Page 88 of Declan

I smile and tighten my arms around Issa in case she thinks she’s going to move away again. She doesn’t try to put any distance between us; she just says, “Oh. That’s what happened.”

“It seemed like the most obvious plan,” Matt answers. “It took a bit of persuading from Tony to get them to go along with it, but they even left suicide notes.”

“Persuading?” Issa asks.

Tony replies, “The threat of dull knives. Works every time.”

Issa shivers in my lap and makes a face but otherwise remains quiet, and then she yawns. I move to stand, and she scurries out of my lap before I can lift her into my arms, and I sit there on the edge of the chair, looking at her sternly. She smiles awkwardly, so before she can attempt to move away, I lean forward and stand at the same time, pressing my shoulder into her abdomen and lifting her up in a fireman’s hold. She squeaks in surprise, and her hands grip the back of my shirt as I turn toward the door and start walking. “You all can take care of yourselves. I’m taking my wife to bed.”

Issa protests rather loudly, and I slap her on the ass hard enough to sting, and she stops protesting, though I still hear her muttered cursing as I walk down the hallway.

I rub my hand over the spot I slapped, massaging her ass cheek as I keep walking, and after a few minutes, she sighs, relaxing over my shoulder as much as the awkward position allows, and I smile.

“That’s my girl.”

Epilogue: The Hunt

Declan

Threemonthslater…

“Do you want kids?”

I pause with my coffee mug halfway to my mouth and look up, my eyebrows raised as I say, “Excuse me?”

Issa smiles at me almost shyly and shrugs. “What? Do you want kids someday? It seems like a reasonable question.”

I set my mug on the table, then turn my body so I’m fully facing her as I ask, “But why the sudden question?”

I’m sure I look like an eager puppy because she waves a hand and laughs, “Oh my God, Declan. Stop. I didn’t mean right now. I’m not pregnant.”

I smile, only mildly disappointed, but still, I press, “But why the sudden question?”

She shrugs again and sighs. “I think it’s a reasonable question after spending the last couple of weeks watching you with Flora. Then, there’s the fact you built a play structure that takes up half of your—“

“Our,” I interject.

She gives me an exasperated look and continues, “Ourbackyard that is also large enough for several adults to play on.”

I look over the back lawn, smiling appreciatively at the job my contractor did. It’s true; it must be the largest private play structure in North America, and yes, all of us adults played on it at the same time without an issue. “It is quite fun, isn’t it?”

She tries to hide her smile behind her cup, and then she says, “Just answer the question, Declan. There isn’t a wrong answer.”

“Yes,” I reply easily. “I would like children someday. I figure if and when the others start popping them out, we might give it a shot. I like the idea of our kids all being raised together.”

“Do you think they’ll have kids?”

“Tony and Carolina will, for sure. I think they would have already, but Carolina needs some time to adjust to being a wife and mother. But at some point, it’ll happen.”

“What about Antoinette?”

I pause for a moment, thinking about Antoinette and Dare and their lifestyle. “That’s a tough one. I don’t know if I would bet either way on those two.”

She sits quietly, looking out across our backyard, her hands twisting in her lap. Finally, I reach out, touch her arm, and ask, “Well, do you want kids?”

Her face scrunches up a bit as she contemplates my question, and then she says, “I think so. I definitely don’t want any now, but I think at some point, that will change.”

“Well, it’s up to you, darlin’,” I reply seriously. “I want you. If I get mini versions of you as well, that’s a bonus.”

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