Page 158 of Veil of Lies

A sharp twinge made me wince. Ouch. That hurt! It faded and I straightened. Probably just Braxton Hicks contractions. I’d read about those. Then my belly tightened again and I felt something release inside.

A gush of warm fluid trickled down my legs and pooled around my feet. I looked down and gasped as a much stronger contraction had me doubled over in pain.

“Boys! The baby’s coming!”

Epilogue 2

5 years later

Stella

“Juno!” I yelled. “Get your butt back inside. It’s bath time!”

Our daughter completely ignored me, as usual. She was far too busy playing with her daddy in the pool.

Juno had his hazel eyes and dark blond hair but was blessed with a sparky personality all of her own.

When the DNA test showed Harley was her bio-dad, we’d not heard the end of it for weeks. Brax and Quinn were on the verge of murdering the smug bastard by the time I persuaded him to cool it.

Once we decided to try for a second baby, he was forced to use condoms or abstain, which he was pissed about. But the other two wanted their chance of being a daddy, so I had told him in no uncertain terms to deal with it or move into the spare room.

Harley jogged past me with a squirming little girl thrown over his shoulder. He flashed me a grin on the way past. “I’ll bathe her if you agree to be mine tonight,” he called as he paused on the stairs.

I smirked. “OK, you’re on.”

Brax was away tonight anyway, and Quinn had a report to finish, so I knew he’d be working late. A bit of alone time with my golden boy would be good for both of us.

I rubbed my hand over my curved belly. Four months in and this pregnancy was going a lot easier. Less sickness and I wasn’t quite so exhausted now the first trimester was over. I planned to make the most of it while it lasted. Once our next one arrived, my time would no longer be mine.

After graduating from college, which I'd managed despite my waning interest in my course, I’d started writing books: romances, specifically the kind of smut I enjoyed reading.

My first paranormal dragon shifter romance had been a surprise success. I modeled the male characters on my guys and my readers lapped it up. Four years later, I now had a decent fan following on TikTok and Instagram under my pen name.

Harley and I shared most of the childcare; he worked as a sports therapist, but he’d elected to do part-time hours while Juno was young, which was a massive help.

Quinn and Brax chipped in when they could, and Dad and Sheila were happy to have Juno whenever I asked.

We were making it work and life was good. The only fly in the ointment was Brax’s grandmother. She was determined to edge her way back into Brax’s life. Even from prison, she tried to control him. It drove him nuts, which was why we’d decided it was time he stepped back from Walker Industries. He hated the role and was ready to do something different.

Since living here, he’d learned to love being outside, working on the farmhouse, and I knew he and Dad had plans to expand the fishing business.

Just three more months and he was out. Frankly, it couldn’t come soon enough. I missed him when he wasn’t around, and I knew Juno did too. She loved her Papa. She loved all three of her daddies. Yeah, our life was unconventional, but we didn’t care.

I took a bath while Harley fed Juno and put her to bed. It always took ages for our daughter to settle. She loved listening to stories and one was never enough. Luckily, Harley was more than willing to indulge her, although I had an idea story time would be cut short tonight.

The tub in our en-suite was huge, plenty big enough for all four of us, which meant I could stretch out and float in the hot water. This was one of my favorite rooms in the entire house.

The architect had designed it so we had a glass wall overlooking the forest, plus large skylights over the bath. At night, when the lights were off, I could lie in the bath and see the stars above.

Tonight was one of those nights. Other than a few candles, the bathroom was semi-dark. The stars twinkled in the sky as I relaxed, enjoying the peace. Honestly, I could quite easily have fallen asleep, but I didn’t want to disappoint Harley.

The bathroom door opened and Harley walked in, dropping his swim shorts in one swift movement. He climbed into the tub and I sat up so he could move behind me.

“Is she asleep?”

“Yeah. It only took two readings of Guess How Much I Love You.”

I snorted. We all hated that fucking book. It was the most annoying kids’ book ever. I swear Brax’s mom bought it for Juno on purpose. Unfortunately, it was our daughter’s favorite and she always asked for it at bedtime.

---