“You did it.” Ford cages me into the corner of the back room of Halcyon, his lips hovering over the shell of my ear. “I am so proud of you, Ellie. You may have had to take a few extra weeks with everything that’s happened, but you did it.”

I haven’t stopped smiling all day, the grand opening of the store I’m so incredibly proud of. Twisting in his arms, I see my happiness reflected on his face. “Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“While I love that, it’s a lie. You did do it without me.” His eyes widen, as if to remind me it’s a touchy subject.

I giggle. “I didn’t do it without you! You’ve weighed in heavily on some aspects. I couldn’t have finished painting the ceiling without you. Don’t forget that,” I say, tapping him on the nose.

“I’m so glad I was able to do that. Lord knows you couldn’t have had that done by anyone else.” He takes my hand and leads me towards the front.

“No one would’ve looked as good as you shirtless,” I point out.

The crowd we’ve had all day has dwindled. We officially closed almost an hour ago, but how do you kick people out when you’re so grateful they’re there? You don’t. You smile and chitchat and refill the cookie tray by the front door.

Taking in the few faces still here, I’m overcome with emotion. That’s been happening a lot lately. Everything makes me cry. Violet thinks I’m a lunatic, and Ford worries I’m unhappy, but in reality, it’s the opposite: I’m just incredibly happy.

Ford drops my hand and heads off to see Sienna, one of the reasons why we had such a fantastic day. She and Camilla invited all their friends, all of their mother’s friends—practically all of Savannah. With their charm and connections, they took my dreams and made them a reality.

Sienna reaches up and wipes at Ford’s cheek. I watch his muscled shoulders rise and fall as if he couldn’t care less that my lipstick was imprinted on his face.

“Hey.”

I look to my right and see Camilla.

“Cam, I just wanted to thank you again for—”

“Will you stop it?” she laughs. “You’re family, Ellie. We take care of our own.”

I feel the burn in the bridge of my nose that tells me I’m going to be fighting tears any moment.

“You and the little one,” she says, touching my stomach. “I’m pulling for you to be a girl.”

“I’m not sure Ford can afford me if I have a girl,” I laugh. “I’m not even a girly-girl, but if this one turns out to be …”

“Girl,” Camilla says, putting a hand on her hip, “if I get a niece, you better watch out! Dani says we spoil Ryan, which might be true, but a girl? All the things, Ellie. All the things.”

Her cheeks redden a bit, her eyes sparkling. A weird look flickers across her face as her smile just grows.

“Cam?” I ask curiously. I can’t help but return her smile.

“You guys are giving me baby fever,” she giggles. “I just want to hold a baby, cuddle it, breathe in that baby scent. I could hold Ryan all day if Lincoln would let me.”

I yelp as someone bumps me from behind. Ford’s arms go around my waist and pull me in to his chest. He rests his chin on the top of my head. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“I—” Cam begins, but is interrupted by the husband of one of their mother’s friends.

“Good to see you, Ford,” he says. “How’s life going?”

“She’s pretty good.”

The man looks confused and then down at me. With a slow nod, he gives Ford a small smile. “That’s good. We are heading out. I just wanted to thank you, Mrs. Landry, for opening another business to take all of my money.”

We all laugh as he and Ford bid their farewells and he exits, followed by the last two shoppers. Violet motions that she’s going for a coffee down the street and slips out behind them.

The sun begins to set outside, the sky lit up with a spectrum of pinks and purples. It’s a beautiful evening, the perfect cap to a perfect day.

I twirl the coin in my pocket that Huxley gave me as I watch Sienna make her way across the room.

“That went over well,” Sienna says. “What a day, Ellie!”

“I know. But my feet hurt,” I wince.

“Let’s get you home and in the bath.” Ford grabs my hand and squeezes it. “You two need to hit the road.”

“Gee, thanks,” Camilla laughs.

I look up at my man and silently ask him if I can start the plan we’ve talked about since yesterday afternoon. He winks.

“I want to invite the two of you to our house this weekend,” I say, trying to quell the burst of excitement in my belly. “I’m going to make dinner and would like you all to come.”

“You do realize there are a bunch of us, right?” Sienna laughs. “You’re cooking for us all?”

“Yup.”

“Even Mom usually hires a caterer at this point,” Camilla giggles.

“I want to do it,” I say fervently. “And I’d love for you to be there.”

“Only if I can come early and help.” Camilla pulls me into a hug. “I don’t want you stressing my little niece out.”

“Wait,” Sienna says, holding a hand up. “It’s a girl?”

“We don’t know,” Ford says. I elbow him in the gut and he winces.

Sienna’s brows pull together as she assesses the situation in front of her. “You guys know something. What is it?”

“It’s a secret,” I say, giving Ford a look to be quiet. “One that you can be in on if you come to dinner on Saturday.”

“Count me in,” Camilla says.

“You,” Ford says, pointing at his blonde sister, “can only find out if you bring whoever it is you’re seeing.”

Cam sighs, rolling her eyes. “Stop it.”

“I’m being serious.”

“No, he’s not,” I say. “Of course, he’s welcome, whoever he is. But you can come without him.”

“Just bring him, Cam,” Sienna gripes. “I’m tired of being in the middle about this.”

“I can’t.” Camilla’s voice is a clear warning to her twin to tread lightly. “You know I can’t.”

“You can. You just won’t.” Sienna gives Ford and I quick hugs and heads to the front door, Cam at her heels. “I’ll see you Saturday, I guess.”

“Bye, guys,” I call out.

As the door closes, I nearly fall backwards into Ford’s arms. I yelp as he picks me up, my legs dangling over one of his powerful arms, and look into his handsome face.

Just looking at him makes me smile. Not because he’s my husband or so incredibly good-looking with his sun-kissed skin and rugged jawline, but because of what I see buried in those blue eyes.

It could be described as love. Maybe respect. There’s a possibility it could be lust. But I think it’s more than that. It’s the look of forever.

“I love you,” I whisper to him, my hand finding the side of his face. “I’ll love you for the rest of my life.”

He grins. “Pinky swear?”

“Pinky swear.”