Page 115 of Mountain Mens' Curvy Obsession

“We’ll need a big place,” I tell Nico. “I want Alex to have enough room to run around as he would on this mountain.”

“And we can spend our summers here,” he replies.

“The Asimov mansion is yours, of course,” Zoya offers.

I shake my head slowly. “As much as I appreciate it, I don’t want to go back there, except to visit you and Evgeny. Too many bad memories there.”

“Fair enough, though I’m sure there were plenty of good memories, too,” she says.

“There were. I just want to make new memories in new places. A clean canvas for me to paint on.”

I need a deep breath and another sip of lemonade before I look at Nico again. “We’ll discuss the details at dinner, if that’s okay. I want Chance and Booker to be here, too.”

“Of course.”

“I haven’t made my decision yet,” I warn.

“No one is rushing you,” he insists.

Good.

It’s all I needed to hear to make my decision, funnily enough. I watch Alex sleeping in Zoya’s arms for a bit longer, letting Nico hold me as the sun sets over the mountain.

Epilogue II

Anya

Having the freedom to choose my own destiny has certainly made room for many dreams coming true. Alex just turned five, and I’m celebrating my first art show after completing my New York Institute of Fine Arts degree.

“Momma, this is really nice,” little Alex says as we stand in front of one of my larger exhibition pieces.

“You like it, eh?” I ask my son.

He looks up at me, giving me a toothy, ridiculously cute grin. His hair is dark and rich, like his fathers’, but his eyes are very much mine, and he has pink cheeks and a debonair smile that reminds me of his uncle just a little. Aleks would be swooning right now.

“I love it. Why didn’t we buy it? Daddy Nico says we could.”

“We want someone else to enjoy it,” I tell my son.

“Can you make me one?” Alex replies with a soft frown.

“You want a piece like this for your room?”

“Yeah.”

I crouch so I can be at his eye level, cup my son’s round, plump face, then plant a kiss on his forehead. “I’ll make you one then, just for you,” I tell him. “And you get to pick the colors I use, too. Isn’t that cool?”

“Just so you know,” Chance says as he and his brothers find us on the other side of the art gallery. “Alex got each of us to promise we’d ask you to make some art for him. This isn’t the only piece he wants you to reproduce.”

“Oh, really?” I laugh lightly.

Alex giggles as Booker scoops him up and holds him close. “I like your art, Momma!”

“My biggest fan, right here,” I say, overflowing with love as I watch Alex shove his tiny hands into Booker’s trimmed beard.

My men flank me, and I take a moment to admire precisely how dashing they look in their matching black tuxedos

“The show is looking great,” Nico tells me. “Though most of the guests are focused on the east wing of the exhibit, but you and Alex seem to enjoy hiding out here.”

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