Images of Selena pregnant with my child surfaces in my mind, and I can’t wait for that day. But I want to enjoy my wife first. And I want to put all this stuff with Lawrence behind us before we even consider a discussion about kids.
“Hey, little dude,” Kal says, snapping me out of my futuristic thoughts. “Don’t you have something to say to Uncle Keanu and Auntie Selena?”
His little brow puckers, and then, his eyes light up. “Gratulations!” he shouts, clapping his hands, and we all laugh. Until he spots the present in Selena’s hand and skydives out of my arms. Thankfully, his dad has lightning-fast reflexes and catches the little handful before he splats the ground.
“Holy hell.” I shake my head. “Let’s hope the next kid gets your genes, Lana,” I joke.
Selena decides to put my nephew out of his misery, kneeling in front of him and holding out the present. “This is for you. From all of us.” She gestures at me, Cher bear, and Keven. “A little birdie told us you like dinosaurs.”
“I do! I do!” He starts simultaneously jumping up and down and ripping at the paper. Kal helps his son, and Hewson’s entire face erupts with happiness when he spots the miniature dinosaur set. Options were limited on Santorini, but thankfully, we found something that worked.
“What do you say, Hewson?” Lana prompts.
“Thank you!” Hewson singsongs, briefly lifting his head up to shoot us a toothy grin.
“Congratulations, guys,” Kal says, straightening up. “We’re delighted for you.”
“That video you sent was so beautiful,” Lana says with tears swimming in her eyes. “It looked so romantic.”
“It was,” Selena says, leaning into me. I tuck her into my side, kissing the top of her head. “It was everything I imagined for my wedding day and more.”
“That’s a winner,” Kyler says, grinning at Hewson as he approaches with his arm around Faye. Hewson has a dinosaur in each hand, and he’s walking them across the tile floor, blabbering away in different voices as he makes them “talk” to one another.
“C’mere little brother.” Ky releases his wife to grab me into a strong hug. “Congrats, man. I’m so happy for you. Married life is fucking awesome.”
“Thanks, bro.” I struggle to speak over the messy ball of emotion that’s just materialized at the back of my throat.
Faye is hugging Selena, whispering in her ear. And then, everyone else is on top of us, offering best wishes and pulling us into hugs.
Selena looks happy if overwhelmed.
When I finally pry her out of my mom’s arms, I take her hand leading her into the dining room where breakfast has been set up. I press my mouth to her ear. “Thinking about divorcing me yet?” I tease, waggling my brows.
“Never.” She nudges me playfully in the ribs. “You’re stuck with me now.”
29
Selena
The ceremony was beautiful, and there was barely a dry eye in the house. Keanu was in the front row, alongside his brothers, all looking so handsome in their tuxes. Mom sat with me, alongside the other wives and girlfriends, in the row behind.
Now, we’re sitting at one of two large round tables at the top of the marquee that’s been erected on the grounds. We’ve just finished a delicious five-course meal, and the band has started. The dance floor is already crowded, so Mom can’t object when my husband drags her up to dance.
“It’s wonderful to see Keanu so happy,” Eva says, smiling at me as she sips on her water.
Eva is Kaden’s wife, and Kaden is Keanu’s eldest brother. They eloped two years ago and got married in secret. Then, Alex planned their lavish Boston wedding which took place last year.
“I hate that I hurt him so much he was miserable, but we needed that time apart,” I admit.
“I can only imagine,” she says, compassion flooding her eyes.
All of Keanu’s family knows about my past. I asked him to tell them because I don’t want to keep secrets from my new family. But I wasn’t up to a big family meeting either even though itisgetting easier to talk about.
She clasps my hand. “I’m so sorry for everything that happened to you. I never knew my ex-husband was involved in sex trafficking until much later, and it made me ill to think about it. Cheryl was the same when she discovered her ex-fiancé was knee-deep in that world. At least, both those bastards got what they deserved,” she adds, her nostrils flaring. “And those bastards who hurt you will pay the same price.” She squeezes my hand more firmly. “Our husbands will accept nothing less.”
“I hope it’s sooner rather than later,” I say. “Because I want to move forward with my life, and that’s the only cloud that can cast a shadow over our plans.”
“Trust Keven. Trust the guys. They’ll nail those monsters to the wall.”
