Page 109 of Filthy and the Beast

He chuckles as we kiss again. “Goof.”

Slipping my arm around his side, I stand with him. We watch the water in silence, happiness and satisfaction humming through me.

“I like it when our families are together,” he finally says.

“Yeah. It’s kind of the best, isn’t it?”

He nods. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“I never thought I’d have a family beyond Nat and Gwen. Maybe I’d be an uncle to their kids if they ever have some, but that would be it.” He swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing. He searches for his words, but just shakes his head lightly. “Thank you.”

So grateful we can share this, I blink back tears. “Yeah. Thank you, Enzo.”

He puts a heavy arm over my shoulder. “Nat told me the other day they still haven’t decided about kids, but Reggie and Everett have plans. Fox and Owen are talking, too. Wouldn’t mind being an uncle of sorts one more time.”

I remember the way Enzo always talked about Miranda, dreaming of having a family with her, but after everything that happened, he put the dream to bed. Kids were never part of the plan for me. But while the breeze tosses across the lake, I realize a partnership like the one I have and the career I’m building were never part of my plan, either.

A vision flashes through my mind. I’m in the garden with Enzo, decorated for a kid’s birthday party, and all of our friends and family and dogs are running around, filling the space.

“Oh my god,” I whisper. “So much fun.”

“Yeah,” Enzo agrees with a sigh. “Uncle life. Can’t make it happen, though. Just got to wait and hope.”

I look up at him. “That’s true. But…” I trail off.

The thought forms in my head.

I think I want to have kids.

I want to have them with Enzo. I want to be a father, and I want him to be a father, too. When I gaze at him, thinking we would be such good parents, I want it so bad, it hurts.

“Okay,” I say carefully, unable to keep anything a secret from my man. “This is just, like, a thought. An experience! I’m experiencing this idea taking form in my head. Maybe it’s not at all what I want, and I’ll realize that later.” While he studies me with a raised eyebrow, I suck in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “What if we didn’t wait to be uncles? What if you and I raised kids?”

Enzo scoffs. “I’m too old for that.”

I wrinkle my nose. “What? No you’re not. You’re forty-seven.”

“Exactly. And I’d be sixty-seven when the kids turn twenty.”

“And I’d be forty-seven then, so it will be like we’ve gone full circle. What’s your point?”

Brow tight, Enzo looks down at me. “Are you really thinking about this?”

“Right now, next to this lake? Yes. Definitely. Is the only reason you don’t want kids any longer because you think you’re too old?”

He tilts his eyes up to the sky, thinking, and finally nods. “Yes,” he says, meeting my gaze again. “I guess so.”

My heart beats fast. “Oh. Holy crap. Enzo, that’s a horrible reason.”

He snorts. “Thanks.”

I laugh. “No. I mean it. If that’s the only block in your head, then we should really stop and consider whether or not we want to do this.”

He blinks. “You’re serious?”

“I don’t know!” I laugh. “I mean, yes. I am! There are a million things to talk about before we make such a big decision, decision, but can’t you just see it?”

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