I perked up at her question...literally. “Absolutely,” I agreed and jumped to my feet.
“Great! I’d like an ice cream sundae with chocolate and caramel on the side, lots of extra whip cream, and cherries.”
Obviously, I’d been expecting a different type of distraction, but I would always be happy to do whatever made my wife smile. “Sure, beautiful.” I kissed her cheek as I walked past her and headed to the kitchen.
“Thank you, babe,” she murmured. Her tone was mischievous, and I glanced back at her curiously. “You can bring it to me in bed and distract me by eating it off my body.”
Extra Epilogue
Amelia
As I pulled into our driveway after dropping Julia, Zack Junior, and Lydia off at school, I was surprised to see Delia’s car parked in front of the house. Even though she and her husband finally moved back to Vegas a few months ago, we didn’t see as much of my stepdaughter as we’d like.
Zack had been beside himself when she first brought Danny home toward the end of her senior year of college. Although he’d liked the boy, nobody would ever be good enough for his little girl—not even an honor student about to graduate summa cum laude and soon to be headed off to Harvard Law. Especially not when Delia chose that weekend to drop the bombshell on us that she was following him to Boston.
With three small children, we didn’t get out to see them very often, but Delia and Danny spent a couple of their summers in Vegas. Luckily, Danny had fallen in love with the area and brought Delia back after getting a few years’ experience at a big firm under his belt.
While I was parking, she hopped out and crossed the lawn, twisting her hands together as I climbed out of my car. She was practically glowing, but somehow also pale. When I reached for her hands, I noticed they were trembling. “Delia, sweetheart. What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Okay doesn’t even begin to describe how I am,” she answered with a tremulous smile. “I have some amazing news to share.”
“Oh!” I exclaimed, my eyes going wide as I realized what she’d probably come to tell me. “Your dad should be back soon. He...um...uh—”
I was trying to come up with an excuse for why Zack was coming home after being in the office for only an hour because the real reason wasn’t something I wanted to share with his daughter. The last thing she wanted to hear about was our Monday morning quickie tradition. But she was smart enough to figure it out on her own. Wrinkling her nose, she cried, “Ew, stop. Please.”
“Yup, totally stopping here.” My cheeks heated as I hooked my arm through hers and led her into the house.
Delia headed straight to her favorite chair in the living room and sat down, pulling her feet up and wrapping her arms around her shins. Propping her chin on her knees, she grinned at me as I plopped down on the couch. “It’s a good thing you’re sitting down because my news is big. Like bake-me-a-cake big.”
“If your news is what I think it is, I’ll make you anything you want,” I promised, bouncing in my seat with excitement.
Her lips curved up in a huge grin as she announced, “I’m pregnant.”
“Oh, my God! I’m so happy for you!” I jumped up and hugged her. “You’re going to be such a great Mommy.”
“Only because Julia, Zack, and Lydia already broke me in.” She dropped her hand down to cover her still-flat belly. “There isn’t much this little peanut could do to surprise me after all the stuff they’ve pulled when I’ve been on babysitting duty.”
“Your siblings are definitely a handful,” I agreed with a laugh. “But they’re going to be super excited to hear that they’re getting a niece or nephew.”
She rubbed her hands together and grinned with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Soon enough, they’ll be the ones who’ll be babysitting for me.”
“You’ve been waiting a long time for the tables to turn.” Not that I blamed her considering the trouble her siblings got into while she was watching them. “And you seem super excited to be pregnant. So why did you look so worried when I got here?”
“Because I have a favor to ask, and it’s a doozy.” She bit her bottom lip.
I patted her hand. “Whatever you need.”
“I was hoping you’d tell my dad for me.” She sighed and rolled her eyes. “You know how he is when it comes to his daughters and sex. Even though he walked me down the aisle to Danny five years ago, he still likes to pretend that I’m a virgin.”
I wished that I could say she was exaggerating, but Zack was irrational when it came to his daughters. “Your dad loves you. Don’t be afraid to tell him.”
“What are you afraid to tell me?” the familiar voice of my husband asked from behind us. We’d been so focused on our conversation that neither of us had heard him come in. Delia let out a little yelp and turned pleading eyes toward me. I flashed her a reassuring smile before patting the cushion next to me. WhenZack dropped down onto it, I reached out to lace my fingers through his. “You two are starting to freak me out. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong.” I squeezed his hand and beamed a smile his way. “Delia came over to share the very best news. You’re going to be a grandpa.”
“A grandpa?” he echoed softly, his dark eyes widening. “You’re pregnant, Delia?”
“Uh-huh,” she whispered.
He jumped up and pulled his daughter to her feet, his arms going around her in a gentle embrace. “I can hardly believe it. My baby girl is going to be a mom soon.”
“I am,” she sniffled against his chest.
Tears filled my eyes as I watched my husband tilt his daughter’s head back with trembling hands. “I’m so happy for you and Danny.”
I wasn’t surprised by how well Zack took the news. As much as he liked to keep his head in the sand about how grown up his adult daughter was, he was an amazing father. I had no doubt that he’d be an equally awesome grandpa, too. But if the baby was a girl, he was going to be in overprotective mode for the rest of his life.
Fight Me, Baby
Angelique Butler didn’t want to prance around in front of a crowd in a bikini, but the situation her brother landed her in had left her no choice. Then the decision was taken out of her hands when Michael “Saint” St. John tossed her over his shoulder and carried her away.
As a champion MMA fighter, Saint was used to taking hard hits, but nothing prepared him for his reaction to Angelique. The gorgeous blonde was meant for his eyes only, and he was more than willing to get the message across to her brother—in and out of the ring.
1
Saint
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Michael St. John,” Knox, the head of security for the Lennox Hotel and Casino, greeted me with a chin lift. I rolled my eyes, and he grinned. “You ready for tonight, princess?”
I squinted at him in annoyance and grunted, “Fuck you. When have I ever been unprepared for a fight?”