Page 169 of What He Keeps

Hours later, as the celebration winds down, I find Ivy sitting in the new play yard brushing Winston.

“Maggie?” she asks quietly when I sit beside her.

“Yeah, sugar?”

She twists Winston's leash around her fingers. “You're staying, right?”

My heart aches. I take her small hand in mine. “If you'll have me.”

Ivy stares at me as though I've asked the most ridiculous question in human history. “Well, yeah,” she says. “You're ours.”

I pull her into my arms.

Over Ivy's shoulder, I find Alexei watching us from across the yard. The look on his face nearly undoes me.

As the last guests begin to leave, I step away to watch the sunset paint the sky in shades of pink and gold. Alexei joins me a moment later and places one hand over my stomach. The gesture has become instinctive for him.

Then Alexei brushes his thumb across my side and asks quietly, “Ready to go home?”

I lean against him. “I already am.”

He goes completely still.

“Marry me,” he says.

I blink. “That's it?”

He frowns. “Would you like a longer speech?”

“Maybe.”

Alexei studies me before reaching up to cup my cheek. “I nearly lost you twice. I won't waste another day pretending you’re anything other than mine. Marry me.”

Tears instantly fill my eyes. “That's still pretty possessive.”

“It wasn't a denial,” he points out.

I laugh through my tears. “No. It wasn't.”

“Is that a yes?”

I rise onto my toes and kiss him. “Yes.”

His arms tighten around me. “Good.”

“That's all you've got?”

“I already knew your answer.”

“Arrogant.”

“Accurate.”

I laugh again.

Behind us, Ivy's laughter floats across the shelter grounds. Winston barks. Elvis races across the yard with Daisy in pursuit. Jules argues with a volunteer about proper cat enrichment techniques. Mama cries while pretending she isn't. Roman stands nearby, looking vaguely alarmed by all the emotion.

Family.

Not the one I expected. The one I chose.

Standing outside Second Chance Savannah, surrounded by the people I love, I finally understand something. Sometimes the best families are the ones built from second chances.

And sometimes, if you're very lucky, love gives you one too.

THE END