She shrugged, blushing softly. “They sort of… decided you were family now.”
Over dinner, they laughed. The twins argued that ketchup counted as a vegetable. Grace rolled her eyes but let them win.
Later, when the boys were tucked in bed, Daniel lingered in the kitchen, helping wash dishes.
“So,” Grace said, handing him a towel, “what happens now?”
Daniel looked at her. “What do you mean?”
“I mean… you’ve done so much. More than anyone. But you have your own life. Your company. Your world.”
“I gave most of that up,” Daniel admitted. “I handed off the CEO position.”
Grace stared. “You what?”
“I didn’t want to wake up in an empty penthouse anymore. I didn’t want to answer emails while two little boys looked at me like I was a stranger.” He paused. “I want more than success, Grace. I want a life that matters.”
She dried her hands slowly. “And what kind of life would that be?”
Daniel stepped closer. “One with you. With them. If… if you’ll let me.”
Grace’s breath hitched. “Daniel, I’m not perfect. I’m still trying to find my footing.”
“So am I,” he said. “But maybe we could do it together?”
She didn’t respond right away. But then she reached for his hand, her eyes—no longer weary, no longer afraid—filled with something new.
Hope.
Weeks later, just after New Year’s, Daniel stood at a different kind of meeting. No boardroom. No suits. Just snow on the ground and two tiny voices shouting, “Do it, do it!”
In the middle of Central Park, as the twins ran in circles, Daniel turned to Grace and held out a small box.
Her hands flew to her mouth. “Daniel—”
“No pressure,” he said with a crooked smile. “Just a man who used to have everything… realizing none of it meant anything without you.”
Grace’s eyes welled up. “You saved our lives…”
He shook his head. “You and your boys saved mine.”
Then she said the only word that mattered.
Yes.
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