Page 101 of Doctor Hot Mess

I squeeze his hand, my heart swelling at the tenderness in his tone. “He sounds amazing. I wish I could have met him.”

Jonah smiles, and this time, there’s no shadow of guilt or sadness in his expression—just fondness. “He would’ve liked you. A lot. He had a way of seeing through people’s bullshit. You’d have passed the test.”

I laugh, leaning closer to him. “Good to know I’d have made the cut.”

Jonah’s hand moves to rest over mine on my belly, his touch grounding and comforting. “I think he’d be proud,” he says quietly. “Of this. Of us. Of the fact that he's named after someone really important.”

Tears prick at my eyes, but they’re the happy kind, filled with the weight of love and hope. “He will know, Jonah. Our Dell will know what his name means. Who it honors. And he’s going to grow up hearing stories about your best friend and all the ways he made the world better.”

Jonah presses a kiss to my temple, lingering there for a moment. “Thank you, Harper,” he murmurs. “For making something so good out of something I carried for so long.”

I turn to look at him, my chest swelling with love. “That’s what love does, Jonah. It turns the hard things into something beautiful.”

I place my hand on his cheek, letting my thumb brush over the faint stubble.

He leans down to kiss me. It’s soft and slow, the kind of kiss that says everything we’ve learned to say without words. When he pulls back, his blue eyes are shining.

“I love you, Harper Gray.”

I smile, feeling the tears prick my eyes. “I love you too, Jonah Bellinger.”

The timer dings, breaking the moment. Jonah groans dramatically. “Fine, let’s eat before our child boycotts our Irish feast.”

“Deal,” I say, laughing as we head to the table.

As we sit together, surrounded by the silly green decorations and the promise of everything still to come, I realize just how far we’ve come in a year. The future is wide open—and exactly where I’m meant to be.