Chapter Thirty Nine

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Sunday lunch at Harper and Noah's house had become a tradition.

No matter how busy life became.

No matter how exhausted everyone was.

Sunday meant family.

This Sunday, however, something was very wrong.

Daisy knew it the second she stepped through the front door.

The house was quiet.

Too quiet.

Then she heard voices.

Noah's voice.

Harper's voice.

And Harper was crying.

Uh-oh.

Beside her, Roman immediately looked concerned.

Even Lillie seemed unusually quiet sitting on his hip.

The three of them paused in the hallway.

Listening.

Completely unnoticed.

"Noah, we haven't even found one we like!"

Harper's voice cracked.

"No, because every house we've seen has something wrong with it."

Noah sounded equally frustrated.

"Because we're running out of time, Harper."

"I'm pregnant!"

"Trust me, I know."

Harper glared.

Even though he couldn't see it from where they stood.

"I don't want to move into a house I hate."

"You won't hate it."

"I hated the kitchen."

"The kitchen was fine."

"The garden was tiny."

"The garden was normal."

"The bedrooms were small."

"They were not."

Harper folded her arms.

"The house was ugly."

Noah rubbed his face.

The look of a man desperately trying to remain calm.

"Harper."

"What?"

"You're saying that because you're pregnant and fussy."

Silence.

Immediate silence.

The kind of silence where everybody knows a mistake has just been made.

A very large mistake.

From the hallway, Roman slowly closed his eyes.

Daisy winced.

Lillie blinked.

Even she seemed aware Noah had just walked directly into danger.

Harper looked horrified.

Then offended.

Then furious.

"Pregnant and fussy?"

Noah's face immediately drained of colour.

The poor man knew it too.

"I didn't mean—"

"You think I'm fussy?"

"No."

"You just said I was."

"I phrased it badly."

"You think my opinions don't count."

"No."

"You think I don't know what I like."

"No."

"You think I'm hormonal."

Noah looked trapped.

"Harper."

"Oh my God."

The tears started again.

Noah looked seconds away from calling emergency services.

That was the moment Roman decided to intervene.

Before Noah accidentally made things worse.

Which seemed entirely possible.

Roman stepped into the room.

"Good morning."

Four heads turned.

Harper.

Noah.

Poppy.

Theo.

Everyone.

Harper immediately wiped her eyes.

Noah looked relieved.

The way a drowning man looked relieved when he spotted a lifeboat.

"Daisy."

"Hi."

Roman nodded casually.

"What's going on?"

Noah pointed dramatically at his wife.

"We need a bigger house."

Harper pointed dramatically back.

"We need a house I actually like."

Roman considered that.

Then shrugged.

"I have a few."

Silence.

Everyone looked at him.

Noah blinked.

"What?"

Roman sat Lillie down on the floor.

"I have a few properties."

Harper frowned.

"A few?"

Daisy almost laughed.

Harper still hadn't fully grasped how much property Roman owned.

Roman looked thoughtful.

"Some townhouses in Manhattan."

Noah stared.

"Townhouses?"

Roman nodded.

"Big ones."

Harper immediately looked interested.

Uh-oh.

Roman continued.

"Some uptown too."

Noah and Harper exchanged a look.

The first non-argumentative look they'd shared all morning.

Progress.

"They aren't on the market yet."

Roman shrugged.

"I only bought them recently."

Daisy wasn't even surprised anymore.

Roman buying buildings without mentioning it felt normal now.

Then Roman said something nobody expected.

Not even Daisy.

"I was actually thinking maybe one could be for us."

Silence.

Complete silence.

Roman continued casually.

"Something with a garden."

Daisy blinked.

Roman looked at her.

Then at Lillie.

Then briefly at her stomach.

"A proper garden."

His smile softened.

"For the kids."

The kids.

Plural.

Daisy's brain immediately stopped functioning.

Completely.

Because this wasn't Roman suggesting a house.

This was Roman imagining a future.

A real future.

One with gardens.

Children running around outside.

Family barbecues.

Birthday parties.

A life beyond the penthouse.

Roman looked entirely relaxed.

Meanwhile Daisy looked exactly the same as she had the day she'd discovered she was pregnant again.

Completely stunned.

Harper noticed immediately.

"Oh my God."

Noah noticed too.

"Oh my God."

Roman frowned.

"What?"

Daisy stared at him.

"You were thinking about moving?"

Roman shrugged.

"A little."

"A little?"

"Maybe a lot."

Nobody spoke for a moment.

Even Theo was quiet.

Which was honestly impressive.

Then Harper suddenly smiled.

A real smile.

The first all morning.

"You want a garden too?"

Roman nodded.

"I think Lillie would love one."

Daisy's heart melted.

Because of course that was his reason.

Not status.

Not money.

Not the size of the house.

Lillie.

And their baby.

And their future.

A few moments later, Noah handed Roman a beer.

"You're looking at those houses with me."

Roman nodded.

"Sure."

Harper pointed.

"And I'm coming."

Noah looked terrified.

"Obviously."

Daisy laughed.

For the first time that morning, everyone did.

And as Lillie crawled across the living room chasing Theo, while two pregnant sisters compared symptoms and two future fathers discussed houses, something shifted.

The future suddenly felt closer.

Bigger.

Brighter.

And for the first time, both couples found themselves imagining not just more children—

But a place for all those children to grow up. ❤️📖