The sun had just begun its climb over the horizon when Liana woke to the sound of birdsong and the soft weight of Ethan’s arm draped across her waist.
She didn’t move right away.
Instead, she lay there for a moment, her fingers resting gently on her belly. There was no bump yet. No obvious change. But something inside her was already beginning.
She turned slowly to face Ethan.
“I want to tell you something,” she whispered.
His eyes blinked open. Sleepy, soft. “Yeah?”
“I took the test again.”
He sat up, instantly alert. “And?”
She smiled. “It’s positive.”
For a moment, he said nothing. Just stared at her like she had handed him the entire galaxy.
Then, without warning, he laughed, that full, open laugh that only Cassie could ever make him do before.
“You’re sure?” he asked, voice
