“Grandfather?” I knocked on the door, feeling a little nervous about entering his bedroom. Even though I was a grown adult, he still brought up a childhood fear in me, even though I would never admit it.

“Come in,” he called, his voice gravelly and lackluster.

I took a deep breath, crossing the threshold. The floorboards squeaked underfoot, making me uneasy.

Inside, my grandfather was sitting in a large chair by the fire. He looked thinner than ever before. His face looked sunken and gray in color.

“You look… well,” I said, feeling lame.

He rolled his eyes. “Quit with the pleasantries, we both know that I look like the living dead.” He adjusted his posture, holding onto the chair with bony fingers. “I rather get to the point. What brings you here? It’s been years, boy.”

“I just wanted to talk to you in person instead of going through your lawyer.”

“I’m surprised. You tend to ignore me as much as possible.”

I frowned. “I’m sorry. I know things haven’t been the best between us, but I don’t want things to end with us hating each other.”

“Neither do I.” He ran his finger along the spine of his book. “I’ve allowed that to happen too many times. I don’t have much time left, Braden—”

“I know, but that’s why I wanted to bring you some good news.” I pulled out an envelope and handed it to him.

“What’s this?”

“Open it.”

He struggled for a moment but eventually managed to break the seal. Carefully, he slipped out the copy of the ultrasound that I had made for him. He slid his glasses onto the bridge of his nose and studied it closely.

I waited.

A smile painted his face as realization dawned on him. “Congratulations…”

I smiled, a proud glow radiating from my skin. “Twins. Both of them healthy.”

“Twins?” he asked, once again looking at the ultrasound.

I laughed. “Yes. Adele, my fiancée, is carrying twins.”

“Do you know their sex yet?”

“Not yet, but we want to keep it a surprise.”

He slowly nodded. “Of course, your mother and father did the same thing when it came to you. I begged your father to find out, but he never did. He was just as stubborn as you are.”

“I think stubbornness just runs in the family.”

He looked into the fire for a moment. “I would like to apologize for my past actions. I’m sure the daughter of a deli-owner will prove a suitable wife for my grandson.”

“I know she will. She’s the girl of my dreams.”

He chuckled. “Don’t get too lost in the clouds, sonny, you might forget how to come back down.”

I laughed. It was the first time in ages that I had enjoyed my grandfather’s company. “Anyway, I should get going. I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to get everything in order for the execution of the will. You’ll get your proof of paternity and everything else you want.”

“Good.”

“And… I want to thank you for the money. But I can’t accept it if there are strings attached. I don’t want to keep jumping through hoops to prove myself to you.”

He shook his head. “There are no strings attached. I just want to give you and your children the money so our family legacy can live on.” He gave my hand a firm squeeze. “I just hope I can live long enough to see my great-grandchildren.”

“You will.”

“We’ll see.” He picked up his book, about to start reading when I stopped him, placing my hand on his arm.

“I want you to come to the wedding.”

“Hmm?” He raised a white eyebrow in my direction. “You’ll have to speak up, my hearing isn’t what it used to be.”

“I want you to come to the wedding. Adele and I are going to get married. I know that she isn’t well-received by the family, but she’s the woman I’m meant to be with and I would be honored if you would give me your blessing,” I said, thinking it was a shot in the dark. I knew there was no chance in hell he would accept.

“I’ll be there.”

“What?” I spat, eyes widening in disbelief.

“I said, I’ll be there, even if Maria has to push me around in a wheelchair.”

I shook my head, imagining the manor’s maid pushing around my cranky grandfather. It would be a sight to behold. “You’d really come?”

“Do you think I would miss the wedding of my only grandson?” He patted me on the back. “Now get going. I’m getting tired and need my afternoon nap.” He prodded me with his cane.

“Alright, alright. I’m going.” I held up my hands in defeat, finally leaving the room.

In the hallway, it suddenly dawned on me that my life was slowly falling into place and it was all because of Adele.

* * *

When I got home, I could hear Adele singing. I followed her voice upstairs to find her in the room we were turning into a nursery. She was putting up wallpaper, dancing around the room as she did so.

I watched her, my heart swelling with love for her.

God, she was perfect.

Slowly, I crept up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist.

She jumped. “Braden! Don’t scare me like that!” she chided, holding a hand to her chest. “Don’t you know it’s bad to scare a pregnant woman? You might scare the babies right out of me!”

I laughed. “That might not be such a bad idea. I’m dying to meet them.” My lips trailed along the side of her neck as my hands roamed over her bump. I had imagined my life as a father so many times that I could almost taste it. I’d have a baby in each arm, rocking them gently, singing them to sleep. I didn’t care I was a terrible singer.

“You and me both.” She placed her hands on mine before looking up at me. “How did it go with your grandfather?”

“Surprisingly, a lot better than expected. He agreed to come to the wedding!”

Her eyes widened. “Seriously? I thought he hated me. What did you tell him to make him change his mind?”

“It actually didn’t take very much to persuade him. I think he knows that he’s reaching the end and he doesn’t want to die a bitter old man.”

“There might be a redemptive arc for him yet.” She turned, wrapped her arms around my neck, and kissed me. Her lips felt plump and softer than ever. I kissed her back with all my passion, my hands pressing into the small of her back, pulling her as close as I could without hurting the babies.

She curled my hair around her finger, causing a shiver of delight to run down my spine. I loved it when she played with my hair.

I tightened my grasp, feeling like I never wanted to let her go.

Eventually, we pulled away, looking into each other’s eyes. I held her by the cheek, feeling the warmth radiating from her skin.

“You’re cute when you’re shy,” I said, bopping her on the nose.

This caused her to look even more coy. She hid her face in my chest, suddenly bashful.

I laughed, running my hands up and down her back. “Thank you.”

She looked up at me and tilted her head. “What for?”

“For changing my life. When I first saw you at The Dive, I thought you were just a figment of my imagination, trying to bring back a time in my life when I was happy.”

She smiled. “Well, I can assure you that I’m one hundred percent real.” She pinched me for good measure.

“Ow!” I stepped back, rubbing my skin. “That was uncalled for.”

Her giggle echoed through the nursery.

“Now you know you’re not dreaming.”

“But I am.” I grabbed her by the hips once more, reeling her into my body. “You’re my dream girl, babe.” I kissed the top of her head, playing with the tips of her hair.

She rested her head on my chest. For a while, neither one of us moved. We simply enjoyed each other’s company, finding serenity in the moment.

All too soon, however, she pulled away, thrusting a screwdriver into my hand. She then pointed towards two large boxes in the corner of the room. “You need to put the cribs together. If you keep procrastinating, the babies are going to arrive before you even read the instructions.”

I scoffed. “Instructions? Who needs instructions? It can’t possibly be that hard to put together a couple of cribs.”

“Alright. If you say so.” She shrugged, grabbed another roll of wallpaper, and went back to work.

With no other choice, I opened the boxes, pulling out the various pieces. There were more than I had anticipated. What was all this stuff?

“Did you have to buy two of the exact same model?” I asked, feeling like I had already mixed up the parts.

“Of course. We’re having twins,” she said, glancing over at me. “Why? Is there something wrong already?”

“No!” I said quickly, trying to preserve my masculine pride. “I got this.”

“Alright.”

I grabbed the bag of screws and poured it onto the ground. Big mistake. They started to roll all over the place. I scrambled to catch them before they could disappear, but inevitably, some of them were never found again.

“I was thinking about the wedding…” Adele started.

I looked up, holding two pieces of wood I had been hopelessly trying to put together. Suffice it to say, I wasn’t having much success with this little Ikea project. “What about it?”

“I think I want something simple.”

“Oh?”

“Just family and a few close friends—nothing too extravagant.”

Even though Adele and I had agreed to get married, we hadn’t discussed the details just yet. I thought it over for a bit. “What if we had it here?”

“What?”

“We could have it in the backyard. Nice and simple.”

Adele laughed. “Is Roger going to be our witness? Because you know, he would crash the wedding in a heartbeat.”

I chuckled at the thought, imagining the goat jumping from chair to chair, knocking everything over. It would be chaos.

“You know what though, that isn’t such a bad idea. I bet Dahlia would be happy to help us decorate. We could grab flowers from the forest—give the whole thing a natural vibe.”

“Well… if you really want to go for a natural vibe, we could always get married in our birthday suits.” I smirked, pulling her to the ground with me. I caught her in my arms, laying her over my lap, cradling her like a baby.

“Are you kidding? Your grandfather will be there. I would rather die!” She exclaimed.

I smiled down at her before carefully pinning a strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re beautiful, you know that?” I leaned down, kissing her lips ever so gently, savoring her sweet, sweet taste.

In that moment, my life felt perfect. I had the woman of my dreams in my arms. I had twins on the way. A wedding to plan. Healthy animals to tend to. And—cribs to construct.