Page 474 of The Tempted

I looked at the nurse and noticed she wasn’t the only one staring, but all of the NICU nurses had gathered around and were watching us. I looked back at Riggs and saw my mother and brother standing behind the glass window witnessing this moment.

“Go ahead,” he urged.

I unwrapped the blanket from Eric’s feet, blinded by tears that I tried to blink away before setting my eyes on the ring that dangled from my son’s big toe.

“Oh, my God,” I whispered, looking back to Riggs. “Is this what I think it is?”

“I’m going to make a hundred mistakes, but I promise I’ll fix them. I’ll always fix them. I know I’m not your plan, but I’ll make the detour worth it. We’ll make new plans, and you’ll dream…please keep dreaming. I want to make all your dreams come true, starting with a family. We already are a family but I want to make it official,” he insisted.

“You want to make an honest woman out of me?” I joked through my tears.

“I want to make youmywoman,” he corrected. “Marry me, Kitten, be Mrs. Tiger,” I laughed, earning another smile, the kind that reached his eyes…my favorite one.

“I love you, Lauren Bianci, so goddamn much,” he added.

“I love you too,” I replied, watching as he gently lifted the ring from Eric’s toe, laughing when the baby curled his toe and held the ring hostage for a second. He slipped the ring onto my left hand before he looked back at me.

“Tell me it’s a yes.”

“Yes! Of course,” I exclaimed.

“I knew you’d say yes,” he grinned, pointing his thumbs toward himself. “How could you say no? This is all yours now.”

“I got news for you, Tiger. It was always mine and it would still be mine with or without the ring.” It was my turn to wink and grin back at him. “But the ring is a nice touch and the baby? Is the best bonus.”

“Good, glad you feel that way. I want more,” he said seriously, as he rose to his full height. “I’m thinking five or six.”

“Five or six kids?” I questioned. My eyes widening in disbelief—I’m pretty sure my uterus twitched violently at the thought.

“Yeah,” he tipped his head over his shoulder toward my mother. “Think she’ll move in and watch them when we need alone time? You know, when we feel like playing drop the pencil or just the tip?”

“You want my mother to move in?”

He waved at my mother and brother through the glass, giving them a thumbs up.

“Shit, Kitten, I’m joking. You Bianci’s are a shitload of fun to fuck with,” he said with a chuckle, turning back to me and kissing me softly. “Who would’ve thought I’d be marrying a Bianci?” he whispered against my mouth, pulling back to kiss Eric’s head.

“I bet Bones did,” I whispered.

“He’d be so fucking proud right now,” he said, as he looked down at our son. “Best thing I ever did was listen to him.”

Thank you, Bones.

The End.

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