Page 162 of Veil of Lies

“Hmm. We’ll see.”

A car pulled up outside. Steve, Heather, and the twins jumped out. The two boys ran into the pool area, shrieking with excitement. “Boys! Slow down! Running around the pool is dangerous!” Norcross yelled, to no avail. I snorted. Heather waved at me and I smiled back. She was lovely, super laid back, which was just as well.

The guy still had a stick up his ass half the time. Honestly, it was hilarious how he tried to control the twins, with zero luck. Both boys were completely feral. Harley had christened them the demon spawn after they emptied food coloring into the pool as a TikTok dare.

Tessa hopped up to use the bathroom, leaving me alone for a moment while the kids played. I loved it out here, with the lake in the distance and the surrounding forest.

For a moment, my mind wandered back to the time Harley took me to his dad’s cabin, and I smiled. Like I’d told Tessa, the old me would never have foreseen any of this, but I couldn’t have wished for a better life.

My family - even my extended one - meant everything to me.

“You ready for some food?” Quinn called over, a plate in his hand. I’d been feeling a bit queasy all morning, but hopefully some food might settle my stomach.

“Yes please.” He started walking toward me and I stood, needing to stretch my legs. As soon as I took a step, I felt my waters break with a gush. Quinn dropped the plate on a side table and rushed over.

“OMG,” I muttered. “You’d think this baby would wait a hot minute. He’s not even due yet!”

“Don’t panic, I’ll get your bag and we can be at the hospital in less than an hour.”

“Who’s panicking?” I replied. “Not me.”

“OK, so I’m panicking. We don’t want a repeat of last time, where you nearly gave birth in the fucking truck!”

“Yeah, OK, not my finest moment. But it was alright in the end.”

He hustled me over to the house, yelling at Brax and Harley, who was dripping wet from the pool. “It’s go time!”

“Call Dad and tell him to hurry up,” I told Brax. “He can watch the kids.”

We piled into the truck just as the first contraction hit me hard. “I’m never having sex again,” I huffed as the pain ripped through my abdomen.”

The guys laughed. They’d heard all this the last two times.

“I mean it, no more kids!”

Final Epilogue

Seven Days Later

Stella

The baby’s mouth slackened as he released my nipple and I sighed with relief. As much as I loved breastfeeding, the first week or so was always rough until my nipples toughened up. Still, the upside to breastfeeding was my boobs stayed bigger for longer. Which was a definite selling point for Harley. Quinn walked in just as I was about to place the baby back in the crib.

“Here, let me take him,” he said with a smile.

“I think he needs changing but let’s wait until he wakes up again.”

He sat down on the sofa and held his son in his arms. When Juno was born, we all agreed that while it really didn’t matter who was the biological father, it was better to know in case any medical issues ever arose.

All the guys loved each of the children equally, but I could tell how happy Quinn was to know the baby was his.

“Have you decided on a name?” I asked. I named Juno and Brax named Callum, so Quinn had decided he wanted to name our third child, his biological son.

He said nothing for a few moments, content to watch the baby sleep. Eventually, he spoke. “Angelo,” he said. “After my grandfather. I think it suits him. Right now, he looks like a little angel.

I snorted. “Not so much when he’s screaming the place down at 3 AM.”

Quinn chuckled. “Yeah, good point. But let’s make the most of it, time goes so quickly. Before we know it, the kids will be teenagers and Juno will be making our lives hell.”

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