Page 60 of Elevating Eve

He grinned. “I’m not going to make promises I can’t keep,” he said, laughing when she groaned dramatically. “Christ, can you imagine how crazy I’ll be if you ever get pregnant?”

Her breath came out in a little gasp. “Pregnant?”

“You said you always pictured yourself as a mom.” He thumbed her lower lip. “And I saw how much you loved playing with my niece and nephews. If that’s something you still want?—”

“Of course I do.” The words came out of her in a rush as wonder filled her eyes. “But do you want to be a dad? Veritas?”

He grinned as her excitement washed over him. “It’s not something I really considered before, to be honest. I never thought I’d be in a real relationship, so I assumed it just wasn’t in the cards for me. But having a baby with you? Abso-fucking-lutely I want that.”

Laughing, she flung her arms around his neck. “God, you make a good point though. You’re going to be a horrifying control monster if I’m carrying your child.”

“Probably,” he admitted. “At least at first. But I promise to try not to, and I’ll always keep trying until I get this right. I love you, Evie. I’d do anything in the world for you.”

Her smile was absolutely fucking radiant. “I love you, too.”

“As long as that part stays true, we’ll be able to figure the rest out.”

They’d do it together.

EPILOGUE

Eve

Five Months Later

“Shh,” Jonathan admonished for the sixth time. “If anyone hears us, I swear to God, you won’t be able to sit down for a week.”

Eve rolled her eyes. He’d also made the threat six times, and it stopped being scary two iterations ago. “It wasn’t even me that time,” she whispered back. “It was you.” He’d knocked over an empty wine glass someone left on the edge of the stone pathway as they crept through the garden.

He glanced down at the shattered glass at his feet, genuine surprise in his eyes. Light from the three-quarter moon glinted off each jagged fragment, giving it an almost ethereal look. “My apologies,” he said after a moment. “Come on.”

Hiding an amused smile, she let him lead her through the rest of the garden and across the recently completed front courtyard of the new building. Lainey’s crew had put the finishing touches on the courtyard only days ago, finally bringing the expansion project to a close.

That very same day, Lainey had officially offered her a job. She was now second in command at Cox Construction, and they’d start their next project in two weeks, breaking ground on a boutique hotel halfwaybetween Fairford and Burlington. Eve and Jonathan still had a lot of details to figure out, as far as her work travel and living arrangements. But he’d been so damn proud of her when she told him, his eyes glistening with tears as he held her close, that she knew they’d work it all out.

They skirted around the edge of a large fountain in the center of the courtyard. Jonathan and Mason had commissioned a marble statue based on the Botticelli paintingThe Birth of Venus—the goddess of sexual love and beauty emerging from a giant, scalloped shell. Water fell from the sides of the shell into the large fountain basin below.

As they hurried up the front steps to the new building’s main doors, Jonathan pulled a large brass key from his pocket. When he inserted it in the lock and tried to turn, however, it didn’t budge. Frowning, he tried the handle. The door opened easily, without making a sound.

“Why would it be unlocked?” Eve asked, brows drawing together.

They both looked across the large, opulent entryway to the large double doors beyond. Light crept through the cracks around the doors, standing out like a beacon in the otherwise pitch-black space.

“Who—” she started, but Jonathan held up a hand to stop her.

Taking her arm again, he led her across the cherrywood floors, only listening at one of the ballroom doors for a moment before pushing it open.

“See?” Aiden said as they stepped into the enormous room, voice as smug as his smile. “I told you they’d be along shortly.”

Aiden and Olivia stood only five feet farther into the room. Next to them, a nearly naked Nell knelt at Rafe’s feet, a thin silver chain dangling between the clamps on her nipples. Two butterfly tattoos decorated her skin—a bright blue and black one on her right thigh, and an even larger one with white and yellow-orange spots on her right hip.

With a sigh, Rafe pulled his wallet from his pocket, took out a hundred-dollar bill, and handed it to Aiden. “That’s the last time I bet against you.”

Eve did her best to hold back a laugh as Jonathan stared at the quartet, mouth hanging open. Guess they didn’t need to do all that sneaking and whispering after all.

“What are you doing here?” Jonathan managed to get out at last.

“Same thing as you, I expect,” Aiden said.

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