“Thank you.”
“Of course. It’s my pleasure. Have a great rest of your day.” He smiles at Cora and nods to the men before filing out, leaving us alone in the small room.
Overwhelmed, I grab Cora and hug her tightly. She hugs back with the same force, burying her face in my hair. I breathe in the scent of her, closing my eyes against the flood of emotions.
My heart is so full right now. I can barely hold it together, tears spilling down my cheeks. But they’re happy tears.
When I look at the men, they’re looking back at us. Lincoln and Everett wear matching soft smiles, and Cash blinks away wetness from his eyes, giving me a lopsided grin when I catch him at it.
There’s no shame here, not when we’re all so happy.
We take some time to compose ourselves and then head over to the bar where we’re meeting Lainey, Dolly, Lincoln’s parents, and a handful of other people from the town. It doesn’t stop surprising me how many people here care about us. About me.
There’s food from the diner, pies, and cakes, and the bar is full of laughter and warmth. Cora is at the center of it all, showing off her new dress and chatting with people she recognizes. Most everyone in the town knows her by now, and they offer their congratulations and tell Cora she looks very pretty in her dress.
It makes me emotional all over again to see her talking and laughing and looking so carefree. She eats pie, delivered to her by Dolly herself, getting blueberry all over her face, but careful not to spill any on her dress. She’s so much more like a child should be now, and I’m so glad to see it.
“Congratulations to you too,” Helen says, coming over with a smile to hug me. “You must be so happy.”
“I am, yeah. She’s been mine for a while now, but it’s nice to make it official.”
Dolly hugs me next, coming by with a plate of food piled high for me. “I can see you’re having more emotions than food right now,” she says. “But you need to eat.”
“Thank you, Dolly.”
I’m struck then, by a memory of the conversation we had about Silver Falls making space for her. Looking around at all the people gathered here to celebrate us, I can feel the full breadth of what the town has become to me and Cora. It’s amazing, really, the way everyone has welcomed us, and it’s something I never expected.
Lainey comes over and kisses my cheek happily. “You know, I always wanted a sister,” she says, her eyes glistening. “And I’m very glad the universe saw fit to put you in my life.”
I laugh at that, touched in that bittersweet way. “I didn’t think I’d have a sister again,” I tell her. “So I’m pretty glad too.”
Her face goes soft as she hugs me tight, and I try to think of a way to tell her how grateful I am for her, but come up short. Something tells me she knows, though.
The celebration winds down as it starts to get late, and we head home with Cora so she can get ready for bed.
The guys take her through the bedtime routine they’ve established, and even though she’s still excited about everything and buzzing from the party, by the time I come into her room, she’s falling asleep.
She looks small, surrounded by these three protective Alphas, who rearranged their whole lives on a whim for a little girl who isn’t even biologically theirs.
I feel a rush of love for all of them, and it hits me hard. For Cora. For my guys. For this specific, unlikely, perfect family that we’ve built together.
When the men leave the room, they barely make it to the doorway of our bedroom before I’m grabbing them and kissing each of them in turn. It’s like I can’t keep my hands off them for another second. Each kiss is hungry and full of feeling.
They kiss me back, running their hands over me and taking their time with it.
“Pregnancy hormones must be something else,” Cash murmurs, nuzzling against my neck. “You’ve been insatiable lately.”
And he’s right. Ever since I got pregnant, I’ve been ravenous for them. Desperate to have them on me or in me or however I can get them, all the time.
But really, it’s more than that. It’s me needing to be as deeply connected to them as possible.
Everett scoops me up easily, carrying me to the bedroom. He lays me out on the bed and they all take their time stripping me out of my clothes. Their hands and mouths trail over my skin, and I close my eyes and enjoy the feeling.
It’s like they want to worship me, caressing every inch of my skin and making sure I know how beautiful and desirable they find me, and it turns me on even more.
By the time they pull back, my core is throbbing, and my pussy is soaking wet.
“Please,” I moan, looking up at each of them.