Epilogue
Cormac – One Week Later
“She’s here,” Scarlett says, checking her hair in the microwave’s reflection.
Insecurity has me looking at everything in my apartment with a critical eye.
A soft rug in the living room over the wood floor, anything breakable out of reach, every possible sharp corner bubble wrapped, and every electrical socket covered.
Is there more I could have done? Are parents ever really prepared?
The front door buzzes, and after giving my wife a nod, she opens it. Her friendly greeting to Ana calms my heart.
Ana walks into my kitchen, J.P.’s carrier cradled against her hip like it’s an extension of her body. She was made for motherhood. She does it in that flawless and sexy way.
Her dark coat is tailored to perfection. The ice blonde hair pulled back in a sleek knot shows she’s tough. Two guards linger several steps behind her, close enough to remind her she’s protected. Far enough to give the illusion of privacy.
Scarlett and Ana trade double cheek kisses, and my ex does the same to me.
“Here he is,” Ana says softly, and sets the carrier down on the kitchen table, but brushes her fingers over his cheek before stepping back.
My son blinks up at me, golden lashes fluttering as he takes in the unfamiliar ceiling. He’s awake. Alert. Curious. One chubby fist is curled around the edge of his blanket, the other in his mouth.
Darragh isn’t with her. He called earlier to say he’s helping Sophie get ready. They’re flying to a Midwest clinic this weekend to see a specialist about her allergies. J.P. has been tested, and so far, he’s negative for all allergens.
My son squeals and kicks, the sound rich and happy. He’s not had a cold in a few weeks.
Ana faces me. “You ready for a whole weekend?”
“We sure are. You ready, champ?” I murmur with a baby fist bump. “First weekend in Manhattan.”
In the past month, I’ve been taking him for a few hours. Mostly bringing him to see my mother, who met my wife and gave me her seal of approval.
She’ll meet the rest of the family on Christmas Eve. I suggested she should have a glass of wine before we drive to Astoria. Or two.
“Where do you want this?” Ana holds up the diaper bag and a knapsack.
“Nursery. Come on.” I lift my son out of the carrier and lead Ana to J.P.’s room.
“Let me get the door,” Scarlett says, bouncing ahead. “And let’s show her the constellation ceiling lights we set up.”
J.P.’s been here before. Napped in the crib for an afternoon visit while Darragh, Ana, and Sophie visited and got to know my wife a little more.
The first time Ana saw the nursery, she said, “I assume Scarlett did all this?”
My humble wife answered for herself, “Nope. It was here when I moved in.”
Ana’s attention snapped back to me. “I’m impressed.”
I sighed. There was no point dodging it. “Shea-Lynne sent a designer.”
Ana’s lips curved into a smile. “Of course she did.”
“But it was my vision. I just…outsourced the execution.”
Something warm flickers in Ana’s eyes today as well. Approval. Relief.
Relief that I made it out of the darkness, too.
J.P. grunts loudly and squirms in my arms, his face scrunching in unmistakable protest.
Scarlett is already there. “I’ve got him,” she says easily and places him on the changing table with practiced hands. “Looks like a diaper situation.”
Ana watches my wife for a beat. Really watches her. Not territorial. Not tense. Satisfied. Happy.
After his diaper change, J.P. lets out a delighted shriek as Scarlett scoops him up and presses a kiss to his temple. With my son on her hip and all the natural instincts of being a mother, she brings him to the bookcase to show him all his stuffed toys.
“I should go,” Ana says, backing away. “It’s always hard to leave him. With anyone. Text me if you have any questions. Pictures are encouraged.”
Quid Pro Quo. All that she sent to me. She deserves it.
“Got it,” I say with a smile.
“Thank you, Scarlett,” Ana says to my wife with a soft wave.
“Anytime,” my wife says, smiling and cuddling my son.
Ana leaves the nursery, and I follow her into the hallway, then out into the corridor.
“I’ll be done in a minute,” she tells her guards, who take the stairs.
This moment is ours. We’ve never really been alone like this. There’s always been someone there. Darragh. Sophie. Scarlett. It stopped being awkward between us.
Until now. Because being alone brings back those awful times when it was just us in Las Vegas.
“I owe you another apology,” I say quietly. “Not the polite one. The real one. The one I didn’t even know I needed to make a year ago.”
Ana studies me, arms crossed loosely over her chest. “Cormac…”
“I said things that I never meant,” I confess. “Or…maybe I did mean them at the time, but only because I hated myself. I took it out on you. You tried to love me when I wasn’t capable of meeting you halfway.”
She exhales slowly. “We were having a good time. And things went too far. I know that terrible side of you wasn’t really you.”
That nearly makes me break down. Many people have said this, my mother, my brothers. But hearing it from the person who lived with the monster I’d turned into makes all the difference. Hers is the only truth I can live with.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to truly express how sorry I am for what happened. For what I did.”
“Anyone can apologize. It’s just a word. But it’s your actions when we needed you that matter. Cormac, you came through, again and again. You’ve shown both your brother and me your true self this past year. We see the man you are.”
I nod. “I’m happy for you and Darragh and how you love Sophie like your own.”
“With your matching DNA,” Ana smirks. “Sophie is as much yours as J.P. is Darragh’s.”
“It makes for a tight family bond.”
“Unbreakable,” she says.
We smile, and then Ana asks something I wasn’t expecting.
“How was Dunbar?”
I huff a quiet laugh. “Like being locked with a mirror you can’t look away from, and you’re forced to watch your face falling off.”
She lowers her voice. “Your dad…”
“He fucked up,” I say coldly. “And he paid for that.” I push away the image of Lachlan blowing his head off.
“I was lucky. I reconciled with my father.” Ana shifts her hip. “Our son saved me. Do you realize that?”
“You gave him the heir he needed.”
“He’ll be a great pakhan, one day. I’ll make sure of it.”
“We’ll make sure of it.”
She steps closer, then surprises me by pulling me into a hug. Not tight. Not lingering.
Just…warm.
“Thank you,” I say into her shoulder.
“For what?” she asks.
“For my son.”
She pulls back with a soft and truly genuine smile. “Back at you. Now make sure you give that wife of yours a lot of love and a nice life.”
Ana steps into the waiting elevator. When she turns to face me, just before the doors close, I catch how much our son looks like her.
I stand in the hallway for a moment longer. I did all I could do. Darragh and Ana forgave me. My wife accepts me. It’s time to forgive myself.
Back inside the apartment, I wander to the nursery. Scarlett is settled in the rocking chair with J.P. on her lap. She’s blowing exaggerated kisses on his cheeks, each one earning a belly laugh that feels like it’s cracking my chest open from the inside.
I watch from the doorway. The same way I imagined she’d be watching me one day. That day is here.
Scarlett looks up and catches my expression. Standing, she swings J.P. onto her hip and comes to me. “You okay?” she asks gently.
I nod. I don’t trust my voice yet.
She smiles. “He’s ready when you are. Central Park. The tree. Hot chocolate. A toy store.”
Perfect.
Everything is perfect.
Scarlett passed her finals. She ranked number three in her class. She’s registered for next semester and for a hospital rotation at Monroe Hospital. With Harrow.
I signed my full-time teaching position contract. Freshmen classes only. No conflicts. No excuses.
The world didn’t end.
It rearranged itself.
Scarlett presses closer to me, and J.P. reaches for my neck with both hands. Smiling, I take my son into my arms. Feel his weight. His warmth.
“You ready for our day?” she asks.
I kiss my son on the forehead, then my wife’s.
“I’m ready for forever.”
Thank you for reading Lessons in Corruption, the final romance in the Astoria Royals Mafia Saga.