For a heartbeat, the world fell silent.
The crickets still sang in the hedges, the fairy lights still blinked along the veranda, and the night still breathed warm and slow, but inside Sam, everything stopped.
Kayla's whisper hung between them like a note suspended in air.
"I'm pregnant."
He blinked once, then twice.
His mouth parted and closed again as if he'd forgotten how to speak.
He looked at her, really looked as in scrutinized. He focused on the tremble at the corner of her lip, the brave steadiness in her eyes, the way her fingers had curled into the shawl at her collarbone like she was anchoring herself to courage.
"I…," He swallowed, then he laughed in disbelief, and then in wonder. "For real? Kay… you mean… you're…?"
She nodded, cheeks shining. "I'm pregnant."
The words unlocked him as joy surged through him like floodlights turning on. He stepped forward, hands on her waist, forehead to hers, laughing and whispering, almost crying in the same breath.
