Chapter 62 Anna
Anna
“How long has it been?” I ask, fidgeting.
The girls and I are crammed into Liam’s bathroom—sorry, our bathroom—under the guise of a skin emergency.
The guys are catching up over drinks in the living room.
Considering how busy everyone’s schedules are these days, it’s a rare chance to be together, but the new owner is settling on my Putney flat next Friday, so it seemed like cause for celebration.
I can’t wait to officially move in with Liam and Finn.
April checks the timer on her phone. “Twenty more seconds.”
I wring my hands in front of me.
Gemma’s sitting on the closed toilet lid, biting her thumbnail as she bounces her knee impatiently. I draw in a deep breath, count to four slowly, then release it, praying I don’t pass out.
“Okay. Time’s up. You ready?” April asks, plucking the test off the counter along with the instruction sheet.
Gemma shoots up, stepping toward me and offering her hand.
I take it, squeezing tight. “Yup. I’m ready.”
I’m not ready.
“Well? Just read the damn thing!” Gemma spits out, her grip hardening.
April opens her mouth to speak but I interrupt her.
“Wait! No! Maybe I’m not ready!” I say, flapping my hands.
Gemma slips an arm around my shoulders and tugs me in close.
“Are you okay?” April asks after a beat, her voice careful as she steps closer.
Not really. I’m scared my legs are about to give way.
I force myself to speak around the lump taking up residence in my throat. “Yeah.” It comes out more like a croak. “I’ve just felt so certain that it’s going to be positive. I’m late . . .” I thought I must be roughly eight weeks along. “My boobs hurt, and I’ve been more of a bitch than usual.”
“Whatever happens,” Gemma says, rubbing a soothing hand up and down my spine, “we’re here, and we’ll get through this together.”
I shrug, my lips wobbling. “It’s not a big deal if it’s negative, right? It’s not like anything changes. It just didn’t happen now, you know? We haven’t even been together for that long, anyway.”
They watch me with identical sad smiles on their faces. What could they possibly say? They know how desperately I’ve wanted this.
I sniffle. “The rational part of me knows I’m being ridiculous because we haven’t even been together a year.
” I laugh, but it’s empty. I blink back tears as I reach to tear off a square of toilet paper and use it to dab my eyes.
“It’s ridiculous. I shouldn’t be so disappointed if I’m not having his baby. ”
My breath hitches as a sob rattles loose and I drop my head to my hands, my shoulders shaking.
“Okay,” April says, glancing at the results window and worrying her lip.
“Ugh! This is awful,” I say, tilting my head back.
“Anna, sweetie?” April says, her hand falling to rest on my forearm. “The test isn’t negative.”
Everything stops. I whip my head up to look at her.
“What?” I whisper.
She nods at me, tears filling her eyes. “It’s positive.”
She flips the stick over and passes it to me. I take it with shaky hands and, sure enough, two dark, unmistakable lines stare back at me.
I clap a hand to my mouth. “Oh my God.”
“Surprise!” she exclaims, tossing her hands in the air.
I press the positive test to my heart in disbelief, clutching it as if it would evaporate if I don’t hold on.
“You’re going to be a mum,” April says, wiping her damp cheeks with the sleeve of her shirt.
“I’m going to be a mum,” I whisper, my eyes bouncing between them. “Finn’s going to be a big brother.”
Gemma’s fingers settle over her lips as her own tears slip free. April opens her arms wide for a group hug, and we all huddle together, holding each other close.
“Holy shit,” Gemma suddenly gasps, and we break apart.
“What?” I ask, my eyes blowing wide with worry.
“I just realized—Liam’s huge. You’re going to have to push that giant man’s spawn out of your vagina. My condolences.”
And then, I laugh. A light sound that breaks free of me, releasing the ache that had been rooted there.
“You girls okay in there?” I hear James’s voice float down the hallway.
April swipes her cheeks again before popping her head out the doorway. “Coming!” she calls, spinning back to face me. “Crap. They thought we were helping you with your skin. What do we do?”
“I have an idea!” Gemma says, triumphant.
“Oh God. What’s your idea?” I immediately regret asking, as Gemma launches forward, attacking my forehead with her thumbs.
“Ouch! What the hell!” I grit out through clenched teeth.
She grunts, pinching her thumbs together. I hear a small pop and freeze.
“Ah, much better,” she says, swiveling to the basin and washing her hands.
I blink. “Did you just pop my pimple?”
“Yes.” She winks, slapping my arse. “Now get out there and tell that hot Irishman he’s got you up the duff.”
Dinner is in full swing. Cutlery scrapes across porcelain and the drinks are flowing—sparkling water for me. Somehow, I manage to make it through the first two courses without losing my shit and screaming “I’m pregnant!” at the top of my lungs.
“So, James,” Max says. “What’s next for Atlas Veil?”
James loops an arm around April’s shoulder, pressing a gentle kiss to her temple. “Thankfully I’m home for the next few months before me and the lads hit Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. Elliott changes subtly almost every day, and I love being around to see them.”
“Well, you’re home for now, and the tour will fly by,” April says. “Elliott’s so proud of his daddy.”
“Are you working on your next album?” Liam asks, nursing his beer.
James shakes his head. “Not for now. We’re still going strong with the last record.
But I can’t wait to get back in the studio.
It’s the biggest dopamine hit.” I watch, completely enraptured, as James offers Elliott his index finger.
Elliott grips it with his pudgy little hand as laughter bubbles from him.
April beams as he bounces up and down in her lap.
“Well, second to this one. He’s pretty good. ”
James’s smile is infectious. God, they make the most adorable family.
Finn sits on the other side of April, taking Elliott’s small hand and mimicking James’s gesture. He’s grown to adore Elliott, who revels in his attention.
“What about you, mate?” James asks Max.
Max takes a sip of his shiraz, rubbing his thigh with his free hand. “Gray Hotel Hawaii is all finished and ready to open. It looks amazing. Next, we’re moving on to Vancouver and Edinburgh.”
“I can’t wait to see Hawaii,” Gemma says wistfully, leaning her head on Max’s shoulder.
Max laughs, taking Gemma’s hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. “You’ve got the bug.”
Gemma chuckles. “It’s your doing!” Her gaze sweeps over everyone at the table. “He’s made me fall in love with New York and now I’m obsessed with everything travel.” She plants a kiss on his cheek. “I just love seeing the world with you.”
“Me too, sweetheart,” Max replies. “You still need to decide on the honeymoon.”
They’ve finally set a date—next March. Instead of a big, lavish white wedding, they’ve opted for something a little quieter.
A low-key, intimate affair, held at Soho Farmhouse out in Chipping North—elegant and chic—with their closest friends and family.
I couldn’t think of anything better suited to the two of them.
“I’ve been thinking about Japan,” Gemma says.
“Then Japan it is,” he replies, his lips curling into a smile.
Liam clears his throat, pushing his chair back to stand. “If you lot don’t mind, I’d like to say a few words.”
My forehead wrinkles and I lean back, flinging one leg over the other.
He huffs a laugh and drops his gaze to the floor. “Christ.” He palms the back of his neck. “Sorry, I’m a little nervous.”
My eyes bounce between Liam and our friends.
What’s he nervous about? What’s he doing?
When my attention cuts to Finn, he’s chewing his bottom lip, stifling a grin. I know that look. He knows something.
Oh my God.
My temperature plummets, and I start playing with the shamrock resting against the hollow of my throat. April and Gemma must have caught on too, because their eyes widen.
“Baby,” Liam starts, looking directly at me. “From the first moment I saw you, I knew you were something grand.”
Holy. Shit. My eyes instantly well up.
“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.
And your heart? God, that heart of yours, Anna.
It’s so big. You met me exactly where I was, not where you wanted me to be…
and, selfishly, I can’t ever let you go.
I’ve lived in different places, but none of them ever felt like home until you.
You taught me that love isn’t about being seen.
It’s about being understood. It’s about showing up.
It’s about sitting in the quiet together and still being heard.
I’d never truly felt success in my life until I heard you say, I love you. ”
“I love you too,” I say gently, a tear brimming.
He shakes his head. “You make me want to be a better man. A better father, a better partner. And, if you’ll let me, I’d very much like the honor of being your husband.” He sinks to one knee and my breath catches. A trembling hand covers my mouth as he pulls a small red velvet box from his pocket.
Oh my God, I think I need a paper bag.
“I want to spend every second, every minute, every day of the rest of my life loving you the way you deserve. I want you to be my wife. I want you to be Finn’s mother. I want us to have babies together and create more memories to last a lifetime.”
He opens the lid, revealing a diamond-encrusted white-gold band, and everything else falls away. “You’re everything. Always. Will you marry me, baby?”
I drop to my knees alongside him, nodding with desperate agreement. “Yes,” I whisper. “Of course I’ll marry you.”
He plucks the ring from its cushion, slipping it onto my finger. “Anna, I—”
I swallow his words with a bruising kiss and the room erupts in cheers and applause. He drops the box as his hands tangle in my hair, tipping my head back to deepen the kiss. By the time we break apart, I’m a sobbing, panting mess.
His eyes sparkle as a stray tear tracks down his face. “We’re going to be a family. The three of us,” he says, resting his forehead against mine.
I flatten his palm over my stomach. “Four.”
It takes him a moment to register my words before his brows shoot up. “Four? You’re—”
I beam. “I am.”
“Really?” His voice quivers as more tears fall.
I take a stuttering breath, nodding madly.
“Christ, I love you,” he says, pulling me in close.
I peer at Max over his shoulder. He rests an elbow on the table, his chin cradled between thumb and forefinger. His eyes are filled with love as he watches us.
“Max,” I blurt out, forcing myself upright and rounding the table. He stands, smoothing his shirt, and I fling myself into his arms.
“Congratulations, Weasel,” he whispers against my hair, squeezing me tight. “I’m so, so happy for you.”
“You’re going to be an uncle,” I whisper back.
“I already am,” he says, nodding toward Finn. “But I can’t wait to be the proud uncle of two little troublemakers.”
Finn’s smile stretches from ear to ear as he studies my ring, pausing before his dark eyes lift to mine. “I—um… I’m really happy Da met you and is gonna marry you. And I just want to say… I love you, Mum.”
“Oh, Finn.” I tug him in and hold him close. “I love you too, honey.”
If you had told me last year that I’d be giving the matrimonial sacrament another crack, I’d have laughed in your face. But Liam and Finn have become my whole world.
I had to stop treating my life as if it was a race I was losing.
Sure, it was unnerving watching everyone else pass me without a backward glance: getting married or engaged.
Having babies. Earning a promotion. Celebrating achievements I couldn’t even contemplate.
But the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that you are never last. Life isn’t a race. You’re never failing.
When I reflect on the lies I used to tell myself—that I can’t trust anyone, and that my life should look a certain way—it becomes clear that my life is my manuscript to complete. I hold the pen, and I decide what story to tell.
Looking around the room now, at the people I love most sharing in our joy, I realize that life might not always happen the way we imagine.
But that doesn’t mean it’s wrong, or that we’re left with nothing.
Sometimes our shifts and unexpected journeys just lead to an even richer epilogue.
I’m so glad I never gave up hope. Otherwise, I would never have found my happy ending.
THE END