“Two kittens delivered safely,” Abbie reported, while Will gathered more blankets and dragged a few cushions off the sofa. There might be weird afterbirth stains, but she was pretty confident Grandma wouldn’t mind. “She seemed really tired and cold outside, but she’s licking the first one now, and the second one’s feeding, so that’s a good sign, right?”

“Yes,” Grandma agreed. “Well done. We’re heading back.”

Abbie felt a bit glowy about that “Well done.” Maybe listening to Chitra talk about pool births and placentas for months had made her ready for anything, or maybe her own habit of imagining worst-case scenarios had done that. Whatever the case, she was glad she hadn’t fucked up Gravy’s babies.

Putting the phone down, she relayed the message to Will. He nodded, peeled off his gloves, and reached for her. “So…” he said. One of his hands slid beneath the coat she still hadn’t taken off, settling at her hip with a possessiveness she shouldn’t enjoy so much. His other hand rose to her hair, tugging gently at a coil behind her ear. “Are we going to say anything?”

And Abbie learned another thing she hadn’t known about herself: she liked being with a man who asked instead of told. She liked it a whole fucking lot.

Were they going to tell her family, that was what Will meant. He was only asking for clarity, though, not because he needed to share. Will didn’t need anything right now except what he had: Abbie, looking at him with all the secret affection her dark eyes could convey, loving him silently in a way that was so fucking loud, it reverberated through his bones.

He was on cloud nine, and he expected to stay there for the rest of his life. So, yeah, he didn’t need a damn thing. But after years of this hollow, hungry yearning, and a couple days of fucking things up by holding back, he’d decided that straightforward communication was his very best shot at keeping hold of this miracle.

And he would keep hold of this. Of her. Gently, yes, as gently as she needed, but he wasn’t ever letting go.

She rolled her lips inward, looking adorably awkward at the prospect of talking about their feelings yet again—and to people other than each other. But he was impressed, because instead of blurting out God, no, with all the horror she obviously felt, Abbie took a breath and managed a smile. “I could be wrong, but I think Grandma’s kind of been shipping us. She really shoved us together these last two days.”

Well, shit. That was … that was true, wasn’t it? Will grinned. “Always knew she was a woman of taste.”

“And Jase basically thinks we should get married.”

Will grinned wider. “He is my best friend for a reason.”