Four months later

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I yawned and let myself into the house, clutching the books to my chest. Bryan had practically insisted I take it easy during the pregnancy, but I couldn’t help myself. I was so excited to get started studying to be a high school teacher that I’d researched the textbooks and gone out to buy them.

“I’m home,” I called out.

No answer.

Carly and Bryan should’ve been somewhere in the house. It was a Saturday, and Bryan had made a point of taking a lot more time off, of late. Maybe they were out back.

I set my books down on the entrance hall table then stretched, twisting this way and that, finally placing my hand on my stomach. I was just into the second trimester of pregnancy, showing nicely now, and even though this trimester was supposed to be a breeze, according to just about every baby book I’d read, I hadn’t found it to be.

I still had the occasional bout of morning sickness, and my nipples, quite frankly, itched.

“Guys, I’m home,” I called out, just in case they were upstairs. Still nothing.

A pang of fear worked through my gut, but I silenced it. That business with Marcus was long gone over, Bryan was fully healed up, Carly was happy. Everything was fine. We were a family, and nothing would come between us.

I walked through to the kitchen, poured myself a glass of water and drank it as I peered out over the garden. It was empty. No sign of either of them.

Once again, my heart rate picked up a notch.

“Stop it,” I muttered. “You’re fine.”

Footsteps creaked overhead, followed by a low giggle, and I smiled.

Maybe, they’d decided to play hide-and-seek. That would explain the silence. I set down the glass and made for the stairs, took them one at a time, guiding myself up with the railing. I’d been super careful ever since I’d found out I was pregnant.

I paused on the left, listening hard. “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” I called, and listened again.

Nada. Zip. Zilch.

Carly was a pro hider, so this wasn’t out of character for her. Though, she did have a habit of hiding on home turf… a.k.a. in her bedroom.

I walked down the hall, a smile parting my lips, then pushed open Carly’s bedroom door. It was all quiet, the purple duvet, decorated with an image of Sky from Paw Patrol, peered up at me, with her over-excited doggy smile.

“Oh, Carly,” I called, softly. “I know you’re in here.”

Still nothing.

I bent down and looked under the bed, but it was all clear. A flash of that night came back to me, of Johnny, Marcus’s goon, bending and looking for Carly. I bit my lip and kneeled on the carpet, touching a hand to my stomach.

Would I ever be over that? The night, the fear, the horror of that moment?

I shook my head and peered at the open closet door. She definitely wasn’t in there.

“Carly,” I said, again. “Are you in here?”

My cellphone buzzed in the pocket of my jacket, and I slipped my hand inside and brought it out, frowning. It was a message on the #dateme app. I opened it up.

“Find us if you can,” it said.

The fear that had closed around my heart disappeared again. I pushed myself up from the carpet in Carly’s room, groaning under my breath at the extra weight. It wasn’t too much, but it was definitely noticeable, and I took a minute to steady myself.

Another text buzzed through. “Hint 1: we’re not in Carly’s bedroom.”

I laughed, then texted back. “I take it that means you’re in the house.”

“We’ll never tell,” the reply came through.

“Can I have another hint? Have pity on a pregnant lady.”

A pause as the three typing dots appeared. “I’ll tell you when you’re warm.”

“OK,” I said, out loud. I walked out of the bedroom and down the hall toward the stairs, my eye on the phone.

“Warm,” the text said.

I walked past the top of the stairs toward the master bedroom—our bedroom now. “Icy cold,” Bryan texted me.

“Shoot,” I muttered, “OK.” I returned to the head of the stairs and walked down them.

“Much warmer.”

“How are you doing this?” I texted back. “Are you spying on me with the cameras?”

“Spying is such a harsh word. I prefer, monitoring.”

“Pfff.”

“Oh, and you’re very hot, by the way. In every sense of the word.”

I laughed out loud and moved toward the kitchen.

“Cold.”

“All right, what about this?” I strode for the living room.

“You’re hot. You’re lava. You’re the surface of the sun.”

Another giggle from my lips. This was the first time we’d played hide and seek like this. Truth be told, I’d never played it with both of them at one time.

“You’re a star,” Bryan texted, “that’s how hot you are. No, I’m wrong.”

I paused, a step away from entering the living room. “You’re wrong?”

“You’re my sun and moon. My stars. My everything. You’ve found us. Get in here.”

The text made my heart flutter out of control. I entered the living room, still holding the phone in one hand, and smiling at the exchange. It dropped from my grip and bounced on the carpeted living room floor. My fingers flew to my mouth, and I gasped.

Carly stood in the center of the room, next to her dad. Both were dressed to the nines, Carly in a cute purple dress, which was cut neatly at the knees and not to frilly. Her hair was done up in curly pigtails, and she grinned at me. No make-up, of course. Daddy didn’t allow that.

And Bryan?

He kneeled beside her, wearing a suit and tie, holding out a black velvet box in one hand. He looked ridiculously good in that suit, his beard neatly trimmed, his sharp blue eyes focused on me, filled with the love we’d shared every day for the past four months.

“You found us,” Carly said and clapped her hands.

My jaw dropped. I had no words.

Candles decorated the entirety of the living room on the mantelpiece, on the coffee table, which had been pushed back against one wall, in the corners. They flickered and cast a romantic glow on everything.

“Are you happy, Riley?” Carly asked. “Daddy, is she OK?”

“I’m fine, honey,” I said, after a beat. “I’m more than fine. Bryan?”

“Riley,” he said, and Carly quieted, watching now, patiently. “You’re my everything. Thanks to you, we have a family again. We have our little Carly, and our little baby on the way, and we have each other. So I’m here today, on one knee, to ask you if you’ll join our little family. If you’ll be a part of it forever and for always, not just by living with us, but by taking my name.”

I trembled on the spot, unable to control my emotions, the tears spilling from my eyes and down my cheeks.

“Riley Tucker, please do me the profound honor of being my wife,” he said and popped open the ring box, displaying the ring inside, gorgeous but not overstated. Exactly my taste, if I’d ever had one for engagement rings, and I hadn’t until now.

I switched out my gaze from Carly to Bryan and back again. Then repeated it. If I could’ve captured this moment and kept it, to be opened and viewed over and over again, I would’ve.

“Daddy,” Carly whispered, putting up one hand, her pigtails bobbing as she did. “Daddy, I think she’s scared. I don’t think she’s going to take it.”

“I’m not scared,” I said, laughing. “Oh Carly, baby, I’m not scared. For once in my life, I’m the least scared I’ve ever been.” I walked forward two steps and lowered myself to my knees in front of Bryan. Carly got down too, joining in as she always did.

“I want nothing more than to be your wife and to be a part of your family,” I said and put out my hand.

Bryan slipped the ring out of the box and onto my finger. I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him tight. He kissed me, gently, and we parted then brought Carly in on the hug. Tears kept coming, and I couldn’t stop them. I didn’t want to. This time, they were tears of joy.

“Yay,” Carly said. “We’re going to be a whole family. Riley, can you be my mommy now? Really, really my mommy? Because I don’t have a mommy.”

Another fresh bout of tears came, and Bryan pulled back, frowning slightly at Carly. “Do you really want that, honey? You want Riley to be your mommy?”

“Yes,” she said, nodding her little head. “More than anything.”

“Well,” he said, “If that’s what Riley wants too, I’m sure we can arrange that it happens. Is that what you want, Riley?”

“More than anything,” I replied, laughing now. I drew Carly into another hug and Bryan joined in too.

“Now,” he said, “what do you think we should have for dinner, to celebrate?”

Carly and I looked at each other, grinning. “Pizza!” we said, in unison.

Bryan laughed. “With extra anchovies, right?”

“Ew!” Carly squirmed then jumped up and down. “Dad, you know I hate anchovies.”

“Guess what?” Bryan asked.

“What?”

“I love you. Both of you. Now, come on, let’s go get something to eat. Before I starve.” He rubbed his belly as if he hadn’t eaten in days then got up, helped me to my feet. Carly hopped up on her own and raced out of the living room, likely to grab the phone.

“I love you,” Bryan said, softly, and drew me into his arms again. He kissed my lips, softly. “And I’m going to cherish each and every moment with you for the rest of our lives. Can you deal with that?”

“Deal with it?” I poked him in the chest. “You’d better just cherish me, because god knows I’m going to spend every minute of every day cherishing you right back. You and Carly and the baby. I love you all so much I can’t even think straight. I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to have this. I never thought I’d have a family of my own.”

“You have a family,” he whispered, pressing his lips to my temple. “And you always will now.”

Carly dashed back into the room, the phone in hand. “It’s pizza time!” she yelled, and I burst out laughing. “No anchovies!”

“No anchovies,” I promised and took the phone from her.

Carly hugged me again, and I stroked the top of her head, smiling. This was it. All I’d ever wanted. A bright future, and love, and somewhere to belong. Bryan and Carly had given me that, when I’d been sure it would never happen. When I’d tried to close myself off to it, it had barged through anyway.

And man was I lucky. And happy.

Forever.