Page 103 of A Very Daddy Christmas

“We couldn’t wait anothersecond,” Waylan says.

Riggs gives me a worried look. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better now, thank you.” I motion for them to come closer.

“And the baby?” Sebastian asks.

Eva presses her lips into a tight line, briefly glancing my way before she excuses herself. “I’m going to go get myself a cup of coffee from the fancy machine down the hall. The perks of a private hospital, I guess.”

“Yeah, it’s not bad,” Riggs replies as she walks out, leaving me alone with my men. “The baby?”

“We’re just fine,” I reply with a warm smile. “What about Denaro and his gang of schmucks?”

“In custody and unlikely to get out anytime soon,” Sebastian says. His brow furrows slightly as he’s the first to approach my bed, taking my hand in his with a warm softness. He gently kisses my knuckles. “Cora, you should’ve told us sooner about the baby.”

“Hey, we said we wouldn’t do this,” Waylan cuts in. He takes my other hand in his and plants kisses of his own. “What Sebastian is trying to say is, we wishyou’d told us sooner about the baby.”

“How could I?” I sigh deeply. “I wanted to. But with all the uncertainty, with everything that’s been going on… and you had your big campaign to worry about. I just didn’t want to be another concern for you. I was waiting until after New Year’s Eve, to be honest.”

Riggs can’t help but smile, then scooches closer to my left side and lovingly kisses my temple.

“It’s alright,” Sebastian says. “You’re still not alone in any of this.”

Waylan frowns. “What do you want to do about it?”

“About what?” I ask, somewhat confused.

“The baby. Us.”

“If I have to ask the three of you, what would you say?”

Sebastian shakes his head. “I want to know what you want.”

“I want you, Sebastian. And I want you, Waylan. And Riggs, don’t think for a second I don’t want you to be a part of my life. In sickness and in health, through good times and bad… you know how it goes. I want all of that with the three of you.”

“Good,” Sebastian replies, then leans in and showers me with loving kisses. “Because the three of us are irreversibly in love with you. And we want a future together. A family of our own.”

“And so many babies,” Waylan sighs, then laughs lightly as he and Riggs join Sebastian in a mingling of lips and arms, of kisses and hugs.

“I’m the one who has to carry them, so let’s see how I fare the first time around, okay? Besides, we already have Dario.” I smile, my eyes filling with tears. “I love you. All of you.”

“We’re going to work something out, I promise,” Riggs says, gently nibbling on my ear. “We’ll keep Sebastian at the front. We’ll deny all the rumors. Orson’s credibility is shot to shit, anyway. We’ll make it right, and we’ll make it work, baby. You, me, the boys, the baby, the bakery, the agency, Dario, everything. We’ll make it work.”

“I can’t wait to reopen the bakery,” is my last spoken thought before the weight of a much-needed sleep takes over my eyelids.

33

Cora

It’s a new year, and things seem to be falling back into place.

It’ll be a while before we can use the word “normal” around these parts, but the city feels lighter and cleaner now that three of its dirtiest people are behind bars. Orson and George are in jail awaiting their trial dates.

Denaro has gone straight to federal prison, but that’s the FBI’s jurisdiction. I don’t know what they’re going to do with him. I just know he’s out of our lives forever.

The bakery is doing alright, though January is a notoriously slow month. I’m not expecting a miracle. I’m just grateful to have new windows and a fresh coat of paint on the walls. The guys were insanely successful with their Urban Parkour campaign and that landed them a huge bonus. They used it to buy a few stakes in our bakery, insisting on a shadow partnership—they don’t want the public to know they’ve invested—but they do want to help us get past the incoming hurdles.

“Orson and George’s downfall would’ve cost us dearly in the long term,” Eva says as she goes over yesterday’s sales reports,freshly printed from the till, “were it not for Sebastian, Riggs, and Waylan. You struck gold with those three, I swear.”

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