Page 134 of Blissful Devotion

Hazel is a lot like Kat and the opposite of Jade, but her degree in psychology helped give Kat someone to talk to, something I’ll forever be grateful for. We all will be.

The guys grew on us too, to the point that I’m in about five group chats now, none of which makes sense on any given day.

I can’t complain too much, though; I’m pretty sure there aren’t any kids more protected than Hazel’s and ours. Dom, Leo, and Jade are the heads of the Bratva, and Elio is the head of the Italian mafia. The rest of them don’t have mafia ties, but their ties to Vengeance and ability to kill are pretty well known.

And our kids call them all aunties and uncles.

“Daddy!” Maddy’s shout pulls me from my thoughts, and I turn from the mirror where I’d been fixing my tie to find her running full force my way, a huge smile on her face, with Nico not far behind.

“Daddy! Mommy looks like a princess!” she gushes as she runs into my open arms without a beat of hesitation, trusting me beyond anything else to catch her, something I’ll never take for granted.

“Maddy! Dad said, ‘Don’t tell,’ remember!” Nico scolds her, folding his arms over his chest, looking so much like Nathan despite Alex being his biological father.

“She didn’t tell too much. A little tease is good. Keeps me on my toes and excited,” I tell him and watch his anger melt away before I turn my attention to Madaline.

She’s three, but I swear her attitude is years beyond that. Kat said it was the terrible twos at first, but now she’s pushing four, and I’m pretty sure we’ve got a diva.

Madaline is mine. Graham and Evelyn are Oliver's, fraternal twins; they’re two, and Maximus is freshly one—Nathan's clone.

Another reason this wedding took so long: we couldn’t keep our fucking hands to ourselves.

It started as a joke, a race to see who could get her pregnant first, and while I didn’t care whose babies she had, we all enjoyed the ‘making’ portion of it.

It only got better every time one of us succeeded, and Desmond didn’t, but that’s what he gets for all his shit-talking.

It was a miracle we’d made it this long without her getting pregnant again, but none of us was going to complain.

“You, Miss Mads, need to listen, though.” I boop her nose, and she looks down, knowing she’s in trouble. I don’t yell, but I don’t have to; the kids all listen pretty well, at least for now.

I’m not excited to see what life with teenagers is like, though.

“Maddy! Nico!” Addison’s voice echoes down the hall, and we all turn to find her peeking into a few rooms before her eyes meet mine, a smile tugging at her lips.

“Hey Uncle Vinny,” she stops before me, reaching for Maddy. “I just need to steal these guys because Mom said if you don’t hurry, she’s going to skip this part and go right to the desserts.”

I laugh, handing Maddy over, who happily goes. Addy is the best big sister, but we all knew she would be; even at eleven, she’s a great kid.

“Anything to get out of standing in front of people, even if it is our closest friends, huh?” I tell her, and she laughs too, because some things never change. “Too bad for her, we're all ready.” I ruffle Nico’s hair before I make my way down the hall, hearing him huff as he follows us.

“Time to marry the girl of my dreams.”

The kids sit with our parents in the front row after walking the aisle, delivering rings and sprinkling flower petals everywhere. We didn’t want to choose just a few of them to stand with us, so we had a whole party of kids. It was Kat’s idea, and I can’t deny it was the cutest thing.

We might not see each other all the time, but we’re raising these kids as family, and with how close they all are, I’m not sure they will ever question it.

Our friends and what little family we have are scattered around, and I might have poked fun at Kat for her nerves about standing in front of everyone, but I can’t help feeling a little unnerved myself as we stand at the altar waiting.

It doesn’t help that Desmond is all but vibrating next to me, my tie suddenly feeling too tight.

Everything goes quiet the second the door opens, and she’s there.

My reason for breathing, the one woman who changed all of our lives and brought us to this moment.

The woman I couldn’t live without.

Our Queen, and I’ll be damned if that nickname has never been more fitting as she stands at the end of the aisle waiting for the music that will cue her forward, her eyes fixed to the floor, nerves clear on her face, but I’ve never seen anyone more beautiful, anywhere in the world.

Her dress isn’t quite white, more off-white or whatever it’s called. It leaves her shoulders completely exposed, showing just enough cleavage to leave me half hard, but not enough to be inappropriate for the little ones.