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The call is good Things with her brother will be good At least, eventually

Relief fills my chest

“Yes, it’s a girl,” she says into the phone “Ellie She turned four months old last week”

She listens for a bit, a little bigger s the skin at the corners of her eyes “If you knew about her, I guess you’ve heard about the father then too”

She shes,” that I knohy She’s happy to be reconnecting, sure, but she’s even happier to have soonads—his archnemesis from childhood, now the father of his only niece

“That asshole is the only reason I’ht now, Luca, so you can cool your jets”

I hear Luca then, but only because his voice has risen to a roar “What the fuck, Rocky?”

“I can see your anger is still a problem, so we’ll talk later, when you’ve had time to calm the hell down!”

Withouta beat, Rocky pulls the phone away fros up ih My God, I feel like I’ain Granted, there’s a little bit saltier language being used now than there used to be, but the gang is ether

The forirl looks back at me with perfectly violet eyes, and my whole heart jumps to tell her I love her

We are in control of our own destiny

Whether it’s a plan we’ve had forever or a plan we never saw co—it doesn’t matter

All I know is I sure as hell picked a good one

Two months later…

Raquel

“I’m sorry, Rocky,” Luca says, and his voice shines with honesty My brother’s blue eyes are genuine and earnest as he apologizes for what has to be the tenth time since I arrived at his and his fiancée Billie’s home in the Hollywood Hills