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Epilogue 3
Another 3 years later
Stella
Quinn pushed a cold can of soda into my hand as we watched the kids tear around and dive head-first into the pool. Juno was utterly fearless, She terrified me at times. How that child had survived the first eight years of her life was a miracle. Her brother, Callum, wasn’t much better. He took after Brax, his bio-dad, and we were all convinced the kid would be a footballer when he got older. He loved nothing more than tackling his sister to the ground; the pair of them usually ended up giggling in a pile.
Today, they were joined by Savannah, now a gorgeous 15-year-old, and Tessa’s son, Harry, a smiling toddler.
Savannah tried to pretend she wanted nothing to do with the younger kids, but we all knew she adored them. She sat on the edge of the pool, laughing as Juno threw Callum in at the deep end. He popped up coughing and spluttering but wearing a huge grin so nobody bothered yelling at Juno.
“How are you feeling this time?” Tessa asked as she waddled over, her huge belly looking like it was about to pop.
“Same as you, I imagine,” I laughed.
Our babies were due around the same time, and I was enjoying sharing this pregnancy with her.
Finally, Quinn was going to be blessed with his own offspring. I’d already told the guys this was our last baby. As much as I loved the kids, I didn’t love being pregnant, and this pregnancy had been grim.
For the first six months, I’d barely been able to keep water down, let alone food. I’d ended up in the hospital on an IV drip it got so bad. Thankfully, it passed, and I’d managed to regain some of the weight I lost.
I still wasn’t feeling great but with less than three weeks to go, I knew I’d be fine.
Tessa and I sat down on the swing seat while the guys chatted, watched the kids, and took care of the grill. Dad and Sheila were due any minute and Agent Norcross, or Steve, as we now called him, had also promised to drop by with his wife and the twins.
“Is Enzo coming?” I asked Tessa. She looked away and frowned.
“No, he’s busy.”
From the tone of her voice, I could tell she was pissed. Enzo had been messing her around for months. The douche had a kid and another on the way, but he preferred to spend his time at the club he ran.
Honestly, I couldn’t stand him, but I’d learned to keep my mouth shut most of the time. I knew the guys weren’t fans either, although they were always polite when Enzo did bother to show up.
Privately, Quinn had told me Enzo was a complete fuckwit and the club he ran was losing money hand over fist. I didn’t bother inquiring how he knew that, but I did know he was keeping an eye on it. The last thing any of us wanted was for Tessa to get hurt in the crossfire from one of Enzo’s dodgy business deals.
Unfortunately, until she was ready to kick the asshole to the curb, there wasn’t a lot any of us could do.
“Tess,” I began, reaching for her hand.
A tear slid down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away. “It’s fine. I’ll be fine. Enzo’s just struggling with the whole being a dad thing. Harry wasn’t planned and now we have another one on the way. It’s a lot, you know?”
Enzo was a man-child who needed to grow the fuck up was my personal take on the situation, but I didn’t share it with her.
“We’re here if you need us. You can always stay in one of the guest cottages if you need to. You know we’d love to have both of you around more.”
She squeezed my hand and gave me a wan smile. “Thanks, babe. You’re the best bestie ever.”
“You know it,” I replied, and we both grinned at each other.
“Bet you never thought you’d end up with three hotties when you arrived at Ridgeview,” she teased with a smirk as we watched Harley strip his tee off and dive into the pool, making the kids scream at the tidal wave that enveloped them. I didn’t miss Brax’s eye roll and Quinn’s laugh.
“Nope, but I can’t say I’m disappointed about the way things turned out!”
“Ha, I bet!” She chuckled then her smile faded. “I wish Enzo was more like your guys.”
There wasn’t a lot I could say to that. Enzo would never be like my guys. He wasn’t made that way. But until Tessa was ready to leave him, we were all stuck with him. The guy was like a fucking cockroach.
“He’ll sort himself out,” I lied.
