Chapter 39
GENEVIEVE
The barn at Holley Ridge is warm with candlelight, golden flickers dancing against the exposed wood beams. Twinkle lights drape overhead like stars, casting everything in a soft, dreamlike glow. The scent of fresh roses and aged wood fills the air, blending with the faint aroma of the crisp autumn night drifting through the open doors.
“Tell me I’m not going to cry.”
Claire laughs, adjusting the delicate lace material of my dress, her fingers steady where mine are shaking.
“Oh, you are absolutely going to cry.”
She’s right. My heart is already too full.
I glance at my mom standing on the other side of me, my daughter nestled in her arms. She’s swaddled in ivory lace, her round cheeks pink. She lets out a soft coo, and I lean down, touching a tender kiss to her forehead.
Four months ago, I held this little girl for the first time, overwhelmed by a love I never knew existed. Now, I can’t imagine a world without little Sophia in it. She’s the life I created with my best friend. A tangible piece of our story, nestled in my mother’s arms, watching with curious eyes as if she somehow understands the weight of this moment.
Claire gives my arm a gentle squeeze, pulling my attention away from my daughter. “Ready?”
I give her a bright smile. “More than ready.”
“Good.”
She turns her attention to one of the event planners, letting them know to start the processional. I give one last kiss to Sophia before Claire, Dylan, and my mother line up, each disappearing in turn.
Then the music changes, and I step forward, appearing at the end of the aisle. All the guests shift their attention to me, but I don’t see any of them.
I only see Finn.
My best friend.
The father of my child.
The man who’s loved me his entire life.
Finn’s brothers stand beside him, a wall of familiar faces, all wearing matching grins.
But it’s Finn I can’t look away from.
His blue eyes hold me captive, bright with something I’ve never seen in them before. Not just love, but certainty. As if this moment was always inevitable.
My feet carry me forward until I reach him. Finn takes my hands in his, steady and warm, grounding me in a way only he can.
“Hi, baby.” His voice is hushed, familiar, like a whispered promise in the dark.
I let out a soft, breathless laugh. “Hi.”
“You two ready?” Grandma Estelle asks with a raised brow.
We both nod eagerly.
“Thought so.” She winks, then addresses our closest friends and family. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m honored to be here today to celebrate the long-awaited union of Finnegan Evan Lawrence to Genevieve Patricia Thomas.
“Now, I’ve read a lot of romance novels in my time on this planet. Some sweet. Some steamy. And some that would make a grown man blush.”
Everyone erupts in laughter, myself included.
“And let me tell you, this right here? This is the kind of love story I live for. Small-town boy loves small-town girl for years, pines for her in tortured silence, probably does a lot of brooding, and then offers to knock her up. That’s what we call a plot twist, folks.”
I smile at Finn, a warmth spreading through me at the reminder of how we ended up here. What would have happened if he never discovered my list? If he never offered to help me have a baby? Would we have eventually found our way to each other? Or would we have gone through life fighting our feelings?
Thankfully, I’ll never have to find out.
“I’ve seen you moon over Genevieve since she was knee-high to a grasshopper,” Grandma Estelle continues. “Honestly, it’s about time you put a ring on it. We were all getting a little impatient. Some of us had bets on whether you’d get there before your AARP card arrived.”
Another burst of laughter echoes through the high ceilings of the barn. Then Grandma Estelle turns her attention on me. “And Genevieve, sweetheart, you’re marrying a firefighter. A man who can literally carry you out of danger and make you breakfast after. If that’s not the dream, I don’t know what is. Your own book boyfriend in real life.”
“He definitely is,” I agree.
“But enough of my rambling. We’re here to make this thing legal before one of you changes your mind. Though, let’s be honest, Finn would rather run into a burning building than let this woman get away again.”
“Damn straight,” he remarks with a smirk.
“Then let’s get you two married.”
Grandma Estelle shifts gears, talking about the importance of friendship in marriage, but the words barely register. All I can focus on is Finn. The way he watches me like he’s still memorizing every inch of my face. The way his thumb strokes soft circles over my knuckles, like he knows I need the reassurance.
Then Grandma Estelle announces it’s time for the vows, giving me the go ahead to begin.
I swallow, my pulse racing. “I wrote these months ago. And then I rewrote them. And then I rewrote them again. Because how do you put into words what you mean to me?” I choke out, overwhelmed with emotion.
Finn’s grip tightens slightly, a silent encouragement, and I take a breath.
“For most of my life, I believed love was something that never stayed. I thought if I never needed it, I’d never lose it. I told myself I was better off alone than risking heartbreak again. But then there was you,” I whisper. “There was always you.”
His jaw clenches, his throat working against emotion.
“The person who saw me when I felt invisible. The man who stood beside me long before I was ready to stand beside him. I spent years running from the love you offered so freely. And when I finally stopped running, when I let myself love you back, I realized something.” My lashes dampen with tears. “Sometimes you need to get lost to find yourself. And I found myself in you. In your unwavering devotion. In your unyielding love.”
I take a steadying breath to try to collect myself. Then I continue.
“I promise to love you for all the years I should have loved you sooner. I promise to choose you every day. To let you carry the hard things with me, even when I think I have to carry them alone.” My lips tremble. “For as long as I can remember, you’ve been my best friend. My safe place. My home. And I promise I’ll never take that for granted again.”
Finn’s eyes shine with unshed tears, his fingers brushing my knuckles in silent understanding.
Then a soft sound breaks the moment.
Sophia lets out a tiny, gurgling giggle, her little hand flailing in the air.
Finn chuckles, stepping forward before anyone can stop him, and takes her from my mom’s arms, cradling her against his chest.
The sight does something to me.
Big, broad Finn Lawrence in his casual suit holding something so small and precious. His hand, impossibly gentle as he smooths a knuckle over her soft cheek.
“She wanted to be part of this,” he murmurs, briefly lifting his gaze to mine before returning it to our daughter. He leans down and presses a kiss to her soft skin. “You always know when to steal the show, don’t you, baby girl?”
A ripple of laughter moves through our guests, but my heart is no longer in my chest. It’s in Finn’s arms. Beating right there with him and the little life we created.
Finn gives her back to my mom, then returns to me, slipping a hand into his pocket. I expect him to pull out notecards containing his vows. But that’s not the case.
My eyes widen as I stare at the familiar paper.
At the list Claire and I made that night at Jude’s brewery, when I thought I could plan my future with logic instead of love.
“I, uh, found something a few weeks ago,” Finn begins, unfolding the paper with slow precision. “I thought about making my own list. A list of all the reasons I’ve loved you since we were kids. But we agreed to keep our vows short.”
He flashes me a smile as laughter murmurs through the barn. Then he shifts his eyes to the paper.
“You wrote that the father of your child should be healthy.” He returns his gaze to mine. “I promise to take care of myself so I can always be there for you. For our daughter. So I can spend as much time with the most important people to me.”
Tears prick my eyes, my throat tight with emotion.
His Adam’s apple bobs up and down as he looks at the paper once more. “You said he should be intelligent.” A soft chuckle rumbles from his throat. “I can’t promise I’ll always be the smartest guy in the room, but I will never stop learning how to love you better. Never stop learning how to be a better husband. Never stop learning how to be the best father our daughter can ask for.”
I pull my lips between my teeth to stop my chin from quivering, but it’s a losing battle.
“You wrote that he should be kind. That he should be compassionate. That he should be gentle. I hope I’m all of those things. I hope I always will be.”
“You are,” I tell him.
“But as much as I want to say you covered all the bases with this…” He holds up the piece of paper before tucking it back into his pocket. “My original assessment still stands. You left something important off this list.”
“What’s that?”
Finn steps closer and takes my hands in his once more.
“Love, Genevieve.” His thumb skims my skin. “You forgot love. I think we both know that’s the part that matters most.”
His eyes lock onto mine with an intensity that steals the air from my lungs.
“I promise to love you in every way I know how,” he murmurs, his voice thick, reverent. “To remind you every single day that you are my best friend, my love, my family.
“I promise to be the man who never lets you face your troubles alone. To be the arms you run to when life feels too heavy. And the hand you hold when you realize you don’t have to run at all.”
A tear slips down my cheek, and Finn lifts one of our joined hands, brushing his lips over my knuckles.
“I promise to never let you forget how much you are loved, even in the moments you try to convince yourself otherwise.
“I promise to stand beside you when things are easy, and to fight for you when they aren’t. I promise to be the kind of man our daughter can look at and know without a single shred of doubt what love is supposed to look like.”
I let out a shaky breath, and Finn tightens his hold on my hands. “I spent years thinking you’d never be mine. And now that you are, I promise…” His voice wavers, his eyes glistening. “I promise to spend the rest of my life making sure you never regret choosing me. You are my beginning, my middle, and my ever after.”
“And you’re mine,” I manage to whisper.
Grandma Estelle says something about rings, but I barely register it through the thick haze of emotion. I only know Finn’s hands are steady as he slides the band onto my finger. That when he kisses me, the barn erupts in cheers.
And that when he finally pulls back, his love shining in his eyes, this isn’t just what I wanted.
It’s what I was always meant to have.
* * *
Thank you so much for reading Friends with Baby Benefits .