“Really?” Meridea shrieks with excitement as she steps closer.
“Yes,” I reply.
She kisses my cheek before glaring at Monty. “I can’t wait to make you pay for all the mean looks and little scary things you said to me while in my presence. I didn’t feel safe in my own home.”
My lips press against her temple. “If anyone in my circle ever makes you feel creeped out. Let me know.”
Her gaze scans the room. “Your brothers are the best. They took care of me while you were unconscious. I feel safe here.”
“You will always feel safe with us,” Hassle adds.
“Glenn, I have to thank you for being a total asshole. Meridea fell into my clutches. I have no plans of ever letting her go. In a couple of weeks, we’ll find out that we’re having a baby.”
Meridea tugs on my arm. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am.” I grin.
“Declan, Declan,” Meridea’s soft hands shove at my shoulder, her voice urgent.
“Wake up,” she insists.
Groaning, I open my eyes, meeting her fiery gaze. “Go back to sleep, darlin’,” I mumble, letting my eyes drift shut again.
“No, Declan,” she snaps, her tone sharp. “Explain this to me!”
Reluctantly, I open my eyes again, blinking in the dim light. “Explain what?”
“This!” She thrusts her left hand in front of my face, the eight-carat princess-cut diamond glinting on her ring finger.
I sit up, resting my head against the headboard, and grin. “What’s there to explain? I told you—you’ll be my wife.”
Her eyes narrow. “Declan, you can’t be serious. And what about this?”
She gestures toward the positive pregnancy test sitting on the nightstand. “That’s not mine.”
“Oh, baby, but it is,” I say, my grin widening. “I might’ve collected a sample with a urine collector in the middle of the night. My buddy Rocco told me that’s how he found out his wife was pregnant.”
Her jaw drops. “Rocco? As inRocco, the mafia boss from Philly? Ryah’s husband?”
“That’s the one,” I reply with a chuckle.
Meridea shakes her head in disbelief, though a smile tugs at her lips. She’d hit it off with the mafia wives during that wild day at Sierra’s torture chamber in Newark, New Jersey. Rocco’s wife, Ryah, had been there too. Now, they were all planning to visit Blue Haven this week to help Meridea with design ideas for her boutique and bakery.
“It’s exciting, isn’t it?” I continue, pulling her closer. “We’re getting married at the end of the month, and in roughly eight months, we’ll welcome our little bundle of joy.”
She presses her forehead against mine, her expression softening. “What am I going to do with you?”
Wrapping my arms around her, I murmur, “Nothing, darlin’. Just keep being who you are—my beautiful fiancée and the soon-to-be mother of our child.”
She giggles, the sound like music to my ears. “You’re lucky I love you, Declan.”
“I know,” I say, kissing her forehead. “And I love you too, Meridea.”
EPILOGUE
MERIDEA
THREE MONTHS LATER
