Chapter 1

The woman blinked in surprise, then burst into a giggling fit behind her hand. "Sounds like guys all use the same script when they're planning a surprise, huh?"

I looked at her youthful, radiant face before slowly turning away.

The plane pitched upward into the heavy clouds, sending a sudden tremor through the cabin.

That wave of nausea I'd barely managed to keep down came rushing right back up my throat.

I gripped my seatbelt, trying to force my erratic breaths to slow down.

The woman immediately rummaged through her purse and held out a sour candy. "You get air-sick? Here, something sour usually helps."

I took the candy, leaving the wrapper untouched. "Thanks."

She offered a quick wave. "No biggie. I'm Sarah Reid, by the way. What's your name?"

"Ella Fraser."

"Ella… that's such a pretty name."

Leaning back in her seat, Sarah went right back to swooning over that photo of the proposal setup.

She saved the picture to her favorites, then turned to me again. "Ella, do you think it'll look fake if I play dumb?"

Looking at her flushed cheeks, I was completely at a loss for words.

I pulled out my phone. The text from my husband, Ryan Stein, from this morning was still sitting right there.

"Things are worse than we thought. I might have to pull an all-nighter, so don't bother calling. I'll probably just sleep at the office. You should head to bed early."

I stared at the avatar pinned at the very top of my chat list for the past nine years, my finger hovering over the screen.

Unsent in the chat box was an ultrasound scan.

The doctor had told me the baby was perfectly healthy.

Just an hour ago, I was still wondering how Ryan would react when he saw it.

Maybe he'd wrap me in a tight hug. Or maybe he'd get teary-eyed, just like he did seven years ago when he proposed.

It turned out I was just delusional.

I deleted the scan from the chat box.

Once the plane leveled out in the stratosphere, Sarah finally let her shoulders drop.

She logged into the inflight Wi-Fi, and suddenly, a man's voice filtered out of her phone speaker.

"Babe, don't go wandering off after you land. It's gotten chilly outside, so I brought your coat. I know how sensitive your stomach is. Skip the inflight meal if you don't like it. I had someone whip up some warm soup for you."

Sarah wasn't using headphones.

Ryan's gentle voice washed over me, crisp and unmistakable.

Upon hearing the voice message, Sarah couldn't hide the huge grin spreading across her face.

She tapped the mic button, her voice dropping into a coo. "Got it. Aren't you supposed to be pulling overtime at the office? I'll call you when I land. Don't you dare sneak over to pick me up."

After hitting send, she gave me a playful wink. "I'm going to act like I have no idea. Makes it way more satisfying for him when he pops the question."

I managed a faint tug at the corner of my mouth. "You love him a lot?"

"Of course." Sarah didn't hesitate for a second.

"We've been together for almost two years now. He's always slammed with work, but he treats me like a princess."

I quietly did the math.

Two years ago, Ryan's company had just wrapped up its Series B funding round.

At the celebration party that night, he was so wasted he could barely keep his feet.

As I helped him out of his reeking blazer, he had held me tight and told me that marrying me was the luckiest thing that had ever happened to him.

Yet right back then, Sarah was already in the picture.

The flight attendants rolled down the aisle with dinner.

Sarah took a few sips of water and shoved the food tray aside. "I need to save room. He promised me a romantic candlelit dinner tonight."

She turned to face me. "Is your husband picking you up at the airport, Ella?"

I stared out the window at the churning cloudscape. "No. He's tied up with an emergency."

A flicker of sympathy crossed Sarah's face. "Ah, that sucks. Going back to an empty home is no fun. Why don't you stick with me for a bit? The proposal setup is right near the exit gate anyway. Come check it out with me! Once it's over, I'll have him call a car to drop you off."

I didn't answer right away.

Thinking I was hesitant, she reached over and hooked her arm warmly through mine.

"Just think of it as moral support, okay? If I walk out there all by myself, my legs are totally gonna give out."

I looked down at her hand resting on my wrist.

Then my gaze fell to my ring finger and the wedding band Ryan had slipped onto it seven years ago.

"Okay." I heard my own voice say. "I'll come with you."