Page 62 of Come Alive
Baby monitors strike again.
Mateo caught sight of Kazi’s pale face before snickering to himself.
That should work as a good distraction too.
Dorothy rustled again, this time her bright eyes opening and taking him in.
Mateo’s heart melted all over again as Yara yelled hushed profanities at Kazi just outside the room.
James joined in, laying into Kazi about keeping secrets and where it got them last time.
Mateo smiled, bouncing Dorothy up and down lightly. He had never thought much about his future, but this was better than anything he could have ever imagined. And he was happy that every step he took, every mistake he made, every word he spoke led him directly to this spot.
He had a family, and he would never,ever, let them go.
Epilogue
Yara
Ten Years Later
“Mom! Minny is being a jerk again and won’t let me play with him.” Dorothy crossed her arms as she ran into the house, her face blushed from the Florida heat.
Smiling, I tucked my daughter's hair behind her ears. Besides their eyes, Dorothy and Min-ho were the spitting image of me, but Min-ho somehow ended up with a mix of Kazi’s and Mateo’s personalities wrapped up into onevivaciouschild.
“Sweetheart, do you even want to play with him? Henry was looking for you.” Izzy’s oldest was the nicest of her kiddos, and he and Dorothy had become quick besties. My attention caught on the backyard. It was a large space, combined with the yard next door.
With Izzy’s yard.
I was so thankful we had finally managed to become next door neighbors. Now I could bother her and her men whenever I wished. We were just going to gloss over the fact that Izzy was technically Dorothy’s sister. That our families were messy and abitoutside the norm.
We just told everyone they were cousins and called it a day.
“No, I don’t, but it’s theprincipledof the matter,” Dorothy replied smartly.
I had to contain my laughter at her use ofprincipled. She needed to set down the dictionary. “Tell Daddy. He will help you with Minny. He is the only one who can speak that boy’s language.”
Dorothy blew air into her cheeks before nodding her head sagely. “You’re right, Mama! Love you!” She wrapped her arms around me before running back outside in search of Mateo.
James’s laughter came up from behind me, and I turned in our living room towards him. He was holding our youngest.
The baby none of us expected but decided to make his appearance nearly ten years after his siblings.
Well I guesseveryoneexceptMateowas expecting him. I knew Mateo longed for one more, he just didn’t want to put me through pregnancy again. Kazi and James had agreed, and one removed IUD later, I was pregnant.
Mateo had been nervous but ecstatic. This go round, I had opted for Lizbeth as my doctor from the start, and it had gone much smoother.
“Eve should be here soon with her partners,” I advised, pulling my phone out of my pocket. “She still isn’t the best in crowds, but we thought this could be a good first outing.”
James hummed, lightly rocking the baby in his arms. “That poor girl. I’m glad she found Logan, Simon, and even…”
“Yes, me too,” I agreed distractedly, looking down at my phone. “I have another client we need to meet next week.” Mycompany, Darkest Desires, was still alive and well, it was just run a bit differently. Izzy and I had secured a building here in Florida that we both worked out of, much to our men’s chagrin. At first I had considered shutting it down, but then I remembered why I had started it in the first place. Instead, I had become more picky on clients and specialized in those that needed a safe sexual experience.
“It’s Mateo’s turn to be with you on that one. He already ran a background check on the man you’re meeting.” James chuckled.
I groaned, but then a text came through. “Eve’s almost here, let me go outside and find Izzy. Are you coming too? Everyone should be out there for Henry’s birthday.”
James lifted his lips, his hair was mostly gray now, but it somehow only managed to make him sexier. More ruggish. “Right behind you.”
