Page 40 of Room 1003

Kit saw those tears and ran to give his dad a hug, but I had been expecting this and caught him before he could knock Shane over, swinging him up off the ground.

“Whoa there, little man. Remember what we talked about?”

“Oh yeah, gentle,” he said, frowning. “Sorry, Papa. I got too excited and forgot. Can I give a soft hug?”

Shane practically melted, wiping the tears from his cheeks. “Of course you can. You give the best hugs.”

I held Kit up so Shane wouldn’t have to bend over, and he moved his arms around his dad with exaggerated caution. I wanted to get in on this, so I wrapped my arms around them both, sandwiching Kit between us.

“I love you both so much,” Shane gushed, sniffing, before giving Kit a loud kiss on his cheek, and a quick peck for me on my lips. “This was the best surprise ever.”

Zack came into the room behind us with Evelyn. “What do you think of your room, angel?” he whispered to her. “Your big brother made it just for you.” He gave me a wink. I didn’t mind at all if Kit took the full credit for this one. It was a pretty special gift for his new baby sister, and he really had done a lot of the work. I was just here to supervise.

Even though our lives had majorly shifted that weekend, our routines turned upside down, it was like what we’d all been waiting for. We were suddenly complete.

Later that night, once Kit was asleep, with Dmitri cuddled in under the blankets with him, and Evelyn was swaddled in the basinet in our bedroom, a peaceful quiet descended over the dark house. I helped to ease Shane into bed, and he blew out a long, contented sigh.

“Are you okay?” I asked, crawling in beside him and tucking one of his curls back off his forehead. “Do you need anything? Glass of water or a foot rub?”

He offered me a sleepy smile. “No, thank you, everything is perfect. I was just thinking how much my life has changed in such a short period of time. I honestly thought I was destined to struggle forever. I couldn’t have imagined such a future for myself. But then you came along…”

“And everything changed,” I added, kissing the smooth skin of his shoulder. “Trust me, I couldn’t have predicted this either. Within a year I went from single alpha to father of two incredible children and a soon-to-be husband. All because of an emergency call to fix an elevator.”

“And a teeny-tiny electrical fire, hardly worth mentioning,” he said, laughing softly.

“Now, what can we possibly imagine will come next?”

He hummed as I clicked off the bedside lamp and assumed my usual position on my back, so that Shane could curl up against me, resting his head on my shoulder. He splayed his hand over my chest and swirled a fingertip through my chest hair as he said, “Maybe Evelyn will become the President… or a scientist who cures cancer… or a wife and mother and give me a dozen grandchildren.”

“And maybe Kit will become an architect and build skyscrapers, since he obviously loves to work with his hands,” I said, and I could almost see it. “How about I make him a little workshop in the basement, so he can hammer and glue bits of wood together to make toys?”

“That’s a great idea.” The movement of Shane’s hand was slowing down, and I knew he was close to falling asleep. “And maybe I’ll become a world-renowned artist and make millions of dollars.” His voice was tapering off, his body going limp.

“And I’ll marry you,” I whispered, kissing his forehead, “and I’ll be the happiest man ever.”

Epilogue

The Staff

“Ican’tbelieveyouagreed to this,” Emily muttered to her boss, Emerson Holland. “They must’ve paid you a small fortune.”

She was referring to the small, flowered archway currently being erected in the middle of the hotel lobby. Emerson didn’t know how to tell her that the guests weren’t actually paying anything extra for the bizarre request, but Ben had instead offered to do free maintenance and repairs on the elevator for the next five years, and that future security was worth more than a quick buck now. The couple was still paying to use the banquet hall for the reception, but the ceremony itself would take place in the spacious lobby.

Instead of explaining any of that, Emerson said, “He swears it will be over in under ten minutes.” He peeked down at his watch. It wasn’t their busiest time of day, but guests were still moving around the obstruction, throwing it curious glances.

“I think it’s romantic,” Roland said, sighing wistfully. “This is where they met, and I heard he proposed in one of the rooms upstairs, too.” His eyes flicked over to Emerson’s and held his gaze for a long moment. “Don’t you think it’s sweet?”

Emerson’s heart gave a heavy thud, much like it always did when close enough to Roland to inhale his aroma. “Mm,” he grunted, remaining his usual stoic self. “I think a person’s definition of romantic depends on personal experience.”

“Oh?” Roland asked, tilting his body in such a way that his hips angled toward his boss, and Emerson had to fight not to glance down toward his crotch. “And what do you consider romantic?” He looked genuinely interested in the answer. “Candlelit dinner and a walk on the beach?”

When Emerson thought of romance, he couldn’t help but put Roland in the position of recipient. And while there was nothing he wanted more than to wine and dine the omega, he knew that would never be an option for them. Steeling himself, he said carefully, “Well, I don’t think it’s something that can be measured so easily. For example, I believe the true evidence of someone’s feelings can be seen in the sacrifices they make. Sometimes pain is more romantic than pleasure.”

Roland’s expression softened. “You’re probably right, but I think anyone would choose pleasure over pain.” There was so much being left unsaid.

Emerson turned away, feeling dejected. Obviously people would opt for what felt good—unless it was to protect someone they loved, and that was exactly what he was choosing, again and again. He swallowed past the lump in his throat. He needed to get away, take a breath of air not scented by Roland’s sweet musk.

Without another word, the hotel manager stepped away from his curious staff and moved over to the large man in a suit who was supervising the setting up. Ben saw him coming and held up his hands. “We’re almost ready. Just five minutes and we’ll be out of your hair.”

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