He exhales slowly, then starts again. “I want to watch you grow with this child and hold your hand while you learn what it means to be a mother. Because I know you’re going to be incredible, whether you do it alone or with someone by your side. But damn it, Shay, I don’t want you to do it alone, and I don’t want you to do it with anyone else. I want all of your babies to call me Dad. I want to be the person who wakes up with you during the sleepless nights and who reminds you that you’re kicking ass when the kid turns three and becomes a miniature demon. And hey—lucky for you, I’ve been there and can assure you that they do grow out of it.”

I laugh and feel hot tears spill down my cheeks.

“I want to take you to Paris and hold you during thunderstorms. I want to read your books and wake up to the smell of you on my sheets. And maybe it’s not fair of me to say so, but I want to do all that with you here. In Jackson Harbor, home. Because your family is awesome and I know your mom doesn’t want to miss watching her grandchild grow. But if what you need is in L.A., I’ll move back there. I’ll find a way to protect Abi from the press. I’ll figure it out. But when I say I love you, I need you to understand that I mean everything I just said, because I can’t live thinking you don’t really know how I feel and I’m shit with the romantic words.”

“I think you’re pretty good,” I say, then I hiccup. Because tears.

“I had a lot of notes and time to prepare. I was really nervous.”

“I liked it,” I whisper.

“Once I sat down and got going it was easy, but not at first. To me, it’s so obvious and it never occurred to me that you needed to hear it. I should’ve realized a long time ago that it isn’t so clear from where you stand. You’re the woman I love. The one I want. The future I want. If you want me.”

“Of course I want you.” I loop my arms behind his neck.

“Why?” he whispers, and there’s a smile in his eyes.

“Because of who you are. Because you’re the man I love and the one I want.”

He wraps his arms behind my back and pulls me close. “That’s more than enough.”

Shay

Brayden has never smiled as much as he has since he started dating Molly, and never smiled as big as he did standing on the sand behind our family cabin and saying his vows.