“Hi back.” He gives me the charming smile I love so much and leans in, giving me a lingering kiss on the lips.

“What’s going on?”

Behind us, in the lighted gazebo, a table is set for two. In the grass, a blanket is laid out with a telescope.

I hear the crunching of tires at the limo pulls away.

“Aundrea, recently you’ve reminded me that it doesn’t matter what happens in life, as long as we live it together. It’s not about fear, doubt, or failure. It’s about being together and embracing what’s important. These last few months have been crazy and tonight I wanted to give you—or, rather, us—a night where nothing else in the world matters.”

“Parker.”

“You’ve yet to teach me about astronomy so I thought, what better time than now? So, I’ve gotten us a high tech telescope that I can’t figure out how to use and dinner for two.” He holds his hands out in a proud gesture, and I laugh.

“Well then, handsome, let’s get to it.”

I show him how to set up the Celestron telescope, even though I know he’ll never remember how to align it again.

We nibble on pizza as I locate different planets and stars, giving Parker a short history of each.

Later, we end up lying on the blanket, just staring at the sky. It’s dark and clear. There’s no sound around us, just the two of us enjoying the warm, quiet evening.

It’s impossible to count all the stars, of course, but as I lie here, snuggled against Parker, I try.

“Why do they twinkle?” Parker asks. He takes the hand I’m pointing as I try to count.

“I love when they twinkle.” I stop counting and look at my Mr. Handsome. How far we’ve come to feel so complete. He looks young as he waits for my reply.

“There’s turbulence in the atmosphere that causes a star’s light to refract in different directions, which makes it look dimmer and then brighter. So it looks like it twinkles.”

Parker turns onto his side, brushing the hair off my face, and kisses my forehead.

“I love the stars,” I say. “The universe is such a beautiful thing to study. It’s like trying to piece together a story. Putting chapters of its life together, just like ours. You never know what you’re going to learn or encounter. Like life, there is still so much to know.”

“Like us.”

“Like us.” I confirm. “You know, they say true love exists in the stars.”

“They do?” Parker raises an eyebrow, smirking.

“Of course. I mean, if you believe in astrology.”

Parker grins. “Continue.”

“Us, for example. I’m a Pisces, a water sign, and you’re a Leo, a fire sign. You put the two together and you have nothing but steam.”

“One would think water and fire wouldn’t mix well?” he counters.

“Well, Leos like being center stage. They can help a shy Piscean overcome her insecurities and face any obstacle. Leos are the center of the universe, run by the sun. So, essentially, they light the fire for us to exist.”

“Am I your reason to exist, Aundrea?”

“More than you’ll ever know.”

“What about these Pisces? What do they have to say?”

“Pisces is unique. They’re ruled by Neptune and Jupiter, the ruler of seas and the king of Gods. Mixing those two together, you get some amazing and rare energy. We tend to be the most compassionate sign, wanting to take others’ pain away. It’s no wonder we’d need someone as strong as a Leo to lean on.”

He’s quiet for a moment, watching me. “Are you happy?”

“What do you mean?”

“With everything you’ve done in your life. Are you happy?”

“I couldn’t have asked for a better life so far. I’m here, with you, a baby on the way, and about to start my dream career. I never thought all this was possible for me, so, yes, I am more than happy.”

Taking a deep breath he releases my hand and rolls onto his back. “My nightmare … it always starts with me reading a letter from you. You say you’ll be among the stars, watching and waiting. Do you think that’s true?”

My chest squeezes. It seems just like something I would say.

I scoot closer to him and rest my hand on his cheek. His eyes close. “Absolutely, Parker. No matter where you are, if you stop and look up into the night sky and see a star twinkling, know that it’s me giving you a wink back.”

“I’m afraid.”

“Of what?”

“What will be left if you’re gone? I’ve run into Brandon twice recently and he looks so broken. I feel so bad for him. I know that’s what trigged those dreams.”

“You won’t ever have to worry about that.” I kiss the tip of his nose. “Think about what Dr. James said. I’m doing great. There’s no need to worry.”

“I was talking with Jason recently and he mentioned something about getting a will …” I tense immediately. “Aundrea, I’m not saying we need to plan for anything. It just got me thinking that with a baby on the way, we should be prepared. Make provisions for the practice, the house; I want you to be taken care of. I want our child to be looked after.”

I process his words. I’ve never thought about getting a will. I know Genna and Jason have one. I was there when they started talking about it and listened to them discuss it soon after I moved in with them. Genna was having one of her meltdowns about me and my treatment. About how she was tired of watching me in pain and wished she could take it all away. She said if anything happened to either of them, they should have something in place, so they agreed on getting a will.