Behind me, Chance exhales sharply, and his chair scrapes back.
“Jesus, Rox. This is—” His voice cracks, and when I glance over my shoulder, he looks stunned but not scared. Instead, his expression is warm, proud, and protective. Hopeful. “This is incredible.”
A beat later, he’s behind her, sliding his arms around her waist, above mine on her hips. He bends to her neck, speaking against her skin and pressing soft kisses to her throat. “This is the other thing, isn’t it? What you were so scared of?”
Her head dips in the slightest nod, her tiny body trembling like a leaf between us. Dillon catches up last, but only by a heartbeat. He stands up, both hands shoved into his hair, and his face breaks open with one of the most brilliant damn smiles I’ve ever seen on him.
“No way,” he breathes. “No way. We’re actually…” He laughs under his breath, a shaky, amazed sound. “We’re gonna be dads?”
Roxie lets out a trembling laugh that dissolves into a sob, and that is all it takes for the three of us to move in closer. Chance wraps an arm around her from one side, moving slightly so Dillon can get in on the other, and we fold ourselves aroundher, our little circle, our little family, holding her as tightly as we dare.
“You’re not going to be alone in this,” I tell her, cupping the back of her head to make sure she hears every word. “Not for one second.”
Chance kisses her temple. “We’re in it together. Every step of the way, angel. We’re here for you.”
Dillon presses his forehead to her shoulder. “We want this, Roxie. We want it with you, and we know it’s unplanned, but that doesn’t mean it’s not perfect.”
She sniffles, tears slipping down her cheeks as she looks between the three of us like she’s trying to memorize every expression and every ounce of reassurance we’re giving her.
“You really want this?” she whispers. “Do you actually mean that?”
I smile, swallowing a laugh that probably has no business being in this moment, but fuck. I’ve been wanting this with the right person for twenty goddamn years. “Yeah. We do. We want it all, Rox. I swear.”
She sags against us, crying quietly.
Chance stiffens, and Dillon looks up at me with so much uncertainty in his eyes that I roll mine at him, easing her into my arms alone for now.
Chance and Dillon step back a little, giving us space, but I can feel them there, their warmth at my back like a wall of quiet, steady support.
Roxie buries her face in my chest, her fingers curling tight in my shirt, and I tilt her chin up gently.
“Rox,” I murmur, brushing my thumb across her damp cheek. “Will you please look at me?”
Her eyes lift slowly to mine, shining with uncertainty, but also with so much determination. In that moment, as our gazes connect, my heart decides its tired of being caged. We’re in this with her for the long haul, and she needs to know it.
“I love you.”
Her breath catches and she blinks hard. “What?”
Dillon curses under his breath. Chance goes still as stone beside him, but I don’t take it back.
“I love you,” I repeat, my voice solid. “I’m not saying it because of the baby. I’m not saying it because of last night. I’m saying it because it’s the truest thing I’ve ever felt.”
She tries to speak, but I shake my head gently, keeping my eyes locked on hers. “I’ve never felt anything like this, Roxie. Not once. Not even when I was married.”
Her eyebrows pinch like she hadn’t been expecting that. Hell, maybe I hadn’t been either, but it was time she knew.
“Even back then,” I continue, “something was always off with Tessa. She didn’t love me. She just loved the guy the world thought I was. A tough bastard with the reputation, the temper, and the name that carried weight.”
I let out a slow breath. “She also didn’t really like Chance or Dillon. She tolerated them because she had to. So a part of me…” My throat tightens for a heartbeat. “A part of me was never fullyin that marriage because loving her meant sacrificing them, and I wasn’t willing to do that, even if I thought I should be.”
Roxie’s lips part on a tiny, wounded sound that escapes her, like she can feel that old ache I don’t talk about. I slide my hand to the back of her neck, my eyes never leaving hers. “But this? You. Us. What we’re building? It’s different. You didn’t just accept the three of us. You stepped right in and made room for all of it. For all of us. You let us love you the best way we know how, and I love you for that. More than you know.”
Her eyes flood again and she swallows hard, pressing her forehead to mine. “Boone…”
“I don’t expect you to say it back,” I reassure her quietly. “Not now. Not today. Hell, not for a while if you’re not ready, but you needed to hear it from me. You needed to know that whatever comes next, you’re not going through it without someone who’s already all in.”
Chance’s voice enters the moment like a low, steady anchor. “We’ve got you both. You and the baby. No matter what.”
