Somewhere to my right a series of pops go off. When I turn there’s confetti in the air. Instead of blowing out candles, evidently Savannah preferred popping confetti and handing small high-pitched party horns out to all the parents.

Although, I guess infants don’t exactly buy into the whole candle-blowing thing anyway. At least not when they’re turning one.

Noah returns with a beer in hand. He bobs his head toward the activity. “Looks like we’re missing out.” He rests his hand on my thigh as he takes a seat in the chair beside me.

I turn to him. There’s always a shimmer in his eyes whenever he makes a joke. And it’s there, as always, when he turns to meet my stare.

“You sure you don’t want a drink?” he asks. “There’s wine in Savannah’s fridge.”

“I’m driving home.”

“How about just—”

I press two fingers over his lips and hold them there for a lingering moment. He smiles when I lift my hand. “I’ll learn,” he says.

“I’ll teach you.”

“Amen.” He catches my hand and kisses the diamond on my wedding ring.

There’s a burst of laughter and cheers, and when I turn around, Savannah is waving at me. Blue and white frosting is plastered all over the face of the baby in her arms. Baby Sophia.

Noah laughs. “I think it’s your turn,” he says.

“Absolutely not.”

“I don’t know, Soph. you might be obligated.” He points at the balloon floating above us, or more specifically, the name floating above us.

“I knew you were young, but…”

I pinch his chin between my two fingers. “You already wore that one out. Got it?” I pull his face towards mine and punctuate my order with a kiss.

He’s laughing when his lips fall off from mine. “It’s kind of cute though, isn’t it? I mean, it was nice of her. Not like we asked for it.”

“It is nice of her,” I agree. “And I think deep down I love her for it.”

“And him?” Noah points a sly finger toward Abe Parsons, Savannah’s boyfriend and Baby Sophia’s father. He’s talking to a woman whose little boy is playing with Grayson.

“I like him. I think he’s good for her.” I turn and find Noah’s eyes. “But I should be asking you.”

He shrugs. “Can’t replace my brother.” I rest my hand over Noah’s when I think he’s going to leave it at that, but he adds, “I do like him though. And it’s better this way. Grayson deserves some semblance of a real father. Especially now with a little sister to look after.”

Joy flutters in my chest. “I think you’re right,” I say, leaning over and gently kissing his cheek.

When I turn forward again, Abe Parsons is approaching us. He smiles, kneeling down when he nears. “Would you mind watching Grayson for a sec?” he asks Noah.

“Of course.” Grayson lets go of Abe’s hand as Noah lifts the young boy into his lap. “What’s up dude?” Noah coos.

I see Grayson once every week now when Noah and I drive up from Orlando, but I still can’t believe how big he’s gotten. Every week, every Saturday, it never fails to astound me.

Abe bounces back to his feet. “Thanks, it’ll only take a minute.” He shoots a smirk at me before turning around.

I turn to Noah to see if he also caught the look on Abe’s face, but the sound of a chair being dragged across the floor pulls my attention forward again.

“Hi, hello,” Abe yells, stepping up on the chair. “Can I have everyone’s attention? Savannah, where—there you are. Come over here, baby.”

Savannah murmurs something to the young mother beside her before meandering toward the front of the room.

Abe steps down from the chair and gestures for Savannah to hand over Sophia. He shifts her gently into his arm and drapes his other arm around Savannah.

“I just want to thank everyone for coming today,” Abe says. “This is a great group of people to celebrate our baby girl’s first birthday. I appreciate every one of you.” His arm comes down from Savannah’s shoulders as steps off the chair. Slowly, he drops to a knee.

My eyes immediately jump to Savannah’s face, which is flushed bright pink.

“Savannah,” Abe begins. He reaches for her hand. “I love you so much. You’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever met, and my entire life changed the second you came into it. I never want to let go of what we have. You’ve given your life to your son, and now we have a beautiful daughter of our own. I want to give my life to both of you. Will you be my wife?”

The clapping that erupts drowns out Savannah’s response, though I can glimpse her whispering yes. She bursts into tears as Abe slides a ring on her finger.

* * *

Abe and Savannah follow us out the front door and into the night.

“Thank you both again for coming,” Abe says, draping his arm around Savannah.

“How could we not?” Noah says. “What’s a baby’s first birthday without her God Mother?” He nudges me.

“It was a lot of fun,” I say with a warm smile. “And congratulations to both of you!”

“Thank you,” Savannah and Abe say in unison.

Noah extends his hand and Abe takes it in a firm handshake. “Take good care of her,” he says. “I know you will.”

Abe nods. “Absolutely.”

“And Grayson too,” Noah adds.

“I’m sure he’ll be looking forward to seeing you again on Saturday,” Savannah says.

“So are we.” I grin back at her.

Noah and I begin the walk toward the car. After several steps I turn and look back, reimagining the moment when Savannah first opened the door for me. Grayson in her arms. Her face etched with stress. It’s the same house, but it doesn’t look the same. Not with the amount of happiness inside.

“Did you have a good time?” Noah asks as we stroll down the driveway hand in hand.

“Of course! Did you?”

He turns to look at me. It’s dark, but I can still make out the outline of his smile as he nods. We walk the rest of the way in silence, looking up at the stars.

All the other party guests left hours ago and our car is the only one still parked on the street. I stop abruptly in my tracks when we’re a few feet away.

Noah takes another step before stopping and facing me.

“You know it’s incredible how much you’ve done for Grayson,” I say. He reaches to take my other hand, bringing them both together between us. “There aren’t a lot of people who would’ve made the sacrifices that you did.”

“I’m just glad he got the procedure he needed,” Noah says. There’s a faint light from the moon reflecting in his eyes. “It wasn’t easy, all those times I—”

I press my fingers to his lips for the second time tonight. “We don’t have to talk about it,” I say. “After you testify on Monday, your plea deal will be fulfilled and it’ll all be over.”

He nods, and I let the moment linger for a second longer as I muster up courage.

“You know you’d be incredible father to a little Grayson of your own, don’t you?” I ask.

His lips crease in a wide smile. “Is that something you want?”

I nod. And before I can even speak, Noah is lifting me up. His lips press into mine in a long and tender kiss.

I can feel his feet moving below us, but our lips stay joined until he drops me by the car. He opens the driver side door and gestures for me to get in.

Noah rounds the car as I turn the key.

“Well, we’ve got a bit of a drive back home,” he says, settling into the passenger seat. “But we could probably get started on that goal tonight, don’t you think?”

“Yes.” I smile back at him. “I think we probably should.”