It was short, and it wasn’t Grace’s or Nate’s handwriting.

For your firstborn. May you cherish every moment with the child and each other.

“Did you write this?” It was definitely Everton’s bold, scrawling hand. But how had it managed to end up in a package from Nate and Grace?

“Yes,” Everton said, but he didn’t look up at her. He was still looking inside the box. “I never thought I would see these again.” He reached inside and pulled out a pair of ornately knitted booties. “These were made by my grandmother.”

“How did my brother end up with them?”

“I gave them to him as a wedding gift.”

“You gave Nate baby booties as a wedding gift?”

Everton walked backwards until he found himself in front of the rocking chair once again and sat down. “I never thought—” He rubbed one hand along the bottom of his chin, then kneaded each of his eyes. “I never thought I would get the chance to use them.”

Diana rushed to him. He dropped the box and booties into his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist. His head pressed into her middle. She stroked his hair as he breathed heavily into her dress.

He pulled her tighter and shook his head against her. “Thank you.”

Diana knelt and laid her hands on Everton’s cheeks. “You were always meant to be a father.”

“I don’t know if that is true, but I do feel as if I was meant to be Hope’s father. And I never would have been without you.”

Diana smiled and kissed each of his eyelids. “Then it’s a good thing that when I needed a man to ruin me, I thought of you.”

His smile tightened, and he narrowed one eye. “Were there any other candidates?”

Diana racked her brain to think of any other rake she could tease him with, but she couldn’t come up with a single one. “No, you have always been the only man I thought of.”

“I was a rather obvious choice, though. I did make quite a career of it.”

She shook her head. “You did, didn’t you?”

Everton took a deep breath and ran his fingers down the careful knitting of the cream-colored booties. “Never has a man been so happy to settle down as I.”

Diana pulled Everton’s face toward her, the chair rocking him forward, and kissed him on the mouth. Diana wasn’t certain she would call their lives settled. They still owned Richardson Rail, and between the business and Everton’s parliamentary duties, life was always throwing them surprises.

But surprises also seemed to bring the best rewards. She scooped up the booties and the box and set them on the floor, then crawled into Everton’s lap. The arm of the rocking chair dug into her back, but she didn’t care. Everton tightened his arms around her ribcage and found her mouth with his own. She twisted just enough to get her arms around his neck and into his hair. He placed an arm below her knees and stood. He carried her to the door of the nursery but then had to set her down to open it.