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I turned to Alex, who was sitting on the porch beside me. Lucifer lay across her feet, snoozing in the afternoon sun. He had made a full recovery after the surgery, a long, bald scar stretching across his hindquarters the only evidence of his bravery. I may have only realized the depth of my feelings for Alex later on, but I suspected Lucifer knew all along. He protected my girl when I couldn’t, and for that, I was grateful.
Drumming my fingers against the armrest of the chair, I thought about how to answer her question. Was I nervous? No. Well, maybe a little. I was excited. Not that I would admit it out loud, but I was looking forward to seeing the twins. It gave me hope to know that there would be another set of Sobolev boys out there in the world. If they were smart, they would make better choices than I did. If they were lucky, they would never know the pain of losing a brother.
Alex threaded her arm into the crook of my elbow. “You might not want to admit it, but I can’t wait to see them. How old are they now?”
“Around six weeks.”
A car pulled into the driveway then, and Alex practically leapt from her seat. Ever since we left Detroit, a lightness had filled her eyes. All the stresses of her former life—her father, Maddox and his extortion, the garage—had left a mark, but she was like a different person now. Hell, I think we both changed in one way or another.
Alex jumped up and down excitedly at the top of the driveway, and I joined her there, hauling her against me, placing a kiss against her temple.
The car door opened, and Isla got out, smiling brightly and waving at me. “Boy, am I glad to be out of that car,” she said, stretching her arms above her head.
“How was the drive?”
“Not too bad. I just had to stop a few times on account of the twins. I’m glad we’re staying the night though.”
“Your mom came with you?”
She nodded. “Sure did. She’s at the hotel now. Both my parents have been so great.”
Alex stepped away to hug Isla while I opened up the rear door and took in the sight I’d been looking forward to seeing for months now. Two car capsules. Two bundles wrapped up inside. Isla went around the other side and unclipped the first baby, while I leaned in and got the other. As soon as I had him in my arms, my heart ached—sweet and sorrowful at the same time. This should’ve been Dimitri. He should’ve been proudly handing me one of his sons and fussing over him. He should’ve been here.
“You have Tristan, Nick,” Isla said, walking around to me. “And this is Christian.”
“They rhyme,” I deadpanned.
Alex slapped me on the arm. “They’re perfect names for perfect boys.” She made grabby hands at me, and I passed Tristan over to her.
“Nick, could you grab the stuff from the back?” Isla called. “Thanks!”
While both women went into the house, I opened the trunk and stared. There was so much stuff here, and for just one visit? Dutifully, I pulled everything out and hauled it inside.
“Can you set up the tummy mats and pull out a selection of toys. Oh, and the sheepskin rug. And the pacifiers. And the bottles.”
“I got it,” I replied, pulling everything out of the bags and setting them up how I thought they should go—I honestly had no idea, though.
“Here,” Isla said, handing me Christian. “I’ll do that. You just cuddle your nephew.”
I stared into his little face, seeing D—and me by default—in the shape of his eyes. In the curve of his lip. Alex came and stood behind me, holding Tristan in the same way, comparing the boys.
“They’re identical,” Isla said. “Just like you and Dimitri.”
“They’re beautiful,” Alex cooed. And just like that, I could see how good of a mother she was going to be. One day. Hopefully in the not-too-distant future, but one day, I wanted to see her stomach grow with my child. Maybe we’d get lucky and have twins too.
“I know what you’re thinking, and you can stop thinking it right now,” Alex said, talking from the corner of her mouth. “You willnotget me pregnant and barefoot anytime soon.”
I laughed, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. “Not too soon, baby, but the thought of knocking you up is making me fucking hard.”
She turned to look at me in mock outrage. “Nick! Not in front of the babies.”
“Okay, all done!” Isla announced, making us turn around and seeing what she’d laid out. There were soft fuzzy mats andcolorful toys littering every square inch of our living room floor. Two bouncing chairs were side by side, and Lucifer was nosing through it all.
Isla took Christian and set him onto his back underneath a mobile, while Alex got onto the floor with Tristan. With my raging erection back in check, I sat on the floor too, up against the couch, and just watched my nephews.
“Tristan’s middle name is Nick,” Isla said softly. “And Christian’s is Dimitri. I didn’t want the boys to forget about their father or their uncle.”
I cleared my throat, reaching up to rub my fingers over Lucifer’s razored ears when he pushed against me, possibly picking up on my leaping heart. “That’s great, Isla. I’m honored.”
