Then Rose gasps loud enough to wake the dead. “Another one?!”
Theo shouts, “No way!” while Elise claps both hands over her mouth.
Penny blinks at me, confused. “Like… a baby baby?”
I nod, tears catching in my throat. “Yeah, sweetheart. A baby baby.”
She breaks into a grin so wide it nearly swallows her face. “Then I get to be a big sister again!”
Scooter barks, as if he understands, tail wagging hard enough to knock a bow off the coffee table.
Vincent’s hand covers mine—warm, trembling slightly. He stares at me like he’s not sure if he heard right. “You’re?—”
I nod. “Pregnant. I found out a few days ago.”
His throat works, eyes glinting with a mix of shock and something fragile—joy, fear, wonder all tangled together. “You were going to wait until today to tell us?”
I smile through the tears. “It’s Christmas. I wanted it to be happy news.”
Cast exhales, a quiet laugh breaking the tension. “You’re unbelievable,” he says, but his voice is rough, eyes bright. He leans down and kisses the top of my head, his hand cupping my cheek for a heartbeat longer than necessary. “Best damn present anyone’s getting this year.”
Damien crosses the room, still grinning like a fool. “You serious?”
“Completely.”
He lets out a low whistle. “Guess the family’s getting even louder.”
“Impossible,” Cast mutters, but he’s smiling as he says it.
Theo throws both hands in the air. “Does that mean I get to teach it how to build stuff?”
“If you promise not to blow anything up,” Vincent says automatically, his voice unsteady with laughter.
Rose bounces beside him. “Can it be a girl?”
Elise shakes her head. “No, a boy!”
Penny presses a hand to my stomach, eyes huge. “He’s in there?”
“Or she,” I whisper, covering her hand with mine.
Vincent leans closer, brushing his thumb over the back of my wrist. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
“I’m good,” I say, meeting his gaze. “Better than good.”
For a long moment, the room is all warmth—firelight and color, the children crowding around me, the men watching with that look I’ve come to love most: awe hidden beneath disbelief.
Cast finally clears his throat. “So, who’s telling Scooter he’s not the baby anymore?”
The kids erupt into laughter. Penny hugs my stomach. Vincent’s arm slips around my shoulders. And for the first time in months, every sound in the house feels warm like a little Christmas miracle.
EPILOGUE
DAMIEN
I’ve seena lot of things in my life that made time feel like it was stopping. Fights. Fire. The way fear looks on a man’s face right before he decides to run or stay. But nothing—not a single damn thing—comes close to the sound of a newborn drawing its first breath.
No matter how many times she does it, it feels like a miracle. I can’t help but look at my little trouble maker like the fucking warrior she is.
