“I told you.” I laughed as he pretended to pick his jaw off the floor. “You’re such a drama queen. It’s not even that unusual; a lot of Dominican families do the same-name thing, Greek families too,” I reminded him and he bent down to kiss my forehead in answer.

“Baby, look what you did.” His voice was brimming with awe as he looked around the room my work had built. Pride and overwhelming gratitude filled me at his words. We were standing right inside the new flagship store for Bookish Living, the lifestyle brand that Yazmin and I had launched together a year earlier. The drop of our first Rom-Com bedroom line—the original version that had been too much for Smithson-Napa—had been such a success that within hours we’d had investors coming to us with massive amounts of money. In the end we’d partnered with a Latina-owned firm as our first big investor. That partnership led to things I could not have dreamed of.

“I honestly have to pinch myself sometimes,” I admitted as my man tucked me tighter onto his side.

Today we’d unveil five new collections at this first store and there were plans to open ten more across the country. We’d built this place to be a literal dream for book lovers. They could buy anything from stemware from our Cozy Mystery collection to complete bedroom sets inspired by popular fantasy series. We also had a bookstore focusing on genre fiction, and a café and wine bar in-house. Next month we’d roll out a full line of book-themed furniture designed by a team Yazmin and I had put together. There were already talks of adding a few apparel lines. A true book lover’s playground. I was so proud of what we’d done, but more than anything I was proud of the life I had with Theo.

My man had made some big changes too. He’d fought for his stepmother to take over the helm of Ganas and decided to pursue his own passion, which turned out to be building affordable green housing for low-income families in Texas. The veteran housing project had just been the start, and together with his two partners they’d raised millions to continue housing those in need.

“I’m proud of us, baby,” he told me and I smiled as his lips pressed a kiss to my brow. I turned in his arms, trying to get a little bit of quiet before we had to join our friends and family.

“Did you ever think we’d end up here?” I asked, still marveling at what we had. A home, a life, a found family that held us down, work that lit us up.

He turned his head to the side in that way he did when he wanted to think something over, and my heart pounded in my chest, just overflowing with love.