Cassandra fiddled with the fabric of her flowy dress in the backseat of the rideshare. She’d stressed over this choice for what felt like hours, hemming and hawing between something that hid her bulging belly or something that accentuated it. Because what if she didn’t find the courage to admit it to him? She might very well chicken out.

So she’d chosen flowy. She gnawed at her lip as the car slowed in front of a low storefront, painted matte black and sporting a cut-steel sign on top that read “Vertigo.” She hopped out of the taxi, approaching the front door nervously, wondering if Nasir was on the other side of those tinted, reflective windows.

She tugged on the handle of the door, and it didn’t budge. Panic sneaked into her, permeated every limb. Questions flooded her, rendering her almost paralyzed. What the fuck is going on? She tried the door again—stuck. Locked. Closed.

She stepped back from the door to re-examine the windows, searching for some sign that this wasn’t the right place. Maybe she’d gotten the address wrong. She dug her phone from her purse, fumbling with it to open the e-mail from Nasir telling her where to go and at what time. Was she here on the wrong day? If Nasir was at the helm of this, he couldn’t have made a mistake so large. Her heart pounded as she reread the address, then looked up to confirm it.

The front door jiggled, and then it cracked open. A man poked his head out.

“Are you Cassandra?”

Relief blossomed inside her, and she nodded, finding her voice suddenly gone.

“I was expecting you. Follow me.”

She stepped inside the restaurant cautiously, finding the inside mostly dark and quiet. If this was a restaurant, it was either shut-down or some entirely new concept she’d missed in the lifestyle section. Maybe silence and dark confusion were the newest trends in the eating scene. She followed the man, finding the place modern if completely devoid of guests. Tables sprawled around the main dining room, not set for dinner, the room unlit, the hostess stand abandoned.

“Step this way, please,” he said, guiding her through a doorway and into what looked like the back area of the restaurant. Here, at least, she found signs of life: soft gauzy lighting and the faint aroma of cooking. A table at the back, closest to some low-hanging lamps, stood against a wall made of lightly trickling water and some form of hydroponic plant system. Jagged ferns and spider plants jutted out from planters nestled into the waterfall. The man guided her to one of the two chairs at the table, and she sat down in wonder, trying to take it all in. Then she heard the music.

It played softly, almost unnoticeable over the tumult of her thoughts, but it sounded familiar. She smiled as she thought—yes, she knew where she’d heard that tune. “Somewhere Over The Rainbow,” precisely the song the band had played at the wedding where she’d met Nasir. Except this time, it was played by a string quartet, exactly as she’d joked it should be.

“Thank you,” she said to her guide as he pushed in her chair.

He bowed slightly and hurried off. She shook her head, clucking her tongue in wonderment. This guy. This place. This whole fucking thing. It couldn’t be real.

But where is he?

Her belly flopped with excitement as she looked around, taking in more details. The vases full of white roses, bowls bursting with cut lilies. As she craned her neck to look around, she spotted someone in the shadows. She straightened, gasping as Nasir emerged.

He came toward her, hands buried in his pockets, face more earnest and soulful than she’d ever seen it, not even in the throes of orgasm. She couldn’t fight the grin that spread across her face. She crossed her arms over her chest, feigning displeasure, because it was the only reaction she had, the only thing she could do in the face of such thoughtfulness, such sweetness.

A small grin crept over his face as he came over to her. Nasir looked more gorgeous than ever, like their three months apart had refined him into an ideal version of his own self. He wore a tailored navy suit, a gleaming black watch, and black leather shoes shined to perfection. She sighed a little as she looked him up and down, shaking her head. He’d probably had to throw this together last-minute, since her dinner suggestion came so fast, and he must have worked like hell.

“Hi, Cassandra.” He got down on one knee, smoothing a hand over the top of her leg. “I wanted you to meet the lady I’ve chosen.”

She couldn’t fight the grin now. “Well, here I am.”

* * *

Nasir smiled from ear to ear, so wide that it hurt. When Cassandra covered his hand with her own, it felt like a victory, like they didn’t even need to say anything more.

Even though there was a lot more to be said, a whole world of things to catch up on, discuss, and plan. But for now, he simply wanted to relish this sweet moment—the first time he beheld his family: Cassandra and the small bump that would be his son or daughter.

Most men had time to prepare for a family, either planned it alongside a partner or had time to settle into the news. But for him, it was the opposite. He’d woken up with a start, like coming out of a nightmare, and realized his life had a head start, and he’d been asleep for far too long.

“I love you.” The words burst out of him. He hadn’t meant to say it so soon, but it was the only damn thing in his head. Her eyes went shimmery, and she squeezed his hand. After a few moments, a teardrop hit the top of his hand.

She sniffed, voice coming out shaky. “I love you, too.”

His mouth parted, searching her face as the words cycled through him, sparks of disbelief in their wake. He swallowed a knot in his throat, moving his hand from her leg up to the swell of her belly. He cupped it reverently, struggling to find the right words.

“You’re pregnant.”

She nodded, eyes still shimmering.

He squeezed his eyes shut, questions clouding his mind. “Why…” But nothing followed it. Of all the questions that jumped up and down inside him, begging to be acknowledged—Is it mine? Can we be together? Why haven’t you let me in?—the only thing that rose above the cacophony was the simple, grounding love for her. No matter any of the reasons, no matter the why.

“My parents were miserable together,” she said in a shaky voice, her hand smoothing over his on her belly. “They got married only because my mom got pregnant with me. By the time I was fourteen, they divorced. They hated each other so much, and they’d only ever been together because of me.” She paused, her breath hitching. “I don’t want to wear a mask for my children. I can’t do that. I won’t do it.”

“I would never ask you to.” He saw the heartbreak in her eyes, the pain of past trauma. “And I would never force my child to live through that.”

She pursed her lips, nodding, her gaze falling to her belly. If she’d had any doubt that he would welcome the role of father, he’d erased it with that subtle admission. Maybe she hadn’t even realized it.

“Relationships are what we make them,” he continued, voice softer, reaching to take her hands in his. “I don’t have the best experience, and it seems neither do you. But we have each other, and we’re in control of it. There may be a child, yes, but whatever we decide to do as a couple doesn’t have to affect the love or stability we can offer them.”

She laughed a little, nodding. “Man, you know just what to say to win a girl over.”

He grinned. “And if you’ll be with me, we don’t have to stop at one. I’ll give you all the kids you’ve ever wanted.”

She blinked out a few tears, her eyes widening. “Well…you’ve started out with a bang.”

Nasir lifted a brow. “What do you mean?”

More tears spilled from her eyes as she beamed at him. “I’m pregnant with twins, Nasir.”

His mouth fell open, and then he whooped with laughter. He cupped her belly with both hands and planted a kiss there, looking up at her as if it might be a joke. “You’re serious?”

She nodded. “I saw the ultrasound earlier this week. They’re in there. Two of them.”

He laughed again, the knowledge settling into him like the long-lost missing piece of the puzzle. He grabbed her hands, pressing a kiss to each.

“Wait until my brother Asim hears this,” he said. “We’re in first place again, habibi.”

Cassandra laughed, and he grabbed her face in his hands and pressed a kiss to her lips, coaxing one kiss and then another from her salty, plump lips. When he broke for air, he swore, getting back on one knee.

“I forgot something,” he said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out the tiny ring box, the one he’d picked up from the jeweler only two days prior. “Cassandra, will you please be my wife, the mother of our twins, my partner, my friend, and anything else that you’d like to be or do in life?”

She held a hand over her mouth, her body shaking with soundless laughter or maybe crying or maybe both. She nodded, tears spilling out onto her cheeks, and then she threw her arms around his neck and wept into his shoulder.

“Yes, Nasir,” she choked out. “Because it’s the only thing I want to do.”