Page 44 of Yours, Now and Always
“You’re right.” He nods solemnly. “You built her from scratch and gifted her to the world like a tiny, morally-superior warlock.”
“Thank you.”
“It wasn’t a compliment.”
Colin grins. “Justice is served.”
Tim finds a dollar in his wallet and hands it over with a dramatic sigh.
Sarah passes the money to me for safekeeping, and I tuck it under my glass as Maddie reaches for a cookie.
She glances around the table, smiling, before eyeing me. “Okay, here’s mine,” she says, softly, her voice wavering. “This family is everything to me. They saved me on one of the worst days of my life and haven’t stopped loving me since. And now you get to be loved by them too.”
She turns to her husband with a look that’s pure love and adoration. And then, there’s something else. A lingering look that seems to be her saying something to Ethan, and him replying with a look of his own.
After a few moments of this back-and-forth silence that appears to be an actual conversation, Ethan smiles and gives Maddie a nod before brushing his lips over hers. He stretches his arm across the back of her chair and looks around the table with an expression that can only be described as smug, besotted husband joy. “It seems my wife has many talents besides singing and driving me wild with slang. I’ve discovered she’s also talented at getting pregnant. We’re having another baby.”
The table explodes.
“Oh my god!” Olivia gushes, glancing between Ethan and Maddie. “I’m so happy for you both!”
Callan arches a brow. “You do remember she justhada baby, right?”
“I’m aware,” Ethan says, unbothered and glowing with the kind of confidence only husbands with no self-control have.
Callan’s arched brow turns into a grin. He lifts his glass in a toast. “To your incredible talent for not pulling out of anything. May it continue to bless you.”
Gage chokes on a laugh next to me while Bradford and Hayden’s lips quirk with amusement.
“Callan!” Olivia is scandalized but her husband merely shrugs and continues grinning at his brother.
“Wait,” Tim says. “How old is Annalise again?”
“Five months,” Gage drawls, and I hear the thread of quiet horror in his tone. His hand tightens on my thigh, and I know he’s thinking what I am: two babies, no sleep, just survival mode and love holding it all together.
Maddie laughs. “We obviously weren’t trying. It just . . . happened.”
Kristen nods while smiling affectionately at her sister-in-law. “Oh, we all know how it happened. Your husband cannot keep his hands to himself.”
Ethan just shrugs and reaches for a cookie. “Can you blame me?”
Tim smacks his hand away from the cookies. “Announcing a pregnancy does not count as an emotional truth.”
Ethan looks at him. “How about this then: I was scared shitless about becoming a father, but it’s the second-best thing I’ve ever done. And even if my wife gets pregnant every damn year, I’ll happily keep losing sleep, changing diapers, and falling in love with her all over again.”
I watch as Maddie’s eyes go glassy, and I feel it too. The ache that only comes from watching your partner love you out loud.
Tim points at Ethan. “Okay, that is how you ruin people. I am unwell and going to have to lie down in the grass soon and scream into the earth for a spiritual reset.”
Ethan grins and takes his cookie while we all launch into a conversation about the pregnancy. There’s happiness, congratulations, and some more light roasting at his expense. And then, slowly, everyone settles back into the rhythm of opening up a little more to each other.
The rest of the truths come easier after that. Some are funny. Some are quiet. A few, more emotional than anyone expects. But no one opts out. Even the ones who usually hold things closest.
I don’t know what it is, but something about being together at this table makes people speak softer. Sit closer. Show some vulnerability.
Eventually, the energy shifts, and we all start stacking plates and gathering glasses. Gage’s parents arrive just as we finish clearing the table, greeted with warm hugs and delight while Tim shoves the last cookie in his mouth.
The girls beg to go back to their fairy garden, pulling Ethan and Maddie with them. Sarah and Luna are both infatuated with Annalise, which means Ethan and Maddie are at the top of their list for who they want to spend time with this weekend.
