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I leave her office in a daze, making my way down the hallway, thinking about what just happened. I was offered a job. And not just any job. One that feels like it belongs to this new life I’m building.

Ollie is exactly where I left him, leaning against the stroller while Tilly happily chews on the giraffe toy she loves. He looks up the second the bell above the door jingles. One look at my face and his expression changes. Hope flickers across it first, followed by certainty and then my favorite smile in the world.

“You got it,” he says with a relieved sigh.

I laugh, unable to stop smiling as I nod. “I got it.”

Saying the words out loud makes everything inside me swell at once; excitement, disbelief and something close to pride. Ollie closes the distance between us in three quick strides and wraps both arms around me. I melt into him without hesitation, burying my face against his chest as the emotion I’ve been holding back finally catches up with me.

“I’m so proud of you,” he whispers into my hair.

My eyes sting. There was a time when hearing those words would’ve made me wonder what I’d done to earn them. But standing here in Ollie’s arms, I don’t question them.

“I can’t believe this is my life,” I admit, pulling a tissue from my bag and dabbing at my tears.

“Peyton, I’ve never been more certain that someone belongs somewhere.” His thumb brushes beneath my eye, catching a tear I missed. “Those kids already adore you. Their parents trust you. And after meeting Emilie today, I think she saw exactly what I get to see every single day.”

My throat tightens. “And what’s that?”

“Someone who makes people feel safe. Someone who notices when people need help, even when they don’t ask for it. Someone who spent so long believing she wasn’t enough that she still doesn’t realize how much she gives to everyone around her.”

I swallow past the lump in my throat, but before I can find the words to answer him, he leans closer. “And, for the record, someone who’s going to be very good at this job.”

Emotion crashes through me all at once. I wrap my arms around his waist again, holding him tighter than before.

“Thank you,” I say.

“For what?”

“For believing in me before I knew how to believe in myself.”

“Always.”

Tilly lets out an impatient squeal from the stroller, reminding us she hasn't been consulted about all the hugging. We both laugh. Ollie reaches down to tickle her foot before slipping his hand into mine.

“Let's go and celebrate your new job at Tres Besos. Maria and Santiago can’t wait to cuddle their honorary grandchild,” he says, meaning Tilly. The couple fell in love with her the moment we stopped for a quick lunch a week ago.

I slip my hand into Ollie's as we start walking toward the restaurant, the afternoon sun warming our shoulders while Tilly babbles happily.

Looking at the little family we've built together, one thought settles in my chest. Home doesn't always look the way you imagined it would. Sometimes it looks like a man who kisses your scars without seeing them as flaws. Like a little girl sleeping safely down the hall. Like laughter flowing through an apartment above an auto body shop.

And somehow, against all odds, it became exactly the home I never knew I was searching for.

35

OLLIE

ONE MONTH LATER

“You’ve been acting strange all week,” I tell Peyton as we step out of the car in the garage under Eli and Rose’s building in Manhattan.

She glances at me, her expression full of faux innocence. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Didn’t take you for a liar.”

Peyton laughs and puts Tilly in her stroller before we move to the private elevator. “Just wait.”

“What exactly am I waiting for?” I ask as the doors close.