the moment I laid eyes on you. And I think you did, too.”

“You can bet on it,” I whisper, tears pricking my eyes as I stare up into his intense, captivating face. “Gray, what are you saying?”

He tenderly strokes the hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear, tickling me, and making me laugh. But then the laugh turns into a wracked, sobbing noise. But there’s no pain in it, no regret. Just happiness—and a release, as if I can finally let go. I can finally stop second-guessing this feeling. He makes it possible. Somehow. By being him. By his daughter being who she is. By us being us .

“Callie Monroe,” he says, dropping to one knee and looking up at me.

“Daddy, wait.”

I turn to see Emery running across the clearing. Her eyes are glistening, too. She beams up at me, joining her father, standing at his side. He’s so tall that they’re around the same height, even when he’s kneeling.

“Don’t forget the best bit,” she says, reaching into the small pocket of her dress. “Duh.”

I cover my mouth as if to trap the joy there. She takes out a ring box, opening it to show a ring with a glittering diamond surrounded by a halo of smaller diamonds. It’s the most beautiful piece of jewelry I’ve ever seen, and it’s made even more beautiful by the moment, by the cute-as-heck little girl holding it, by her father beaming up at me, and the husky words leaving his kissable lips.

“Callie Monroe,” he says. “Will you marry me?”

Under her breath, Emery is whispering, “Say yes, say yes, say yes…”

“Yes,” I say, my voice quivering.

“Yippee!” Emery yells. “Daddy, put the ring on. Yay!”

Gray takes the ring and slides it on my finger, then stands up and spins me around into a kiss. I throw my arms around him. If Emery wasn’t here, I know I’d get carried away right now. But I wouldn’t have this any other way. Her being here makes the moment so much sweeter, so perfect.

“And we all lived happily ever after, right?” Emery says, glowing with joy.

No , the pessimistic part of my brain whispers. There’s no such thing as that, not in real life, only in books .

But with Emery beaming up at us, Gray’s arms wrapped around me, and more love glowing in me than I ever thought myself capable of before I walked into their lives, I know I’ll always be able to live in the light, in love.

“Who wants ice cream?” I say, winking at Emery.

“Uh, me ,” she says.

I take Gray’s hand with one of mine, Emery’s with the other, and we walk out of the clearing and into our future together.