Page 44 of Ranger’s Protection

"Because it's perfect. And you're good at tactics and protection and knowing exactly what to do in a crisis, but jewelry shopping probably isn't your forte."

"I had the general idea. They helped with specifics. Made sure I got the right size and style." He finishes ordering and sets his phone aside. "You really like it?"

"I love it. I love you. I love this life we're building. I love that our daughter is going to grow up in this house with parents who adore her and uncles who will teach her extremely questionable life skills."

"She's going to know how to change a motorcycle tire before she's ten."

"She's going to know how to throw a punch before she's twelve."

"She's going to be absolutely terrifying and we're going to be so proud."

"The most terrifying, most loved little girl in Millhaven."

Our daughter kicks again in agreement, and we both laugh.

Twenty minutes later we're eating pizza on the couch, Graham feeding me breadsticks while I tell him about my day at the office, the client who brought in a shoebox full of receipts, the small business owner who thanked me for saving him thousands on his taxes, the completely normal boring beautiful day of being a small-town accountant.

He tells me about the clubhouse. Canvas finished a massive tattoo piece he's been working on for months, Judge taught Grace a new sign that she's now using constantly to everyone's amusement.

"I'm really happy," I tell him. "Like, the happiest I've ever been. Even with swollen ankles and burnt cookies and pregnancy brain. I'm so happy it almost scares me."

"Why does it scare you?"

"Because I keep waiting for something to go wrong. For this to be taken away. For the universe to realize it made a mistake giving me all of this."

Graham sets down his pizza and takes my hand, the one wearing his ring. "The universe didn't make a mistake. You deserve this, Delilah. You deserve happiness and safety and love and everything good. You've earned it by surviving everything that tried to break you. By being brave when it would've been easier to give up. By choosing to trust me when every logical reason said you shouldn't."

"I'll always choose you," I tell him. "For the rest of my life. In every timeline. Every universe. Every possibility. I choose you."

"And I choose you. Always."

Two years ago, Graham Nash knocked on a motel room door and changed my life. Today, he got down on one knee and asked me to spend forever with him.

Tomorrow, we'll start planning a wedding and preparing for our daughter's arrival and continuing to build this beautiful, chaotic, perfect life together.

But right now, in this moment, everything is exactly as it should be. And that's more than I ever dreamed possible when I was hiding in that motel room, waiting for someone to save me.

Graham didn't just save me.

He gave me everything.

A life worth living.

A future worth fighting for.

A love worth keeping.

Forever.