Page 64 of Four Tattoos

Tears sparkle in her beautiful eyes as her fingers trace a broad outline around the tattoo, just outside of the freshly-marked skinned. “I didn’t think some of you had enough blank space left on your bodies,” she says with a smile. “I can’t believe you did this for me.”

Capturing her hand, I bring her fingertips to my mouth to kiss them. “Do you forgive us for breaking up with you?”

Her eyes fixed on mine, she nods.

“I love you, Rose.”

“I love you, too. I love all of you.”

Her words light up my new tattoo, sparking a warmth that seeps into my chest and surrounds my heart. I bend to kiss her, the soft press of her lips a sweet relief. I won’t ever do anything to mess this up again.

“We won’t ever be so stupid again,” Christian tells her, as if sharing my same thoughts. He pulls her from my arms, and she’s passed around between us again, none of us able to get enough of her.

“Do you want to be with us?” Mace asks.

A few tears are still falling as she nods. “Yes, that’s what I’ve always wanted.”

“What about your brother?” Christian asks. “We don’t want there to be problems in your family.”

“He’ll have to accept it.” Her hands move from Christian to Mace, to me, to Hutch, joining us all together. “You’re my priority and my future, and I think he’ll come around once he realizes that.”

“Maybe we can all have dinner together and he can get to know us better,” Hutch suggests.

Gently, I squeeze her hand in mine. “We plan to prove ourselves to you, Rose. We understand your brother’s concerns, and we’ll prove ourselves to him, too.”

She stands between the four of us, beaming, and the warmth in my chest glows brighter.

“Now that this is all settled, you have a choice,” Hutch tells her.

“What’s that?”

“You can either let us buy furniture for this place tomorrow, or you can move in with us.”

“You want me to move in with you?”

“Of course we do,” I say, sliding my arm around her waist. “But if you want to keep this apartment until we’ve proven ourselves, or until you’re sure, or even just to have a place to spend time away from us, then that’s what we’ll do.”

“I trust you,” she says, her eyes clear now, “and I want to be with you as much as I can.”

With a hand lightly resting on her belly, I bend to kiss the side of her neck. “Then pack up a bag. You’re ours now, and you and the baby are coming home with us.”

EPILOGUE

49

ROSE - THREE WEEKS LATER

“Are you nervous, Rose?” Mace’s hand, which has been resting on my knee, gives my leg a squeeze as we pull into the driveway of the house where I grew up.

“A little bit. Yeah.”

“Don’t be. We’re here for you. We have your back.”

I give him a smile. “I know.” They show me that every day, in every way. “I wish we could have invited them to your house, though.”

“You meanourhouse,” Hutch says as he turns off the engine. “It’s yours as well as ours.”

I’m still working on that mindset. The men have invited me to make their home my own, even encouraging me to redecorate when I’m feeling up to it. My fatigue has persisted, despite what good care the men take of me, though I am starting to have a bit more energy.

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