19. Grace
Chapter 19
Grace
K ate stretches out on my bed, arms behind her head, looking far too at home for someone who has an entire wedding to get through tomorrow. Her hair is splayed out over my pillow, and she’s in her silk pajama shorts and tank top like she has no cares in the world. Meanwhile, I’m pacing at the foot of the bed, rubbing my stomach like I can will the nerves out of my body.
It’s not my wedding tomorrow. I should be relaxed, but I’m not.
Kane has been acting like I’m some kind of fragile, breakable thing ever since I told him about the baby, and for the first time in our entire complicated history, I don’t know how to deal with him.
I cross my arms and lean against the dresser. “He follows me everywhere, Kate. I’m not even joking. I had to practically shove him out of the bathroom this morning just so I could pee in peace.”
Kate laughs, adjusting one of the pillows behind her back. “He does have a caveman streak.”
“A caveman streak?” I repeat, glaring at her. “Kate, he broke the dishwasher yesterday because I was bending to load the bottom rack, and he decided I ‘shouldn’t be straining myself.’”
Kate snorts. “Okay, that’s… extreme.”
I throw up my hands. “Ya think?! It’s like he woke up one morning and decided that because I’m pregnant, I can’t do anything on my own anymore. I swear, if he tries to carry me up the stairs one more time, I’m going to fight him.”
Kate hums thoughtfully. “And yet, you let him hover.”
I freeze mid-pace. “Excuse me?”
She grins, sitting up slightly. “You let him hover. You let him tell you to sit down, let him get you water, let him order you food when you’re being too stubborn to eat.” She arches a brow. “You let him do all of it, Grace.”
I glare at her, but it’s completely ineffective because she knows me too damn well.
“It’s annoying,” I argue.
Kate laughs again. “Yeah, but you like it.”
I exhale sharply and flop down onto the bed next to her. “Maybe. A little.”
Kate nudges me with her knee. “A little?”
I groan. “Fine. It’s nice, okay? But it’s also infuriating.”
Kate grins. “Because you’re a control freak.”
“I am not,” I grumble.
“You are, too,” Kate says, rolling onto her side, propping herself up on her elbow. “And now you have a guy who genuinely wants to take care of you, and it’s messing with your entire identity.”
I make a noise that’s somewhere between a huff and a whine. “It’s just… a lot, Kate.” I roll onto my back, staring up at the ceiling. “We went from avoiding each other for over a year to this—and I don’t know what to do with it.”
Kate’s quiet for a second, then she shifts so she’s closer, resting her chin on her hand. “What is this , exactly?”
I turn my head to look at her .
“Between you and Kane,” she clarifies. “Where do you two actually stand?”
I inhale deeply. “We’re going to do this together,” I say, voice softer than I intended. “The baby. Figuring us out. All of it.”
Kate studies me for a moment. “And how do you feel about that?”
I think about Kane. About the way he looks at me now, like I’m the most important thing in his universe. About the way his hands linger on my stomach when he thinks I’m not paying attention. About the way he whispers things in the dark when he thinks I’m asleep, promises he hasn’t said out loud yet.
I shrug, trying to downplay it. “It’s... complicated.”
Kate’s smile is knowing. “You love him.”
I snort. “That’s a strong word.”
Kate laughs. “Oh, Gracie. You’re already in so deep.”
I groan and cover my face with my hands. “I hate you.”
“No, you love me,” she corrects, nudging my side. “And you love Kane, even though you refuse to say it.”
I drop my hands with a dramatic sigh. “You’re insufferable.”
Kate grins, winking. “And right.”
I roll onto my side, facing her. “Fine. Enough about my emotionally confusing love life. Let’s talk about yours. Are you freaking out yet?”
Kate shakes her head immediately. “Not even a little.”
I blink. “Seriously?”
Kate sighs, soft and happy, like she’s been waiting for this day her whole life. “Grace, I’ve never been more sure about anything. Hudson is it for me. I know it.”
Something in my chest warms at the certainty in her voice.
“You’re not nervous at all?” I ask, half-impressed, half-incredulous.
She shakes her head. “Not about him. Not about us. ”
I smile, nudging her foot with mine. “I’m happy for you, Kate. Really.”
Kate beams. “I know.”
We lie there for a moment, the quiet between us comfortable, the excitement for tomorrow hanging in the air.
Kate is getting married. Married.
And somehow, amid all the chaos and change, it feels like things are exactly where they’re supposed to be.
The world around me is a dreamscape of soft, golden light and ocean air. The sky is painted in streaks of dusky pink and lavender, stretching endlessly above a quiet beach. Warm waves kiss my bare feet as I stand at the shoreline, the wind teasing through my hair.
I turn, and Kane is there.
Dressed in an undone white button-down, sleeves rolled to his elbows, and those damn fitted pants that hug his frame just right, he looks like he belongs here—like this place was made just for him. Just for us.
His hands slide into the pockets of his dress pants, his lips tilting in that way—not quite a smile, but something deeper, something real.
I step toward him, but my dress catches on the breeze, the hem floating around my ankles in delicate whispers of lace. A wedding dress.
I gasp, looking down at the fabric, feeling its softness beneath my fingers. My heart stutters in my chest.
The realization sinks in like a slow, sweet wave.
It’s our wedding day.
Kane takes a step closer, his hands finding my waist, his touch grounding me in a way nothing else can. “You ready for this, Gracie?” His voice is soft but edged with that quiet certainty that always undoes me.
I swallow hard, my throat suddenly tight. “I think so.”
He tilts his head, studying me. “That doesn’t sound very convincing.”
I exhale, my fingers gripping the front of his shirt like I need to hold onto something solid. “I just… What if this isn’t real?”
Kane’s lips twitch like he’s amused but also like he understands. He always understands.
He lifts a hand to my face, brushing his knuckles along my cheek. “It’s real.”
His hand drifts lower, resting over my stomach. A warmth blooms beneath his touch, an undeniable reminder of the tiny life we created together.
“You, me, this baby—it’s all real, Grace.” His voice is steady, unwavering. “You just have to let yourself believe it.”
I blink up at him, my heart aching in the best possible way. “And you? Do you believe it?”
Kane’s hands tighten on me, his jaw locking for a second before he speaks. “I’ve always believed in us, Gracie.”
A lump forms in my throat, but before I can respond, the scene around us shifts.
The beach fades. The warm breeze vanishes.
And suddenly, I’m standing alone in a darkened hallway.
A long, endless stretch of shadow and flickering light. The air is heavy—charged with something I can’t quite name.
My breath catches.
Kane is gone.
Panic spikes through me as I spin around, searching for him, for anything familiar.
I step forward, my bare feet cool against the wooden floor. My dress is still clinging to me, but the delicate lace feels wrong now. Like it’s constricting me, like it’s holding me back .
“Kane?” My voice wobbles, swallowed by the pressing silence.
Nothing.
Then—
A whisper.
A faint, haunting sound in the distance.
I freeze.
The hallway begins to narrow, the walls pressing in. The light overhead flickers, the shadows shifting, moving.
Something’s coming.
I feel it before I see it—the creeping sensation of being watched, of something unseen lurking just out of reach.
Fear curls around my spine, wrapping tight.
And then ? —
“Kane!” My voice rips through the silence, desperate. Begging.
The shadows lurch toward me, but just before they can touch me ? —
I wake up and sit bolt upright in bed, my pulse hammering, my breath ragged.
The room is dark, the faint glow of the moon slipping through the curtains. The air is still, too quiet, the eerie feeling from my dream still lingering in my chest.
My hands tremble slightly as I press them to my stomach, feeling the steady rise and fall of my breathing, the solid reality of my body.
Just a dream.
Just a dream.
But it felt so real. The warmth. The love. The certainty of Kane’s hands on me.
And then—the loss. The cold absence of him .
I exhale, forcing myself to relax, but a whisper of something unnamed lingers in my mind.
It wasn’t just about fear. It was about trust. About letting go of whatever part of me still fears that this—us—might not last.
I swallow, turning slightly, and my breath catches when I see him lying beside me, his bare chest rising and falling in deep, steady breaths, one arm stretched toward me like even in sleep, he’s reaching for me.
A slow, giddy warmth spreads through me.
I shift closer, tucking myself into his side, letting his heat seep into my skin.
He stirs, a low rumble escaping his throat as his arm wraps around me, pulling me flush against him.
“Mm,” he grumbles, voice thick with sleep. “You okay?”
I close my eyes, pressing my face into his shoulder.
“I am now,” I whisper.
Kane hums in response, his grip tightening, and I let myself sink into him, into this.
Because whatever the dream meant—whatever lingering fears I have—I know one thing for certain.
I want this.
And I’m ready to fight for it.