Jamie spent the entire afternoon with Aria, huddled at the counter with coffee mugs in hand as they plotted out the proposal. In hindsight, Jamie had always imagined Francisca would be the one to propose—she had that planned energy, the romantic gestures, the always-one-step-ahead kind of love. But life had a way of flipping expectations, and Aria stepping up felt… right. Organic. It was them.
They had most of it mapped out—location, timing, even the music—when the front door of the diner suddenly burst open like a mini hurricane.
"Mommy!" Lily's excited voice filled the room as she bounded inside, her ponytail bouncing behind her. "Guess what we did today in school!"
Jamie turned just in time to catch her daughter midair as she launched into her arms. "Ohh hi, Auntie Aria!" Lily added,
