Page 79 of Blood Queen

I chuckle softly. “You can charm anyone. It’s one of the things I love about you.”

She grins at me, her eyes crinkling at the corners, and I feel the warmth of her love, of everything we’ve built, radiating off her. She’s stronger than she gives herself credit for, but she’s also still that gentle, hopeful woman I met all those years ago.

“I love you,” she says, and her voice is so tender, it catches me off guard every time.

“Love you too,” I reply, my heart bursting with gratitude.

She shifts in my arms, her hand drifting down to rest on her belly, a gentle smile playing on her lips. “You’re really going to be a dad. Can you believe it?”

I shake my head slowly, eyes drifting to the soft curve of her, marveling at the secret life growing inside her. “I never imagined I’d be here,” I confess, voice thick with emotion. “I never imagined we’d be here. But I’m so damn grateful—for you, for her, for everything.”

She takes my hand and presses it against her belly, and I can feel the subtle movement of our daughter. A wide grin spreads across my face. I’m going to be a dad—a real one. And I’ll give our little girl every ounce of my love.

Every bit of who I am.

Every ounce of myself.

“I can’t wait to meet her,” I say quietly, my voice thick with emotion.

Meghan laughs softly, her fingers grazing over my knuckles. “She’s going to be perfect. Just like you.”

I snort, shaking my head in disbelief.

She gives me a look, soft but knowing. “You gave me everything I needed, even when I didn’t deserve it. You gave me a life, a future, and you loved me in a way no one else could.”

I pull her even closer, pressing my lips to the top of her head, breathing her in. “This life we’ve built. This love. It’s all ours.”

In that moment, the world shrinks to a safe, small space. The past—with all its darkness, danger, and fear—no longer holds power over us. We’re free.

Free to build a life here, in this quiet town where no one knows who we were before. Where no one cares about the people we used to be. Where no one cares about the mafia or the bloodshed.

But even with the quiet, I can’t help but miss my family. My parents. My sister and brother. I don’t regret what I did, but I still feel that ache for them, that longing to be close again. They were told that I was gone for their safety, that a case I was working had gone sour, but given no further details. It pained us both at the time. Caused many days and nights of dread, grief, and sleeplessness.

I had never imagined a life where I’d leave them behind, but I had to make a choice. And I’d done it—at the time—so easily. I chose Meghan. And I’d choose her again in every lifetime.

“Sam,” Meghan’s soft voice tugs me back from my reverie, laden with concern. “Are you okay?”

I nod, pulling her tighter into my embrace. “Yeah, just thinking.”

“About your family?”

I pause, then answer, “Yeah. I miss them, Meg. I miss them so much sometimes it feels like I’m suffocating.”

She kisses my cheek softly, her hand resting on my chest. “I know you do. And I’m so sorry for that.”

I shake my head, a small smile tugging at my lips. “I’m okay.” I glance at her belly once more, my hand hovering there, feeling her move. “I’m more than okay.”

“I was thinking,” she says.

“Oh?” I grin at her.

She threads her fingers in my hair, her deep brown eyes set on mine. “How do you feel about the name Kenzie?”

Leaning in, my lips hover just above hers, teasing, torturing, making her wait for it. There is no better way to honor my family than to name our little girl after my sister.

Meghan’s eyes, dark and wide, flicker with anticipation, her lashes fluttering.

“What do you want?” I whisper. Just like all those years before.

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