Page 112 of The Secrets We Built Together

She was almost asleep now, her breaths deepening.

"I love you, my daughter." The words came out of me like they'd always been there, waiting. "I love you so much."

I sat there, rocking her long after she fell asleep, unwilling to break the spell of the moment. Eventually, Xander appeared in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed.

"Everything okay?" he asked quietly.

I nodded, carefully rising to place Amelia in her crib. I tucked her handmade blanket around her, the one Madison had left with her, now worn in places but still treasured. "Everything's perfect."

And it was. This moment, this life we were building. It wasn't what I'd planned or expected, but it was perfect all the same.

Later, curled together on the couch with mugs of tea, I showed Xander the schedule again. "I still can't believe everyone volunteered."

"You underestimate how much people care about you," he said, his fingers playing idly with my hair. "Both of you."

"I guess I've never had that before. A whole community of people who just... show up."

"Get used to it. They're not going anywhere." He pressed a kiss to my temple. “Delaney called earlier. She wants to take Amelia overnight on Friday."

"Overnight? I don't know if I'm ready for that."

"You don't have to decide now. But she thought it might give you some uninterrupted painting time." He paused. "And maybe some uninterrupted us time."

The suggestion in his voice sent a shiver through me. "Well, when you put it that way..."

His laugh rumbled against my side. "I'll take that as a maybe."

I rested my head on his shoulder, content in a way I'd never thought possible. "The weirdest part is, Mrs. Schulster volunteered for a slot. Twice a week for two hours!"

"She likes Amelia. And Titus is obsessed with her."

"Still, it's strange. She used to look at me like I was going to steal the silver."

"People change." Xander's voice was thoughtful. "Sometimes they just need a reason to."

I thought about that, about how much I'd changed since coming to Willowbrook. Since meeting Xander. Since Amelia.

"Do you think we're crazy?" I asked. "Trying to do all this at once? The show, raising Amelia, figuring us out?"

"Probably." His arm tightened around me. "But I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Me neither." I twisted to look up at him. "Thank you. For organizing all this. For believing in me."

His eyes darkened as they met mine. "Always."

As Xander's lips found mine, slow and sweet and full of possibility, I let myself believe in always. In this life we were building together, piece by piece, with love and art and a baby girl who had brought us all together.

It wasn't perfect. Nothing ever is. But it was ours, and that made it better than perfect.

It made it real.

And in that moment, I could see it all spreading before me like a painting waiting to be finished—our little house, a studio here and maybe somewhere to display my work in Willowbrook, Amelia growing up surrounded by love, and maybe someday, a real dog padding alongside her beneath our oak tree. Not just imagination, but a future I could reach out and touch.

A future I was finally ready to create.

Chapter 40

Xander

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