Elena set her paintbrush down, resting her palms on her hips as she stretched out her lower back. Standing for so long in front of her easel was getting harder the further she progressed in the pregnancy, but it had to be done. It seemed this baby was kicking all the inspiration free inside of her—some days like shaking a wispy tree trunk and other days like kicking a beehive—and she was struggling to keep up with the ideas and colors swarming her.

Her phone rang, and she reached for it, leaning against the side of the couch. “Hello?”

“Elena.” It was Aubrey, and she sounded very serious. Elena’s stomach plummeted. “I have news.”

“Okay. Good news?”

“No, incredible news.” Aubrey squealed a little, and then laughed. “One of your paintings sold.”

Elena’s eyebrows shot up. Aubrey had a connection in LA with an art gallery, and the owner agreed to show some of Elena’s work there soon after they’d returned from their trip abroad. Elena sent over the new pieces as she finished them, and by now she had six on display. They’d been sitting with no movement for months, but she hadn’t given up hope. All it would take was one to really get the ball rolling. “Really? Which one?”

Aubrey paused. “It was The One. The one I told you not to sell. It was part of a silent auction.”

Elena grinned, but a pang of sadness shuddered through her. That painting of Asim’s family’s estate at sunset was one of her personal favorites. And looking at it evoked so many conflicting emotions from her time there. Maybe she’d put it up for sale specifically for that reason—to lay that chapter of her life to rest. Despite Asim’s child growing within her and her own impossible longing.

“How much did it sell for?” She swirled a brush in the paint thinner, tapping it against the side of the cup.

Aubrey paused. “Half a million dollars.”

The paintbrush slipped out of her hand, tumbling to the ground. Flecks of paint thinner dotted her sweat pants, and she sucked in sharply. “What?”

“I’m serious.” Aubrey laughed. “You’re rich, lady! Plus, there’s interest in your other work. You’re big time now!”

“Who bought it?” Her words came out dry, like her voice had stuck in her throat.

“It was an anonymous sale.” The phone rustled. “But the owner of the gallery just called to tell me. He said that the money can be transferred to your account later today. You’ll just need to call him.”

Her heart thudded in her chest. “Do we at least know if the buyer was international or not?”

Aubrey tutted. “It was from the US, hon. I’m sorry.”

Elena nodded, squashing the tiny sprout of hope. “It’s okay. The most important thing is that I have a buyer…and the little one and I are set for a good while.” She rubbed her belly, a grin spreading across her face. “Aubrey, this is incredible!”

“It sure is.” The friends chatted a bit more before hanging up, and then Elena turned to her work in progress, admiring the impressionistic take on a cathedral in Istanbul she’d been perfecting. Inspiration swelled again, just in time with the baby’s kick, so she reached for the paintbrush and resumed work on the background.

As with every quiet moment lost in the meditative swirl of painting, her mind blanked and drifted. Echoes of thoughts crested at the back of her mind. Like floating along a river and just skimming fingertips against the top of the water.

Asim cropped up—he always did. Her mind seemed to drift to him at least hourly, if not more. He was a constant presence, lurking in the shadows, urging her to wonder. What is he doing now? Has he thought of me? Does he miss me as much as I miss him? But it wasn’t the time to reach out to him—not until the baby was born. Not until she found her footing as a mother.

The doorbell rang, and she dipped the brush in her rinse cup, wiping her hands on a towel as she headed for the front door. Humming softly, mind still stuck on the gradient of color in the steeple of her work in progress, she tugged open the door and gasped.

Asim stood in the doorway, eyes wide and imploring, a bouquet of flowers in his hand.

Emotion overcame her, and just then, the baby kicked. Hard.

She clutched at her stomach and slumped against the doorframe, feeling faint. “Holy shit,” she breathed, wincing as the baby kicked again.

“Elena.” Asim’s eyes careened over her, and he brought her into his arms. “Are you okay?”

“A little shocked, is all.” She laughed feebly, relaxing into his embrace, the feel of his arms around her a welcome pressure she hadn’t exaggerated one bit in her memory. Is this actually happening? She clutched at his waist, finding him solid beneath her grip. Definitely real, and hard-bodied. She took a shaky breath and buried her face in his chest, overcome with the scent of him, and started to cry. “Oh my God, you’re here.”

“I’m here, my darling,” he murmured, stroking her hair, pressing her against him. His chest heaved beneath her, the echo of his deep breaths ringing through her ears. “I’ve found you.” He laughed and sniffed and then laughed again. “Oh my God, I’ve been looking for you since the day you left. I can’t believe it’s really you. After a while I thought maybe I’d never find you.”

Elena clutched at him, unwilling to let go long enough to make it into the house. Guilt crashed through her—she hadn’t expected him to try to find her or even to care. And she’d left nothing behind for him, not even a last name. “How did you find me?”

“Your painting.” He stroked her back, rocking back and forth slightly. “Nasir saw it at a charity event in LA. He knew right away what it was and who had done it.”

She laughed into his chest, and it turned into a sob. The baby grew restless inside, kicking up a storm. Like maybe she knew that her daddy was here for the first time. She tensed, a hand drifting to her belly. Asim’s hand trailed hers, smoothing over the roundness of her belly.

He pulled back to look her in the face. “Are you…?”

She jerked her head into a nod, looking up at him. “Pregnant.”

Confusion creased his face, his eyes searching hers. “Is it…ours?” Tension hung heavy in the air; maybe he thought she’d gone off and found someone else. And so soon? Not a chance. I’m yours, Asim.

She grinned, sniffing back more tears. “Of course it is. It’s a girl. I’m about six months along.”

A mixture of emotion crossed his face, a disbelieving smile cresting. “Are you serious?”

She nodded. “I’m sorry I ran…but I knew you didn’t want a family. I didn’t want to rope you into it if you didn’t want it…and I didn’t want you to think I was just using it keep you in a relationship.” She sniffed, wiping at some tears that spilled over. “I couldn’t stand the thought that maybe I’d just drag you into this against your will. That’s not how I wanted things to go.”

Asim stroked her head and looking down at her belly with wide eyes. “But you would have raised a child on your own?”

“I thought that would be better than forcing you into a situation you didn’t want to be in. Being with you when you didn’t want me.”

He blinked down at her. “Elena, I…I don’t even have the words.” He laughed a little. “I can’t believe it. I’m going to be a father.”

Elena pushed the front door closed, grabbing the bouquet of flowers from him. She invited him inside the house, leading him to the kitchen so she could put the flowers in water. “This is my childhood home. Where my parents raised me. You can see them on the wall there.”

Asim wandered through her house as if he’d just been teleported from the other side of the world unexpectedly. His face showed wonder and shock; she’d never seen him so overcome.

“This is amazing.” He slid into a chair in the breakfast nook, watching her like she’d sprouted an extra arm. “I’m so sorry.”

She glanced back at him as she emptied the packet of plant food into the vase. “For what?”

“For making you think I didn’t want you. That I wouldn’t want…this.” He gestured to the air between them. “But your leaving made me understand what I do want. I want you, only you. And I’m never letting you go.”

Elena turned to him, clutching the flowers in her fist. Her lip trembled. “Really?”

Asim stood, coming to her with the most heartfelt look in his eyes she’d ever seen. “I want to be with you Elena. I love you. I loved you in Beirut, too—I just didn’t know how to say it. I was too caught up in figuring out how to get rid of that horrible engagement. By the time I realized I was falling for you, I felt trapped between the arrangement we’d made and my feelings for you.” He sighed, gnawing at the inside of his lip. “Please, say you’ll be with me. Say you’ll have me. I want us to have a family. I want to be in your life and in our child’s life.”

Elena set the flowers in the vase and laughed, wiping at tears that had spilled. “Well, you took the words right out of my mouth.”

Asim’s face lit up, his hands circling her waist. “So I can tell my mother I made the right choice all along?”

“Tell her this is the engagement she shouldn’t dissolve,” Elena said through laughter and tears. “I love you, Asim. I want us to be a little family, together forever.”

Asim took her head in his hands and crushed his lips to hers. Stars exploded behind her eyelids, and for the first time in six months, the knot of anxiety dissolved inside her, giving way to expansive bliss.