Chapter 34
34
Christa
I t takes a few days for things to settle, for life to resume, for the news to break, for the chaos to clear. It takes me a few days of getting lots of sleep and eating like a queen while the Hawthornes make sure I don’t miss any of my prenatal vitamins and post-incident checkups. They keep a close eye on me as we return to our kind of normal.
It will be a while before we’re due in court as witnesses against the Mancini family, but the FBI team in charge is confident they have enough to send those dirtbags away for good. It’s not enough, though. They don’t have access to everything the Mancinis hid with the help of their IT minions. Spike and I were going to work on that.
“You look sad,” Nathan says one morning as he walks into my office. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m great; I promise. Hell, I don’t think I’ve ever felt better, though my cravings are really getting out of hand.”
He chuckles as he places a cup of freshly brewed jasmine tea on my desk, then comes around to give me a loving, sweet kiss. “What was it this time?”
“Peanut butter and maple-glazed bacon on toast,” I grumble.
He pulls up a chair to sit next to me behind the desk. “That’s not so bad. The kid’s got some interesting tastes, I’ll give him that.”
“Or her,” I reply. “Unless you’re not thrilled by the prospect of having a girl?”
“I’m thrilled by the prospect of having a child with you,” Nathan says, and I believe him. “Not that long ago, I wasn’t even sure if a family was in the books for us. Not in our current formula, anyway.”
“Well, none of this was really planned.”
“No, but I love how it’s turning out,” he says, then leans in to whisper. “Between you and me, I think I’m rooting for a girl. I know she would grow up to be as strong and as wonderful and as brilliant as you.”
I smile softly, cradling my growing bump. It will be visible through my clothes soon enough, but I already feel it. “I’m just happy she’ll have three amazing dads to guide her. Or he will have three amazing dads to guide him. Either way, lucky kid.”
“Couldn’t agree more.”
“I’m having Teagan and Tony over for dinner tonight. You guys don’t mind, do you?”
“We’ll join you,” he says. “In the meantime, talk to me, what’s up?”
“What’s up? Nothing’s up. I’m just trying to catch up here,” I giggle as I point at my many computer screens with multiple algorithms running at the same time.
Nathan points to a minimized window on one of the screens. “And what’s that?”
“Oh, that,” I mumble and open the window to reveal Spike’s last message. “I keep going over this, trying to figure out what it means.”
“Is it anything?” he asks. “Maybe he fumbled the keys while trying to… you know, reach out for help that night.”
I shudder, just imagining how that went down. “No, it’s a passkey of some kind. I’m trying to match it to a particular type of account or software he might’ve built. Spike wouldn’t have left it behind if it didn’t mean something.”
“Are you getting anywhere?”
“Almost,” I nod slowly. “I’ve tried several avenues thus far, but only these three make sense,” I add, pointing at another screen. “It could be a passkey to open something in his computer, so I passed it along to the Feds currently working on it, but they haven’t found anything yet. It could be a cryptocurrency key. Spike had money hidden somewhere, for sure, and I know he wanted it donated to several organizations if he died. We had that conversation a while back.
“Or… it could be a password to a cloud storage, something heavily encrypted and out of anyone’s reach. If you think I’m paranoid with security measures, then Spike was the ultimate maniac on the matter,” I say.
Nathan thinks about this for a moment. “You know, while I was copying everything before handing it over to the Feds, I remember the autofill suggestions in his browser. One of them was The Iron Bank of Nowhere. I thought it was a weird search term.”
“It is,” I say and take a deep breath. “But I think I know what that is.”
Immediately, I snap back into action and open a dark-web browser on another screen.
Nathan smiles. “That is all kinds of illegal, Miss Campbell.”
“I know but bear with me. I’m using three different VPNs for this. Hold on,” I say and open a dark web–specific search engine, where I put in the terms ‘The… Iron… Bank… of… Nowhere,’ and hit enter… You see, Spike told me about building a super-secure cloud storage on the dark net, something nobody would ever find. He had some insanely sensitive information, and he wanted to keep it safe, away from anyone with nefarious purposes, even within the FBI. Like I said, super-duper paranoid, my friend.”
The search returns one relevant result.
“Iron Bank of Nowhere,” he mutters.
I click on the link, and it leads straight to the promised land. “Holy smokes, he did it. He said he’d name it The Iron Bank of Nowhere. It’s a reference to one of his favorite TV shows. Amazing…”
“It requires a username and a password to log in,” Nathan replies, his eyes on the screen.
“Oh, I have everything I need. His username is the same everywhere on the dark web: SpikeWuzHere,” I chuckle lightly. “And the passkey is the message he left.”
We’re in. And as soon as we’re in, it becomes obvious why this was the last thing Spike ever said to me. It pains me and fills me with incredible relief at the same time.
“Christa,” Nathan says, also realizing what we’re looking at, “this is unbelievable.”
“The mother lode of evidence against the Mancini crime family. His malware is still dumping data into these folders and subfolders in real time. What we did that night worked!” I look at him, grinning. “Nate, it worked. He must’ve altered the malware’s design before sending the final version to me. It worked, and he linked it to this cloud storage. Wow.”
“I didn’t think that endeavor of yours would succeed. Once Alexandra was arrested, I guess I put it out of my mind. We were just so relieved to have you back.”
“I felt the same why. I’ve been wondering lately, though, what happened to the malware. Well, we have our answer now. We did it.”
“Do you understand what this means?”
We turn to face each other, while my heart threatens to pop out of my chest, overflowing with joy. “It means we got them. We got them by the short and curlies.”
It means Spike didn’t die a victim. He went down fighting, and he delivered the ultimate blow to the fabled, final boss. There was enough incriminating evidence is in the hidden folders to destroy the entire Mancini bloodline and each of their businesses across the United States. Not only am I finally safe from them but so are the many people who have been living in fear of retaliation from these monsters.
“It means we can put a lock and key on this and finally move on with our lives, baby,” Nathan says and pulls me into a long, ardent kiss.
Goodbye, dark past.
The future is finally here, and it is just within my reach.
As soon as the judge bangs his gavel, I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Guilty on all counts,” Cassius says, beaming with satisfaction as we step outside the courtroom. “It is a fine day for serving justice.”
“Alexandra will rot in prison, just like her father,” River says. “And her uncle.”
“Uncles,” Nate adds. “And cousins. And aunts. And nephews. They’re all going down for this, and none of them can touch you, Christa.”
I give them a warm smile. “After how you saved me in that apartment? I’d steer clear of the Hawthornes, too.”
“It’s not just that. We put word out to some of our friends who work in the department of corrections,” Nathan replies, the corner of his mouth ticking up with dark amusement. “Every single person affiliated with the Mancini crime family will receive a stark warning regarding any form of retaliation against the people who took them down.”
I’m amazed by the extent of their power and influence. “You, gentlemen, are simply extraordinary.”
“You motivate us,” Cassius smiles and points at the car waiting for us at the base of the courthouse steps. “Now, let’s get you home. We have plenty to celebrate.”
Half an hour later, we’re in our bedroom, or playroom, as we like to call it. A sprawling slice of heaven with cream-colored walls and plush carpets covering the hardwood floor, a massive four-poster bed in the middle with the finest silk covers, and all the accoutrements we need for our intimate time together.
Golden rays of sunlight filter into the room along with the summer warmth, filling my heart with sparkling hope for the future ahead. It’s been a while since I’ve felt this way. Pure. Eager. No longer bogged down by the shadows of the past.
“I’m glad we can put this behind us,” Cassius says as he closes the door.
“Me, too,” I reply, slipping out of my shoes.
“Before we can glean what the future holds for us, I think we need to get a few things straight,” he says. His tone feels rather serious.
Yet my hands keep moving, fingers working on the buttons of my shirt. River and Nathan look at me. They seem to be on the same page as Cassius.
“Okay. What are we talking about here?” I ask with a shy smile.
“There have always been rumors about us,” Cassius says. “About how we like to share our women as brothers. I think we’ve had this conversation before, but it bears reiterating.”
“You are truly the first woman we want to be with forever. We’ve made it work thus far, despite the snags we hit along the way,” River adds, his voice softer, slightly more comforting as he comes closer.
His mere proximity is enough to send my pulse racing in a most delicious way, my skin catching fire at the first touch as he helps me out of my shirt, and I help him out of his.
“Well, if you call being in the crosshairs of a murderous mob family a snag, then yes, I agree,” I giggle, then gasp when Nathan joins River in undressing me and hooks his fingers into the waist of my jeans to pull them down.
Cassius gives me a solemn look. I can’t tell whether he’s angry or nervous. Perhaps I should be worried.
But their body language tells a different story.
“I understand why you did what you did and how you did it,” Cassius says. “I’ve tried putting myself in your shoes more than once, and I’ve gone over our decisions as well in times of crisis—recent events included. And the truth is, we all do crazy things, maybe sometimes self-destructive things, to protect ourselves and the people we love. So, it’s not my place or my intention to judge you for keeping secrets, for trying to handle things on your own. If anything, it speaks to your strength and honorable nature,” he adds. “But Christa, going forward, we need to be completely honest with one another, no matter what.”
I nod again. “I completely understand and agree.”
It’s hard to keep a serious demeanor when I’m in my lacy underwear and halfway done with undressing two of the three men I am so deeply in love with. My eyes keep bouncing back to each of their gorgeous bodies—muscles twitching and stretching, soft skin begging for my lips as I marvel at their wide shoulders and linebacker thighs. These men have seen the horrors of war, and they came back to do right by their people, by their family.
And now, by me.
Because that’s what this is about.
“We need to be completely honest with one another because we love one another,” River says. “Because I love you, Christa. Because my brothers love you. And because we want to take this to the next level.”
“What’s the next level?”
I laugh lightly as Cassius moves closer, leaving his pants and shirt strewn across the floor in his wake. I don’t even see the little velvet box in his hand until he lifts it. It’s powder pink and decorated with a tiny satin bow. My heart’s about to explode while my brain makes the connection.
“Oh, my God,” I whisper.
“I love you,” he says. “More than I ever imagined I could love a woman. When you came back, and when I saw how good we were together, the four of us, I knew. Deep down I knew the road would lead us here.”
“Christa, I love you so much that I was ready to kill a whole lot more Mancinis just to keep you alive and safe and happy,” Nathan adds. “I swore to myself when we came back from the service that I would never pick up a gun again. It brought out a dark part of me that I hoped I’d buried for good. But when you were taken, that dark part came back. For a moment, I thought I might lose myself in this war… yet it all felt natural. You made me embrace my demons.
“I want to say that I’m not the same anymore, but I am. Even now,” he says, gently cupping my cheek, “you made me whole again, and this urge to protect you, to always see you smiling… it actually reconciled my inner demons. I have found peace with you.”
“We didn’t think it would work,” River says as he tucks a lock of hair behind my ear. “I kept telling myself it would fizzle away, eventually. But it has only grown stronger between us to the point where I have a hard time imagining the rest of my life without you in it. Honestly, finding out you’re pregnant made me the happiest I’ve been in a very long time.”
Cassius opens the box to reveal a stupendous diamond ring. I stare at the rock, breathless and hypnotized by the way the light hits it and refracts into a billion colors while the Hawthorne brothers slowly kneel before me.
“You’re serious,” I manage, tears pricking my eyes.
“Will you marry us?” he asks.
“How would that even work?”
“Legally, it wouldn’t,” River replies with a warm, nervous smile. “One of us would be the official hubby. But in our hearts, in our home, it would be all three.”
“We want you in our lives, Christa. You, the baby, the other babies we’ll probably bring into this world,” Nathan says.
I can’t help but laugh. “Oh, wow, you’ve got plans for me then?”
“Only if you want it,” he replies.
“Then yes. A thousand times yes,” I say, shaking with sheer happiness.
Cassius slips the ring on my finger, and the three of them stand up. We come together, and I drown in their kisses, I bask in their love and wrap myself in their arms. I welcome it all with my heart wide open.
Nathan’s lips crush mine, and I surrender to the sizzling game of tongues, devouring him with an unyielding hunger. “I love you so much,” I whisper as Cassius gets behind me.
“You’re mine,” Cassius says, nibbling on my ear lobe.
“Ours,” River adds as his hands fondle my full, tender breasts.
It becomes a clash of bodies and a dance of souls as everything unravels around us, as they guide me to the bed and spread my legs, taking turns eating my pussy, giving me one screaming orgasm after another.
Nathan playfully bites my breasts, fingers deep inside me, while I let River and Cassius deep-throat me with their gigantic cocks. They slide in and out with remarkable ease.
“Come for me,” Cassius commands me as I ride him hard.
River takes me from behind, splitting me in half. Two cocks inside me while I suck Nathan, faster and faster as I massage and squeeze his rock-hard balls. I’m drunk on their grunts and ecstatic breaths.
“Oh, fuck!” I cry out in sheer bliss as I explode, as I gush like a fountain all over the Hawthorne twins.
They fuck me hard and deep until there’s nothing left of me.
They fill me to the brim, they consume me, and I welcome every damn drop.
We sleep for a while, and then we’re back at it. Insatiable. Unstoppable. My men love me, and I love them with everything I’ve got.
“I’m scared,” I say, my head resting on Nathan’s chest.
River and Cassius are fast asleep, their legs tangled with mine. The sun is coming up, but we’re not going anywhere, anytime soon. We left a window cracked open, and I can hear the birds’ trills from the gardens below. I can smell the roses, too.
“Scared?” Nathan replies, his fingers drawing invisible lines down my back.
Every muscle in my body is sore. My core feels tender and soft. I love this feeling, and I can’t get enough of it.
“About the pregnancy. About delivering the baby. About how my life is about to change forever. I’m bringing a child into the world.”
“ We’re bringing a child into the world,” he says. “You’re not alone anymore, Christa. You’ll never be alone again, unless you want to be. And should that ever happen, you know we’ll give you all the space you need, my love.”
I look up at him. “You sound so confident.”
“I am. Because I’ve got a woman like you by my side.” He kisses me gently. “Christa, you’ll realize, someday soon, that it’s okay. You’re going to be okay. The kid is the luckiest, in my opinion.”
“Oh, is he?” I chuckle softly.
“Three dads and a kick-ass mom like you? Hell, yes. The luckiest kid in the world.”
“Well, when you put it like that…” I sigh deeply.
Nathan gently lifts my chin, his lips beckoning mine. “I can only imagine how it feels. Your body is changing, and it will keep changing.”
“I’m going to get so big.”
River groans and sits up. “And there’s simply going to be more of you to love. Damn, woman, we’re hooked and head over heels for you, and you’re worried about gaining a few pounds? You’re creating a life from scratch. You’re a fucking goddess.”
“Our goddess,” Cassius adds, rolling over so he can look at us.
“I love you three so much, it hurts,” I manage.
“All I can say is I hope it’s the only kind of pain you’ll ever get from us,” Nathan says.
He kisses me again.
I feel every word. Deep in the pit of my soul, the sun rises—fully and brightly.
The storm has passed.
Epilogue: Christa
“Maybe we should’ve waited until the baby was born,” I mutter as I stare at myself in the mirror.
The bridal gown falls beautifully around me, a sea of white lace sprinkled with pearls. The top hugs my breasts and covers my arms in the finest satin with an embroidered gold pattern that makes me feel like a princess straight out of a fairy tale.
Teagan stands beside me, trying so hard not to cry. She’s pretty in her cherry-pink dress, glowing with joy for me and my special day. My belly is huge, though. I had imagined myself in a different setting—and not pregnant. But we skipped a few steps in our already-complicated relationship.
“Christa, you are absolutely gorgeous,” Teagan says.
I chuckle. “Preggo bridal chic?”
“I’d say goddess in white.”
“Ah,” I gasp, cradling my giant bump, “kicking again.”
“You’re nervous. The baby feels it, too.” She winks at me. “Now come on! You’re perfect. And your grooms are waiting downstairs.”
I nod slowly and grab my bouquet—a fine assortment of white roses and imperial lilies sprinkled with lily-of-the-valley sprigs. It smells amazing. We arrive downstairs just as Aunt Mary steps out of the chapel.
She is positively vibrant in her pale yellow dress. I think she looks younger. Maybe my happiness is rubbing off on her. I sure hope so.
“My God, Christa, your parents would be so proud to see you now,” she says, tearing up at the sight of me. “Granted, they’d have some thoughts about this arrangement, but I know they would want you to be happy.”
“Oh, Auntie, I’m just grateful you’re here today. I’m sorry we couldn’t do a big, snazzy wedding,” I say.
“Honey, love is love. It’s also weird and funny, but it lasts a lifetime. It doesn’t matter how many guests you have or what kind of wedding party you throw. What matters is that you’re doing what feels right for you. And if this feels right for you, I’m all for it.”
“It’s just you and Teagan and Tony,” I mumble.
“And a very kindhearted pastor who agreed to do this,” Teagan kindly reminds me. “Come on, your grooms are waiting.”
I glance inside the small, pretty chapel and see the pastor waiting, clad in shimmering white and gold as he opens the Good Book for the ceremony. Beside him, my three loving grooms await, and they look like something out of a dream, absolutely dashing in their custom tuxes, small primroses pinned to their silvery lapels.
“You know, if you’d told me back in high school that I would end up marrying all three of your brothers, I probably would’ve fainted from laughter,” I tell Teagan.
“I probably would’ve fainted before you,” she giggles, then looks around. “Shoot. Maybe we should’ve invited Uncle Zeddy, after all, so he could give you away.”
Aunt Mary hooks her arm through mine, raising her chin with warmth and pride. “Don’t you worry about that, Teagan, darling. I’m here.”
“Auntie,” I manage, stunned by her gesture.
“It’s your wedding day, sweetheart. Your father would approve. Besides, it gives me great joy to be able to do this,” she says. “I may not have been the best caregiver you could’ve had, but I can still be your family going forward.”
“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” I reply.
“Okay, I’ll go first,” Teagan quips as the pastor’s assistant plays the “Bridal March” on the chapel’s beautiful vintage organ.
She walks down the aisle, shining with joy, as her brothers smile softly. Next to them, Tony, their brother-in-law and best man, lovingly winks at his darling wife as she joins him.
It’s my turn. My heart is beating so fast. And the baby is probably going to be an exceptional soccer player, judging by the kicks. I grunt quietly. Aunt Mary gives me a worried look.
“Are you okay, honey?”
“Yes. Just let’s do this before I go into labor,” I joke.
It doesn’t feel like a joke halfway down the aisle.
Cassius, River, and Nathan light up at the sight of me, and I really want to share the feeling. I want to be nervously happy about the fact that we’re about to get married in the eyes of God, that we’re about to make this moment last a lifetime.
But there’s a pressure building up in my body.
And it is suddenly released with a whooshing, splashing sound.
“Oh, my God,” I gasp, freezing in the middle of the aisle, surrounded by white rose petals and cherrywood pews.
Aunt Mary looks at me, and I see her gaze drift downward.
I follow it.
“Christa, we might have a bit of a problem,” she whispers.
“You think?” I croak, suddenly horrified.
Cassius rushes over. “Babe, I think we need to postpone the ceremony for a short bit.”
“Holy crap!” Teagan exclaims and drops her floral bouquet. She pauses and gives the befuddled pastor an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that.”
“Is the bride okay?” the pastor calls out.
Nathan fishes his car keys out of his tux pocket. “Yes, but we’re going to have to reschedule, I’m afraid.”
“We’re about to become dads,” River laughs as he joins us, gently snaking an arm around my waist while I’m close to breaking down in tears.
“This can’t be happening,” I cry out.
“It is happening, honey,” Aunt Mary tries to comfort me, but the pain quickly becomes unbearable as the first round of contractions rocks through me, damn near knocking me off my feet. “Deep breaths, Christa. In and out, slow and steady.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready!”
“Whether you’re ready or not, our baby is coming,” River chimes in. “Come on, darling. We’ve got you.”
“You’ve got me?”
“We’ve got you. All of us,” he insists.
I find comfort in the hazel pool of his eyes. I’m reminded of Teagan’s wedding night. How everything started there. A shameless night became something so much bigger, much more beautiful than I ever imagined. The Hawthorne brothers carried me through the darkest time of my life. And the love I bear for them is only matched by the love I feel for this little guy or girl who seems so eager to get out of me.
“Yet another wedding we fumbled, huh?” I laugh nervously. “OW! Crap, crap, crap, the contractions are getting closer together.”
“Way too close,” Aunt Mary says. “If we linger any longer, we might have to deliver the baby here! Come on, sweetie, off to the hospital with you.” She gives River a firm nod. “You three take your wife. Teagan, Tony, and I will follow.
Nathan takes my hand, while Cassius keeps me standing. River gets the car keys.
“You’re going to be okay,” Nathan tells me. “This is the best day of our lives already, with or without the wedding vows.”
Off we go then. Into the next chapter. The wildly anticipated, equal parts thrilling and terrifying chapter of motherhood. I find comfort in what my men have often said since they proposed. I’m not alone anymore. I’m safe, I’m protected.
And I am deeply loved.
Our baby is, indeed, so lucky…
Extended Epilogue: Christa
A lot can change in the span of two years.
The life I ran from and the life I built with the Hawthornes have somehow met again, somewhere along the way, only to result in something truly exceptional. A dream come true, oddly enough, as I stand in my executive office, in a building right next door to the Hawthorne Corporation’s HQ.
It’s my building.
And this is my company.
Today is our first day of operations.
“Campbell Cyber and Fintech Securities,” I say, reading the gilded letters on my office door aloud, then look at myself in the mirror.
I’m twenty-seven and running a young but promising cybersecurity and financial technology company. My own business, built on the bricks of my professional experience and my husbands’ unwavering support.
I look good, too. Glowing in my silvery-grey pantsuit, my blonde hair pulled in a sleek bun. And nausea unfurling in the back of my throat. Nerves, again. Wreaking their usual havoc.
“This is great,” Cassius exclaims as he walks in with Willow, our two-year-old daughter, in his arms. “I understand your staff is already rolling out two major contracts! I thought you only had one going before opening the doors.”
“I thought so, too, but then I walked in and opened my email and saw a confirmation from a branch of the DoD… So, here we are,” I say and laugh lightly, then kiss my husband and take my daughter. “Hey, sweetie pie.”
“Mommy!” Willow exclaims, then hugs and showers me with warm, sloppy kisses.
“Oh, Mommy loves you, too!”
She’s a beautiful child, the best of the Campbells and the Hawthornes—and I’m not even being subjective. With dark brown curls and my caramel brown eyes, round cheeks and the sweetest dimples, Willow Hawthorne is set to break so many hearts when she grows up. Until then, however, she has all of us at her beck and call.
And she is making the most of it.
I set her in her highchair next to my desk so she can eat a kiddie fruit salad while I hug my husband tightly. “I’m so glad you could make it,” I tell him.
“I’m not the only one either,” he says with a warm smile.
A few seconds later, River and Nathan join us, each bringing flowers and chocolates to celebrate this very special day. I kiss each and pour my love into it, wholly and unequivocally, then help myself to one of the Belgian chocolates. I’ve been craving chocolate all morning.
“I’m so proud of you,” River says. “Although we were sorry to see you leave Hawthorne.”
“All I did was move next door,” I reply. “Besides, Colin is perfectly capable of leading your fintech department. I wouldn’t have made this move, otherwise.”
“So, the DoD and Matrix Corp out of Silicon Valley want to work with you already, eh?” Nathan says, setting the flowers on the coffee table in the small guest area of my office.
“You know about the DoD?” River asks him, somewhat confused.
“Of course. I made the referral. Although I was surprised when my contact in their department called me this morning to confirm they were pleased with Christa’s proposal,” he says, then gives me a bright smile. “I knew you’d nail it.”
I giggle with excitement as I prepare to share the next round of good news. “In fact, I’ve been getting some interest from the FBI as well,” I say. “Turns out, Agent Fisher was so impressed with what I managed to find against Perry-Sage and the Mancinis that he kept a close eye on me over the past couple of years. As soon as he heard I was opening my own cybersecurity company, he reached out.”
Cassius, River, and Nathan stare at me for a moment. Their eyes wide, lips slightly parted, understandably surprised. It only serves to fuel my own pride because, for a while, I wasn’t even sure I would reach this point in my career.
“I wouldn’t have made it without you, though,” I lovingly concede. “And I’m not talking about the financial support, either. You’ve been by my side despite having your own massive projects developing at the same time.”
“We grow together,” River says.
“I’m just glad you managed to get your green energy department back after the whole fiasco with Alexandra Mancini,” I comment with a sigh. “At least she pumped enough funds into the company to get the ball rolling before she went to prison for life.”
“Hey, those apps you and Colin designed saved our necks,” Nathan reminds me. “We were able to roll them out a lot sooner than we anticipated. The sales went through the roof day one, if you remember.”
“Oh, I remember. I was there when we popped the champagne open to celebrate,” I laugh.
“Those monumental sales provided us with the rest of the funds we needed to develop the rest of our green energy project,” Nathan says. “It spared us the trouble of going through banks for additional support.”
I give him a soft smile. “Like you said. We grow together, right?”
“Damn right.”
“Did someone say champagne?!” Teagan chimes in as she joins us, holding up two magnum bottles of what appears to be an extremely expensive vintage. “I overheard the magic word on my way in.”
“I won’t say no to a glass,” River quips and takes the bottles, then carries them over to the mahogany minibar, which he personally made sure to have installed before we opened for business. “Where’s our brother-in-law? I told him he could have the day off for this.”
“He’s downstairs, parking the car.”
“Executive officer in charge of the fintech division, huh?” I say and give Teagan a hug. “I guess Tony will be celebrating with us as well.”
“Oh, yes. In fact, something tells me we’re going to order a cab home,” she replies. “There’s a whole case of these bad boys in the trunk of our car,” she adds, nodding at the champagne bottles.
River is already halfway through with opening one, crystal flutes ready to be filled.
“Auntie!” Willow takes a moment from her fruit salad to notice Teagan.
“You are a ray of sunshine, I swear. Let Auntie kiss you,” she coos and proceeds to shower my daughter with kisses on Willow’s blushing cheeks.
“I’ll pour you a double, Christa. You’ve earned it,” River laughs.
“Actually, I think I’m going to skip the champagne,” I say.
“What? You’re kidding,” River replies. “This is a really nice vintage.”
“I stole it from our family’s wine reserve.” Teagan chuckles like the mischievous teenager she used to be. “Daddy would approve, though. It’s a special occasion. Come on, loosen up, sister! Your wonderful staff can handle the actual business side today.”
“It’s not that,” I say, my voice soft as I cradle my belly. I’m nowhere close to showing yet, but Nathan picks up on my gesture.
“You’re kidding!” he gasps.
I shake my head. “No, sir. It’s not a joke.”
“Wait, what?” Cassius blurts out.
“I’m pregnant.”
“Whoa!” Teagan exhales sharply, her hazel eyes as round as saucers. “Get out of town! You’re pregnant?”
“According to the four pregnancy tests I took over the past couple of days, yes,” I laugh lightly as I carefully gauge my husbands’ reactions.
For a moment, I’m worried, though I know I shouldn’t be. We’ve been talking about this for a while, and we agreed that we wanted Willow to grow up as blessed as they were, with siblings and a big, healthy, happy family.
“This day just keeps getting better and better,” Cassius finally says, then swoops in and wraps me in his strong arms. “Mrs. Hawthorne, you’ve been quite productive lately!”
“And you insist on making us even happier,” River adds, joining the huddle.
Nathan comes in last and plants a long, burning kiss on my lips. “The best news I’ve heard all day,” he whispers in my ear.
“Did you hear that, Willow?” Cassius tells our daughter. “You’re going to get a baby brother.”
“Or sister,” I say.
She’s too young to register what’s happening, but she’s perfectly happy to mirror our joy and excitement—and by the gods, she looks so beautiful and bright when she’s happy with us, for us. Teagan hugs me next, then gives her brothers a long, pensive look.
“Which one of you is responsible for round two, then?”
“We’re not sure. We never tested Willow’s DNA,” I say. “Honestly, I don’t really care.”
“We share everything, including the paternal responsibility,” Cassius replies, beaming with pride as he takes Willow out of her chair and brings her close. “We share the good, the bad, and the ugly.”
“And we share the love,” I add, shining from within as I look around.
I thank the heavens for bringing me here, for putting the Hawthorne men in front of me as a guiding light out of the darkness. This is more than I could’ve asked for, and somehow, I have a feeling there’s more joy to come.