Page 69 of The Mirage Guild

Sometimes Isabella gives herself a hard time for taking a decade “off” to travel and explore but I know, at the time, she was just waiting for me. I patted the small velvet box in my jacket pocket as I ascended the stairs. I had wanted to make my proposal a cute moment for us at one of our many hole-in-the-wall lunch dates but after the last few days, I couldn’t wait any longer.

My steps rustled the paper covering the wooden steps as I rounded the stairs and stepped out into the hall. I heard Isabella still humming from one of the bedrooms, so I made my way to her. There might actually not be a better place to get down on one knee with my grandmother’s ring than in the home we’re creating together.

“Hey, love,” I said as I leaned against the doorframe. My forehead scrunched as I realized what was in her hand. “Already picking out paint colors?” I asked. “Baby, I’ve got walls to still put up.” I chuckled as I walked over to her. Her jasmine and vanilla perfume instantly put me at ease as I wrapped my arms around her hips and tugged at her.

“I know it’s early,” she said, “but this room needs the least amount of work, and I thought it would be cool to start thinking of what this room could be.”

“Well,” I said, making a show of looking around the room, “it could be a guest room, a workout room, a room to sit and ponder all of life’s mysteries.” I kissed the top of her forehead.

Isabella leaned back a little so she could look at my face. “What if it’s a baby’s room?”

“I definitely see it as a baby’s room,” I said with a smile. “Do you want to start now?” I walk us over to the wall, pressing my back against it. “Are you asking me to put a baby in you Isabella Esposito because I will gladly lie you down right here and?—”

“Max,” she stopped where my mind was going, “Max, I didn’t have the flu.” She smiled up at me with a mix of excitement and fear in her eyes.

My eyebrows scrunched as my brain slowly took in what she was saying, but I was slow to put it together. I looked at her, needing her to keep talking. To say it.

“Max, I’m pregnant,” she said.

For a moment, everything else faded into the background, the noise, the chaos of the city around us. It was just Izzy, standing there with vulnerability and hope mingling in her eyes, and me, suddenly feeling like the ground had shifted beneath my feet. “Are you serious?” The question came out as a breath, a whisper really, carried on a wave of sudden, unexpected joy that surged up from somewhere deep inside. My heart raced, not with panic, but with a growing sense of wonder and elation, at the magnitude of what she was telling me.

Izzy simply nodded.

I crashed my lips to hers to quiet the many versions of the what-ifs that must be going through her mind right now. She was warm and soft in my hands and her mouth opened to let me in, only the small tremor in her bottom lip gave her anxiety away.

“Isabella, oh my god, how are you feeling?” I asked, pulling away from her mouth. “I want to check in with you before I bombard you with everything that’s going through my mind.”

She chuckled and sighed, not pulling away from my arms. “I freaked out at first, obviously. I was supposed to get my IUD replaced this year. I guess its efficacy dipped down in its last year and I was behind on the timing. I’m sorry, I just?—”

“Why are you apologizing?” I asked. “I took sex ed. I know what it takes to make a baby. You don’t carry all the responsibility of prevention, Isabella.”

“I know.” She continued, “But the timing of everything, I mean, we still have walls to put up, for goodness’ sake. And I wanted to give us more time. We were going to get engaged and . . .” Her voice trailed off with a sigh.

I reached up to push back some of her curls and rested my palm on my cheek. “Fuck the timeline. Who gives a shit about it? Will it be chaotic and wild for a bit? Hell, yeah. But we’ve got this. I’m here for you no matter what you decide.”

Izzy nodded and pressed her forehead to my chest.

“Not to steal your thunder,” I continued, “but reach into my jacket pocket.”

She looked at me confused but raised her hand to slip it into my jacket. She felt around until her hands found the small box and she froze.

“Take it out,” I said.

Her fingers slid into a small holding spot and pulled out the velvet box.

“You can put it back if you want something bigger than this,” I said with a gesture around the empty room. “I was planning on asking when we went for lunch the other day, but I guess you wanted to one-up me,” I said.

She flipped open the box as I stepped back and got down on one knee. “Isabella Esposito, I couldn’t have predicted how our lives would intertwine when I saw you, rain-soaked and determined, when you walked into the Prism Society. Since then, every moment with you has been an adventure. You’ve shown me the beauty of spontaneity, teaching me to find joy in the unexpected, like when we decided to buy this brownstone on a whim,” I said with a chuckle. “Dreaming of the life we could build within these walls. Your passion for life, your dedication to following your heart, even when it leads you down uncharted paths, inspires me every day.”

I couldn’t hide the grin that spread across my face even as tears streamed down her cheeks. “Your laughter is my favorite sound, even if it’s echoing through all these rooms with walls I still need to patch.” Isabella chuckled from above and I took a deep breath. “I love that you can find happiness in the smallest things, like the perfect almond croissant or the way the light filters through our windows in the morning. Isabella, you challenge me, support me, and love me in ways I didn’t even know I needed. And it’s in the mundane, the everyday moments of our life together, that I find the most magic. I want to build with you, dream with you, and face every up and down by your side.”

“So,” I said, clearing my throat, “I want to ask you: Will you marry me? Will you continue this incredible journey with me, as my wife, my partner, and my best friend? Let’s make this house our home, fill it with laughter, love, and maybe a little chaos, but most of all, let’s fill it with us.”

I pretended I didn’t notice the way her head had been nodding during my entire speech and waited until I heard her excited “yes” before I slipped the ring on her finger. I’d already snuck one of her rings out to get this one sized months ago, so it slid on perfectly. She sucked in a breath as I pushed it back over her knuckle.

I leaned forward, resting my head on her belly. Despite it being too early to feel anything yet, I was so happy to share this moment with what would one day be our baby. Isabella’s fingers threaded in my hair as she let me rest there. I placed kisses over her shirt and spread my hands over her hips.

I used my nose to nudge up the fabric of her shirt and kissed the warm sliver of skin under her belly button. “I can never get enough of you, Isabella, you smell so good,” I said. I kept going because of the small hum that left her throat, the one that told me she was relaxing, shutting off her brain, and ready to be taken care of.

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