“Are you crying’?” I called out to Alec, whose smile stretched from ear to ear as he came to greet us.
“No,” he called back, wiping under his eyes. “It’s liquid pride.”
I had to get a running start, but I surprised myself and possibly everyone else when I quite literally jumped into Alec’s arms. He laughed as I wrapped my legs around his waist and encircled my arms tightly around his neck. He returned my hug just as tight, and he vibrated with joyous laughter.
“You’re a daddy!” I squealed and pulled back to look at him.
I had said that exact thing to Ryder when the twins were born, and his smile was identical to Alec’s.
“I’m a daddy.” He smiled, and when I kissed his cheek and hugged him again, he laughed harder.
“How badly do you want to punch me, little brother?”
“Because your kid was just born, I’m going to go easy on you and stick with a solid six.”
“That’s a weak score, considering your girl is wrapped around me.”
“If you move your hands from her thighs to her ass,” Damien growled, “then you’ll die right here.”
“You mean if I move them to where I can feel everything … I’m joking!”
Alec quickly set me down to appease Damien, and he looked so happy that his smile was infectious.
“I think my baby brother is possessive of you, Lana.”
When an arm was slung over my shoulder, and I was tugged against a hard body, I snorted.
“That’s not news to me, daddy-o.”
“Okay,” Damien grunted. “That’s enough of you calling him that.”
“What?” I questioned as I looked up at him. “Daddy?”
“Yeah,” Damien replied. “The only person you call daddy is me.”
I felt my face flame, and when Damien laughed, so did his brothers.
“I don’t call ‘im that,” I said, glancing around. “I don’t.”
“You have called me it plenty—”
“You need to shut your bloody mouth,” I cut Damien off with a squeak.
He had a shit-eating grin on his face but did as asked.
“What did ye’ call the baby?”
Alec dimpled. “Go ask Keela.”
“I’ll do just that,” I chirped. “This kid is the sixth cousin, and the seventh is comin’ along soon if Bronagh has anythin’ to say about it. You baby-makin’ machines are goin’ to have me broke with birthdays and Christmas!”
I chose that moment to dart down the corridor, leaving the brothers chuckling behind me.
“Oh, Keela,” I whispered as I saw my first visual of her sitting in her hospital bed with a tiny bundle in her arms.
She looked up at me, and though she was clearly exhausted, I had never seen her look more beautiful.
“Come meet Enzo Brandon Slater.”
I squealed as I covered my mouth with my hands and inched closer. Enzo’s mop of bright red hair was the first thing to gain my full attention.
“He has so much hair like the twins when they were born,” I whispered. “I love ‘im already.”
When Keela carefully handed him to me, I sat down on the large chair next to her bed, and I stared down at Enzo in complete awe.
“Where did ye’ get his first name from?”
“Vampire Diaries,” Keela answered with a snort. “I loved the name when I heard it years ago; I’m still surprised Alec liked it. Brandon is after me uncle, of course. He’s pulled his fair share of shite when it came to me and Alec, but he’s always been there for me, no matter what. He’s been really good to Alec too since we’ve put the past behind us.”
I traced my fingertip over Enzo’s button nose. The action disturbed him, and he silently opened his eyes and stared up at me. I knew I was most likely a blurry picture to him, but I felt like he could see me.
“Hi, Enzo.” I smiled. “I’m your Auntie Alannah.”
He made a little coo sound, then yawned. The action was so small, so insignificant, yet I felt it all the way down to my soul. I wanted this. I wanted a baby. Damien’s baby.
“Oh God,” I whispered.
“What?” Alec asked.
I hadn’t realised he had entered the room.
“I think I’m feelin’ broody.”
Silence, then Alec snickered. “Fifty euros she’s pregnant by next week.”
Chuckles sounded, and when I looked up, my eyes instantly locked on Damien’s. He was smiling and staring at me with so much love and admiration that it caused my heart to pound hard against my chest.
“I want one.”
His smile vanished, and his lips parted ever so slightly.
“This one?” he eventually asked. “I don’t think my brother would agree to that.”
Alec snorted as he came to Keela’s side and sat on her bed with her, putting his arm around her shoulder.
“I’ll settle for one who looks like ‘im,” I mused. “Slater genes are strong. I think ye’ll give me a handsome little man like this … minus the red hair.”
Damien stared at me. “Are you teasing?”
“No,” I answered. “I want a baby.”