Page 102 of Inheriting Miss Fortune

Dev kissed me to shut me up and then pulled back and grinned. “I know she’s mine, and I don’t need proof. But your lawyers called Susanna an hour ago and told her everything that happened with Orris. They’ve started an investigation into the witness at the clinic. And meanwhile… well, meanwhile, Susanna now has DNA tests from six clinics all over the country that prove Eleanor Kathryn Scott is my daughter.” He paused. “I hope one day very soon, she’ll be yours, too.”

“You want to share your daughter with me?” I whispered, overcome.

“I want to share everything with you, baby,” Dev said. “Jesus Christ, you were willing to give up your dream career for me and Lellie—” He shook his head.

There were a lot of realizations I’d come to that I wanted to share with Dev eventually: that I’d focused on career success because I’d wanted to never feel powerless again, and I’d almost lost myself in the process; that the sense of rightness and peace I felt about my choice made it no sacrifice; that I didn’t feel like I’d given up a dream, I felt like I’d gained one.

But instead, I focused on another truth. “I made the best choice for all of us because that’s what family does.” I grinned up at him. “That’s whatourfamily will do anyway.”

“Yeah, we will,” he agreed. He kissed me, a brief brush of lips that left me wanting more. “Besides, Lellie is already your daughter. She might have her Daddy’s eyes and stubbornness, but she has her Papa’s argumentative streak. You should have heard her babbling at Jo the other night, trying to convince the woman to take her to see the horses even though it was bedtime. Fortunately, only her fathers actually understand her.”

I laughed. We were in for a world of trouble once she actually learned to speak.

And I was so here for it.

“Now, do I have to get Lellie in here to convince you to come home with us?” Dev demanded. “You still haven’t answered me.”

Like there’d ever really been a question.

I threw myself into his arms and held him as tightly as I could. “Yes. Please. I want that. I want that so much. I… Dev, fuck.” My words were strangled and raw. It was impossible to get across just how strongly I felt about him. Aboutus.

His arms were tight around me, his large hands moving confidently up and down my back. “It’s going to be okay, sweetheart,” he murmured. “We’re going to have an amazing life together. We’re going to give Lellie all the love we didn’t get.”

We kissed and cried and laughed until Lellie let out a frustrated shriek from the kitchen.

Susanna popped her head around the doorframe and shot us a sheepish grin. “Sorry. Time’s up on your love fest. She clearly wantssomething, but I don’t speak toddler, and I don’t have parental ESP, so?—”

Dev and I exchanged a glance and a grin.

“Peej,” we said at the same time.

EPILOGUE

DEV - SEVERAL MONTHS LATER

“Georgia reminds me of Texas,” Tully muttered, holding his hand over his eyes to block out the setting sun. While it was definitely going down, the temperature was still hot as fuck in the park, especially with tens of thousands of music fans in attendance. “It’s like they didn’t get the memo that October is supposed to be comfortably cool.”

I glanced at him as I shifted Lellie’s sleeping form from one shoulder to the other. Thankfully, the giant headphones Kenji had gotten her had worked to block out the noise of Zane’s music, and she’d been zonked for the final forty minutes of his performance. “You think you’re hot? Try holding a furnace against your neck.”

Tully grinned at me and reached out to take her. I scooted out of range so he couldn’t disturb her. “You crazy?” I hissed. “Don’t wake the beast. You were the one who made it a family rule, in case you need reminding.”

Tully’s eyes brightened with laughter. “I was just trying to help. Besides, she transfers fine. Once she’s down for the night, she’s down. Even if it’s at a concert with thousands of screaming fans, apparently.”

I cuddled her closer to me. “She’s too sweet when she’s asleep. I have to enjoy it while I can.”

The truth was, she was sweet when she was awake, too. Ever since we’d all moved into the new house at the end of the summer and settled into a routine, she’d begun to thrive. Jo had warned the reprieve was only temporary since toddlers generally rotated easily between asshole and angel, but for now, we were loving every minute of it.

She was admittedly spoiled rotten. Not only did she have Tully and me, but she also had Indigo wrapped around her finger practically full-time, and she had Way, Silas, Jo, Sheridan, and her husband, Bo, at her beck and call, too. When she’d pointed at one of the foals born this summer—a pretty palomino with a golden coat that shined in the sun—and declared the horsePeej, not a single soul had disputed it.

The other guys from the brotherhood made it out to see us when they could. Nearly every week, Landry sent some small item of what he called “baby couture,” Zane had worked Lellie’s name into one of his songs, and Bash and Rowe had recently been caught murmuring about plans to buy property in Majestic for a second home so they wouldn’t miss seeing her grow up.

I hadn’t thought it possible for my friends and me to be closer than we were, but somehow, Lellie’s presence in my life had managed it. She’d cracked my heart wide and made it impossible for me to hide from the world. Now, I was rooted firmly in the sunlight and thriving.

Things were good. More than good. And I kind of wanted to get back home and continue enjoying it.

Kenji came hustling through the crowd, stopping at the barricade to give the security guy a dark look before being allowed backstage with the rest of us.

“Where’s Ryan?” he asked, thumbing over his shoulder at the guard checking ID.

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