Page 141 of If Love Had A Manual

He slides an arm around my waist, pulling me into his side. “My sister would’ve adored you,” he says quietly, each word laced with conviction. “She’d have thanked you for loving Rosie the way you do.Ithank you for it.”

A broken laugh escapes me, tears still rolling. I can’t help it. “I just… I love her so much, Wes,” I whisper, heart thumping in my ears.

He smiles, a faint crinkle at the corner of his eye. “We can teach her your name if that’s what you want.Butyou might have to accept that you’re a mother to her in every way that matters. She’s decided it.”

My eyes track to Rosie, who’s waddling toward Milo again, apparently bored with our drama.

I take a shuddery breath, then catch Wes’s gaze once more. “She called me Mama.”

“You made a good impression.”

I try to laugh, but it comes out more like a sob.

My eyes find the grass as I urge my mind to stop spiraling.

Sensing it, Wes tucks his fingers under my chin and tilts it back up. “What’s going on in that head ofyours?”

Well, here goes nothing. “People change their minds. What if you wake up one day and realize this isn’t what you want?”

He searches my face through narrowed eyes. “Is that what you’re afraid of? That I’ll stop wanting you?”

“Yes. That or you’ll want me less. Once things settle, or get hard, or feel too real.”

“What do you want, Lena? Tell me, and I’ll give it to you.”

I shake my head. “I don’t know.”

Idoknow, I just don’t want to say it out loud, and I don’t need to because he’s going to do it for me.

“You want a home that’s more than just walls. You want to walk into a room and not have to brace for silence. You want someone who sees the worst parts of you and doesn’t flinch. Who notices when you’re spiraling and doesn’t pull away. You want to feel safe, not just loved. Safe.”

My throat locks.

“You want someone who will answer every question, everyrealone, not just the ones you’re brave enough to say out loud. Someone who’ll hold your hand when you’re scared and not ask you to smile through it. You want soft places to land. You want mornings like this and nights that don’t end in doubt. You want Rosie. And you want to be wanted back.”

I can’t breathe.

“You want someone who stays, even when you’re scared. Especially then. You want someone to call home,” he says quietly. “And you’ve already got him.”

That’s it. The final acceptance I needed. The last piece slots into place. My heart soars, even as tears linger on my lashes.

We’re a family.

The idea is terrifying and so right that it almost steals my breath again.

Sniffling, I turn back to Rosie with fresh eyes. “Rosie Posie,” I call softly, beckoning her. She glances up, a bright grin lighting her face as she charges forward. I kneel, arms open and ready. She totters right into me, giggling as I pull her close, pressing kisses to her curly hair.

Thank you for choosing me.

Milo ambles over too, nudging my shoulder as if checking if I’m okay. I grin and rub his ears, my heart brimming with so much warmth I’m sure it’ll burst.

This is home. They’re home. And there’s no place in the world I’d rather be.

Epilogue

Ten years later

Wes

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