CAMERON

Dear Bella,

I miss you.

I miss you every time I think of how we used to be, our perfect life.

But things have changed.

I have a daughter now, and while she didn’t come into my arms the way I’d expected, she’s perfect. In fact, in some ways, she reminds me of you—how calm she is when we sit and watch the ocean. How her little eyes gleam when I bring out a tub of yoghurt—seems she has your sweet tooth.

There’s someone else, too. Everly. She’s not Piper’s mother, but she’s family. She’s so much more than I’d ever expected to find, and every day I thank my lucky stars that I get to have her in my life.

I love her, Bella. And I love you. Just like I told Giselle that Piper’s love could be split, I’m sharing my feelings with you both. It’s what you would want. It’s for the best.

You will always be my past, but she is my future.

And I hope you’ll respect me for that.

Love always,

Cameron

I folded the letter in half, stuck it in an envelope, and stuffed it in my pocket.

I’d finished.

I’d finally sent the letter I started two long years ago.

* * *

“Can I open my eyes yet?” I grinned. It had been fifteen minutes since Everly had told me to keep them closed. Fifteen minutes of the car stopping and starting. Fifteen minutes of Everly singing along to children’s songs on the car stereo, and Piper making those little noises in the background that never failed to make me want to hold her close and love her forever.

Strange how much you could change in such a short period of time. Two months ago, I never imagined I’d feel like this. I didn’t think I had the capacity for love, let alone this kind of love—the love that ran deep, consumed every piece of you. The love that meant you were never truly thinking of yourself anymore, because a part of you was so tied up in another little human.

The love you had for family.

“Here we are.” The noise from the engine stopped. Everly squeezed my knee. “No peeking until I say.”

My family.

The car door closed and then opened.

“Come here, little one,” Everly said, and I heard the sound of Piper’s seatbelt unclipping.

Seconds later, the door whooshed open. Cool air teased my face.

“You didn’t look, right?” Her hand was on mine, squeezing.

“No.” I smiled, unclipping my seatbelt. “I swear.”

“Good. I’ll tell you when.”

Piper squawked, and something light brushed my face.

“Ow!” Everly cried. “Sorry. My ribs are still so sore—would you mind taking her?”

“Not at all.” I held out my arms, and seconds later, something warm, something that smelt like the citrus bath wash we used, and milk, and love was placed in my arms. I held her tight to my chest. “Love you, Piper.”

She cooed in response.

Everly led me away from the car, one hand guiding me. My feet crunched on the ground. Rocks? The wind was strong, whipping at my cheeks, and the faint scent of the familiar lingered in the air, like salt. Like home. Has she taken me back to Copacabana?

“Okay, now there’s a slight step here.”

I raised my leg higher than usual, expecting, and landed on something smooth, hard. I stepped up; keys jangled; a door clicked. Where was I?

“Okay, just through here.” Our footsteps echoed as we entered some kind of building, walking toward who knew what.

I didn’t care.

I could be going anywhere, so long as I had these two ladies with me.

The whisper of a door sliding open reached me again and that wind, wild before and angry now, attacked with force. Its cold front ate at my cheeks, and I held Piper closer still, cradling her little head with my hand to protect her from the chill.

“Can I open my eyes yet?” I asked.

“No.” Everly’s voice sounded hesitant for the first time in a long time. Was she … nervous? I reached out, hoping to find her there, hoping to offer her some reassurance, but my arm met nothing but more of the cool ocean breeze.

“Everly?”

“I need a minute.” Her voice cracked, and I opened my mouth to protest. “I’m fine, I promise. I’m just—I need to tell you something.” She paused for a moment, then continued. “When I met you, I didn’t expect you. That day on the beach … I thought I was just going to walk into your life, check you were okay, and walk out. The final piece in my absolution.” She paused. The wind howled. “I wasn’t expecting to fall so easily into your life. I wasn’t expecting to fall in love.”

“I wasn’t either.” I wasn’t, but damn, I was glad I had. Even if I hadn’t known it at the time, Everly was the best thing that had ever happened to me.

“We haven’t had the easiest relationship, and I know we’ve been presented with a lot of challenges. But what we do have is trust. I trust you with my secrets, my life, my heart—I trust you with it all. And I know that whatever new conflict the world throws at us, we’ll face it as a team. Together.”

“One hundred per cent.” Where is she going with this?

“That’s why I brought you here.” I heard the sound of her breath sucked in, and she let it out in a cool rush. “Open your eyes.”

I did.

We stood on a balcony, the waist-high glass railing only a few feet in front of us. Beyond that, all I could see was blue—ocean stretched out to the horizon. Ocean curled, flicks of white reaching up to touch the sky to our left, to our right. It was beautiful.

“Wow.” I took a step closer, wanting to take it all in. A seagull flew close to my head. “Where are we?”

“We’re at a holiday rental in Busselton. It’s just for a week—but I thought we could use some time to get away and just be a normal couple for once.”

I grinned at her, drawing her in tight to my side. “A family.”

“Yes.” Her lips tightened into a thin line. “And I thought it could be kind of a trial. Because if you like it here, and I like it here … well, maybe we could move. Be closer to your work. I can do what I do from anywhere, and I think having a place that’s near your job makes sense. You’ll see Piper more that way.”

Is she serious? “You’d do that?”

“Of course.”

“Everly!” I clutched her tighter. Crap. Her ribs. I loosened my hold again, smacking a kiss to the side of her head. “Sorry. This is just … it’s everything I could have wanted. You’re everything I could want. You and this little one here.”

She tensed, stepping back. “About that …”

“Is everything okay?” Did she not want to be in Piper’s life? Had I gone and presumed she was ready when she was still figuring this all out?

“Cam, my period is late. I might be pregnant,” she blurted.

“You might be … pregnant.” What? My breath caught in my throat. “But you said you couldn’t—that you and Bentley tried, and—”

“I know. We saw doctors, specialists, but no one was able to give a definitive reason. Nothing was broken, but after years of trying and some inconclusive tests, they said it was extremely unlikely. I have a test in my handbag. That was what I didn’t want you to see when we came home from the hospital.” Everly took a deep breath and met my eyes, all serious. “That was the secret.”

* * *

EVERLY

I studied his face, searching for some sign, some indication that he was excited, or angry, or upset, or something.

All I saw was the ocean staring back at me, same as always. Strong. Fierce. True.

“Are you going to check?” He jerked his head toward my bag, still over my shoulder, and I nodded.

“Yes.”

Shaking, I pulled out the paper bag. The test had said to check it within a ten-minute timeframe, but I hadn’t been able to bring myself to buy another one and go through it all again. If I was pregnant, it was likely it would still show a positive result.

If I was pregnant. I wanted this so much, and yet I didn’t at the same time. “I want you,” I blurted, looking at Cam. “I want this, but I want you more.”

“Everly.” His voice softened. “I want you too. Whatever this test says, we’re dealing with it as a team. Remember that.”

My shoulders relaxed. He was here for me regardless. That was all that counted.

I pulled the piece of plastic out of the bag, holding it toward him. “You tell me. I can’t look.”

“Oh.” Cam leaned in, his eyes narrowed on the test. “Oh.”

My heart sunk. I knew it would be—of course it was. But hope came so easily, and it was so hard to push it away. “It’s okay. I always knew I—”

“Oh, we’re gonna have to look for a four-bedroom place, because we’re pregnant,” Cam yelled.

“What?”

“Everly, we’re pregnant. Look at the stick.” His voice was full of joy. Piper started to cry as he twirled around, then grabbed the back of my head, smashing his lips against mine. “We’re.” Kiss. “Pregnant!” Kiss. Kiss. Kiss.

“Wh …” I could barely move, barely talk, barely think. How could we be pregnant? How could we be pregnant when for so very long I’d tried, and now—now—

“Some things are just meant to be.” He ran his knuckles down the edge of my cheek, his voice softer. “Sometimes, we go through pain and suffering and torture, and then on the other side, there’s this. Happiness. Forever.”

My heart soared. We were pregnant. A baby, one we would bring into the world together. A little brother or sister for Piper. A son or daughter for us—we had so much to look forward to.

And the best part was, we could look forward to it together.