35. Katy
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
katy
NEW BEGINNINGS
After the most restful night I’ve had in a month, Ben makes pancakes. It’s already shaping up to be a great morning.
“Hey,” Ben says. “Can I ask you something?”
I look up from the couch. “You can ask me anything.”
He nods, breathing out once. “Okay.”
He leans against the counter, not nervous, exactly, but careful.
“So… I’ve been staying here because it felt right,” he continues. “I didn’t want to assume anything.”
My stomach flips. “Okay…”
“But I need you to know something.” His voice shakes, but he gives me a small smile. “I rented a two-bedroom apartment a while ago.” He rubs the back of his neck. “Nothing fancy. Close to campus. Quiet. I did it hoping that eventually you two might want to move in. With me.”
I blink. “You… what?”
“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want it to feel like pressure,” he says quickly. “It was just… space. For a future. If you wanted it.”
Silence stretches between us.
And my heart does something reckless. “You planned for us?”
He shrugs, but there’s something soft in his eyes. “I planned for the possibility of us.”
My eyes burn, but I laugh anyway. “You’re so cute.”
He steps closer. “Is that a no?”
I glance down at our baby, warm and sleepy against my chest. Then I look back at him.
“No.” I grin.
His face stills.
“It’s a yes.”
His shoulders drop like he’s been holding that breath for months. “Okay.”
And he smiles like he just got everything he’s ever wanted.
BEN
There has never been a louder apartment in history, I’m pretty confident about that.
People are everywhere. Boxes stacked in every room. Rebecca is aggressively organizing all of Katy’s things like she’s training to be on The Home Edit.
The guys and I finally carry in the last of the boxes from Katy’s. Slowly, the apartment is starting to look less like a storage unit and more like a home.
Our home.
Katy stands in the middle of it all with the baby strapped to her chest, watching the chaos with wide eyes. She looks overwhelmed in that quiet way that only I seem to notice.
I slip beside her. “You okay?” I ask.
She nods slowly. “I think so. But I might cry a little bit.”
“That’s allowed,” I say. “As long as they’re happy tears.”
Eventually everyone starts leaving. Declan and Grandma Patty hug Katy a little too long. Rebecca gives me a suspiciously proud look before heading out. Danny tries very hard to stay and ends up getting carried away like a sack of potatoes.
And then when the door finally closes, and the apartment goes quiet, my stomach flips.
“There’s… something I want to show you.”
Katy tilts her head. “Why do you look nervous?”
“I’m not,” I say immediately. And it’s a complete lie.
“Come here.” I lead her down the hallway, my heart pounding harder with every step. The door to the second bedroom is still closed. She hasn’t seen it yet.
I stop in front of it. “Okay,” I say. “Just open it.”
She turns the knob, and her breath catches. She takes one slow step inside, like she’s afraid to disturb something.
“Wow,” she whispers.
I rub the back of my neck, suddenly sweating.
“Ben.” She turns to look at me. “This looks like a Pottery Barn catalog.”
I laugh weakly. “Is that… a good thing?”
“A very good thing.” She spins slowly, taking everything in. The crib. The soft rug.
The rocking chair by the window. The little basket with burp cloths, snacks, and water bottles exactly like Grandma Patty taught me.
“How did you do all this?” she asks.
I shrug, suddenly very interested in the floor. “Well… those months you weren’t talking to me, I had some free time.”
Her smile falters at the reminder.
“So I made myself useful,” I add quickly. “I bought some things. Returned them. Then I bought them again in different colors.” I glance around the room. “I just wanted to be ready when you were.”
She reaches out and runs her fingers along the crib rail. “You did all this by yourself?”
“I had help,” I admit. “Ella gave me very clear instructions. Grandma Patty gave me a list of everything you would need. My mom came shopping with me a few times. Logan and the other guys helped paint the walls.”
Katy turns to look at me again, her eyes shining. “Ben… this is incredible.”
My heart swells.
She crosses the room in three quick steps and presses her forehead against my chest, careful of the baby between us. “You made us a home,” she whispers.
I close my eyes. “Yeah, I wanted you to love it here. Both of you.”
She pulls back and looks up at me like I’ve done something heroic. “We do,” she says softly.
The baby stirs and makes a tiny noise.
I look down at him immediately. “You like your new room, buddy?” I ask him. “What do you think?”
Katy laughs, and the beautiful sound fills the room. I want to hear that laugh every day of my life.
I finally might have gotten something right. Although, with the way she looks at me, the way she’s always looked at me, you would think I’ve been doing something right all along.
KATY
I’m slowly becoming an expert at being back in the real world but with a baby with me. I was terrified of doing the most basic things but as always, Ben has a way to make everything feel lighter to me. Now I’m fearless. Because I’m at brunch with a baby.
The restaurant is loud in the way that only feels good when you’re a little buzzed and surrounded by people who love you.
Rebecca is on her second mimosa and gesturing wildly, which means she’s telling a story she’s already told but thinks is better now. Ella is sitting beside me, smiling at Mini-Ben like she’s personally responsible for him existing.
“I still can’t believe you made a whole human.” She brushes a finger over his cheek.
“I mostly laid down a lot,” I say. “Highly recommend.”
Rebecca immediately chokes on her mimosa. She coughs once, then starts laughing. “I’m sorry, what?”
Ella blinks. “Rebecca.”
Rebecca wipes her mouth, still grinning. “You mean you just starfished? Poor Ben.”
Ella blinks. “Oh my God. Please stop this conversation right now.”
I drop my face into my hands. “Ugh. I meant while I was growing a human.”
Rebecca raises her glass. “And while that was happening, Ben was… doing a lot of cardio.”
Ella loses it.
Mini Ben is smiling in his car seat beside me, completely unbothered by clinking glasses or Rebecca’s volume. I sip my mimosa slowly, carefully, and feel… like a normal human. Like myself.
“I missed this.” Ella smiles. “Us.”
“Same,” I say. “I was scared it would feel different.”
Rebecca lifts her glass. “It is different, now we have the cutest plus one.”
Ella tilts her head with a suspicious smile. “Can I ask you something? And you can’t deflect.”
I raise an eyebrow. “That’s a terrifying opening.”
“You’ve published books, Katherine? And you haven’t told us?”
I roll my eyes so hard I nearly pull a facial muscle. “Are you kidding me? Ben is such a gossip.”
“It wasn’t Ben.” Ella is already grinning. “It was Declan. He was practically beaming. Total big brother moment.”
“Ugh, seriously?” I pick up my mimosa. “Can you guys keep something from each other for once in your life? Keep the mystery alive?”
Rebecca sets her glass down. “We read them. They’re amazing. You should use your real name now.”
I stare at her. “Hard pass. I have absolutely zero interest in putting myself out there like that.” I pause. “Also, my parents would have a heart attack.”
“We don’t care what they think anymore,” Ella says.
I look at her. “I guess you’re right. But there’s a lot of sex scenes, and I’m not ready for round two of being the talk of the town.”
Rebecca raises her glass. “Fine, we’ll work on your fear of judgement. But for the record, your books are extremely good, and I looked it up and you have four point eight stars.”
“I do.”
“Which is honestly impressive,” Ella says. “Especially considering you wrote all those sex scenes before you ever had sex.”
I groan.
Rebecca nearly chokes on her champagne. “Wait. Seriously?”
“Please stop talking.”
“But how did you get all the details right?” Rebecca demands.
“Rebecca.”
“What? I’m just impressed.”
“Cheers to that.” We clink glasses.
A few minutes later, Ella squints at her empty flute.
“Okay.” She frowns. “Tiny problem.”
Rebecca leans back. “I hate when you say that.”
Ella tilts the glass upside down. “I have had more than one mimosa.”
Rebecca nods. “Same. Proudly.”
I blink. “We… all drove here.”
There’s a beat before we all start laughing.
“Oh no.” Rebecca freezes. “Oh no.”
Ella grins. “Oopsie.” She’s already pulling out her phone.
“Who are you calling?” I ask.
She doesn’t look up. “Declan.”
I groan. “Of course.”
She puts it on speaker.
“Hey,” Declan answers. “Everything okay?”
Ella smiles sweetly. “Yes! Everything’s great. We’re just… still at brunch.”
Silence.
Declan exhales. “You can’t drive.”
Ella gasps. “Wow. You just assume we’re irresponsible.”
“You’re not because you called me,” he says. “Where are you?”
Rebecca waves at the phone. “Hi, Declan!”
“I’ll call Ben and Tyler. Stay there.”
Ella beams. “Group pickup!”
Rebecca claps once. “We love a coordinated response.”
We’re still laughing when the door opens ten minutes later.
Ben, Declan, and Tyler all arrive at the same time.
“There they are.” Tyler points at us. “The brunch menaces.”
Ben comes straight to me first, like he didn’t even see anyone else.
“Hey, you okay?”
“Very. We were having a moment.”
He smiles. “I can tell.” His eyes flick to my glass, then back to me. He leans in, voice low and apologetic. “Just so you know… we’re out of the milk testing strips.”
I groan and drop my head back.
Declan frowns. “Milk testing strips?”
“They check if there’s alcohol in breast milk,” Ben explains. “So, tonight’s probably a pump-and-dump situation.”
I sigh dramatically. “I knew this brunch was too peaceful.”
“But,” he adds quickly, “you look really happy. I like seeing you like this.”
I glance around the table—at my friends’ chaos, and at the baby still smiling through all of it.
“I am. Worth it.”
“I’ll grab more strips for you,” Declan offers.
Ella clutches her chest. “My acts of service king.”
Declan rolls his eyes. “Alright, everyone up.”
As we stand, a little louder and wobblier than when we arrived, Ben slips an arm around my waist.
“Next time,” he murmurs, “we’ll plan ahead.”
I grin. “Next time, we Uber.”
Tyler snorts. “We’re happy to be your Ubers, ladies. But maybe a carpool situation.”
We spill out together, laughing and not driving and very much loved, and I think, not for the first time—
Yeah.
This.
This is exactly how I hoped my life would be.