Page 102 of A Very Daddy Christmas

“He had photos of us—”

“Not anymore,” she laughs. “Don’t ask me what happened behind closed doors downtown in the sheriff’s office, Cora. All I know is that the photos are gone. They no longer exist. Some sort of deal with the DA. For leniency during sentencing.”

I’m speechless.

A whole new kind of relief unravels. True freedom. The purest form of joy as my life seems to have bounced back to its original colors. The nightmare is truly over.

“I can’t believe it,” I manage, my voice trembling with emotion.

“Frankly, I won’t believe it until I see our names on the property deed,” Eva replies. “But Sebastian assured me we’re going to get that on January first. No delays, no excuses.” She smiles brightly. “It’s over, Cora, it’s really over. They thought they could bully us and shame us out of there, and they almost did, but we won. In the end, we won. We’re going to be okay.”

“We are going to be okay, huh?”

“You bet your pregnant ass.”

The way she laughs and takes me in her arms reminds me of Mom and Dad. I would’ve loved to see them, now. To tell them we did it. To show them the property deed. But they know. Wherever they are in the great, vast cosmos of existence and everything beyond, I think they can see us.

An hour later, I’m in a private room at the hospital with my sister by my side. We’re staring at the ultrasound picture in my hand. The on-call doctor left it for us to mull over. The silence is overwhelming, especially since we both know Sebastian, Waylan, and Riggs are patiently waiting downstairs, eager to learn that the baby and I are, in fact, fine.

“Twins,” I say it out loud.

“You’re packing a double kind of trouble,” Eva says with a sigh. “I’m anxious to see how the guys will react to the news. Oh, by the way, I’m sorry for letting it slip.”

“Please,” I say. “There’s nothing to apologize for. If anything, I’m the one who owes you a mountain-sized apology. A lifetime of making it up to you for the secrets I kept.”

Eva shakes her head. “Shush. No. It’s over. We’re not going to fuss about that anymore. It happened, and I understand why it happened. I was angry and helpless after what Orson did to us with his stupid morality clause, but you know what? I stand by what I said. Love is love.”

“Oh?”

“Granted, it would’ve been easier if you’d just stuck to one guy, not three. But hey, if it works for you, if it makes you happy, iftheymake you happy…”

“They do, Eva. They’re good to me. They’re patient and loving, generous and—”

“Ridiculously hot, I know.” She rolls her eyes. “A lot of single ladies in this town are going to hate your guts for Sebastian alone.”

I let a heavy sigh roll from my chest. “I’m having twins. And the rumors about the guys and me are still out there. They’re going to be swirling for a while. PR campaign or not, we’ll have a hard time fighting them off.”

“We’re going to be fine, Cora. Rumors die. And your fellas are experts in manipulating public opinion. Orson and George shot their own credibility down, anyway, with all the skeletons in their closets. It’s going to be a walk in the park to discredit them and anybody who even thinks of picking up where they left off,” Eva says. “The building is ours. All we have to do is keep grinding until we come out of the storm.”

“Twins,” I say it again, still reeling from the shock.

Eva laughs. “Yeah, you’re screwed.”

“I thought one kid would be a challenge. But two? How am I going to manage?”

“You’ve got three strapping gentlemen eager to make an honest woman out of you. I think you’ll be just fine.”

“You think?”

“I hope.”

“Very reassuring.”

A knock on the door has me sitting up. I put the ultrasound print away and give Eva a pleading look. “Don’t tell them yet, please.They’ve dealt with enough over the past few days. Let us get home, get some rest. I’ll tell them when I’m ready.”

“Don’t worry, sis, I got your back,” Eva replies, then walks over to the door and swings it wide open. “Come on in. I’m guessing you accosted the doctor on your way up because you couldn’t languish in the waiting room for another minute.”

“Precisely that,” Sebastian replies with a broad smile.

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