Chapter 60 Stan
SIXTY
STAN
“You need to put them on.”
Jen didn’t even have a chance to complain before Luc was shoving a large case at her, one that I knew had been sitting in a bank earlier today, refusing to heed her complaints.
“Fine,” she grouched, plunking down at the dinner table where we’d all agreed to gather. “But only because you brought out the Valentini amber too.”
I slipped the velvet box over the linen tablecloth and watched as my brother opened the lid. His jaw tightened, fingers hesitantly stroking over the ancient settings with a reverence that matched my own.
In response, I watched as any of Jen’s lingering irritation melted.
Aurora cleared her throat. “I think you have to wear it for at least a day for the curse to break.”
Scoffing, Jen tucked an earbob into place. “Just you wait until Bella gets her hands on one of these while she’s breastfeeding, then you’ll regret this! That grip of hers will break them.”
Still, she accepted each piece of jewelry with a disgruntled mutter about overbearing husbands and siblings-in-law because not even I defended her.
Yes, drinking chamomile tea while wearing thirty million dollars’ worth of living history was excessive, but we’d been fighting for this moment, striving for so long. There was no putting this off for a minute more.
Rory helped her by passing out the jewels while Luc dropped to his knees to fasten the anklet into place.
“Should we bring Currau down for this?” Kitty asked, voice quiet.
Matri shook her head. “He’s resting, dear.”
With Luc having finished fussing at Jen’s ankle, he stood and accepted the tiara from Rory. My sister-in-law bowed her head to help him place it on her crown, and as she straightened, he cupped her chin, held her in place, then bestowed a gentle kiss on her lips.
“Thank you, riggina mia.” He stepped back to study her, eyes glinting with possessiveness at seeing his queen steeped in the family’s rubies. “Long live the house of Valentini.”
It was a soft utterance, not a cheer like it would have been when these had first been forged, but when Rory swiped at her eyes and I felt a suspicious thickness at the back of my throat, we repeated the salutation.
I could tell the collection, worn en masse, was damn heavy and awkward—Jen could barely turn her head thanks to the cumulative weight of the tiara, earrings, and necklace.
As she grew accustomed to the additional weight, her head wiggling from side to side every now and then, she drawled, “You’d better feed me too, Luc. I can’t bend my neck.”
“With pleasure, riggina mia,” he answered in all seriousness.
Matri rang one of the bells we had at the dinner table.
Almost immediately, staff appeared with the makings of a delicious meal. It said a lot about our families, but none of the servers looked twice at Jen’s appearance.
“We need to host a gala,” Luciu mused as he was served veal marsala and slowly began feeding his queen. “Make it an annual event.”
“Where we show off the rubies?” I questioned. “Definitely.”
“Do we make it high society or our society?” Rory patted her lips with a napkin.
“Can’t it be both? We want everyone to see our queen,” Luciu rumbled.
I ignored Jen blushing and figured that had less to do with the prospect of her having to wear the coterie for a whole night and more to do with where Luc had put his hand.
Matri, ever aware, murmured, “Feel free to leave the girls with me tonight, Jen.”
She shot her a rueful look. “Thank you, Lauren.”
Hunter snorted but he didn’t bring up that Luc and Jen were clearly needing to consummate her ‘coronation.’ “Make it both high society and the factions, but you’ll need to limit where Jen goes and have her guard tripled.
Now that we have the fuckers back, the last thing we need is them being stolen again. ”
Rory winced. “A part of me wants to lock them up forever.”
“Gems like those aren’t made for safes, Rory, dear,” Matri advised. “Their power is in their presence. They make a statement.
“I vote both—high and our society. It’s time for the family’s star to shine brighter than before.” When Tinu, strapped to Hunter’s chest, let out a wail, she giggled. “My grandson agrees with me.”
Rory cosseted Tinu once Hunter gave her the baby to nurse.
Seeing Rory be a mom was still weird to me. Mostly, it made me happy that she’d stayed longer than usual in the city so that Matri could help her transition from boss-ass businesswoman to boss-ass momma extraordinaire.
As she tucked the baby against her breast and pulled some magic stunt that helped him nurse, it hit me.
God only knew why at that precise moment, but it did.
“We did it,” I invoked hoarsely. “Our future is now.”
Kitty’s hand found mine under the table and she squeezed my fingers.
Her support was passive and just what I needed as Rory and Luc and I shared a look that encompassed the milestones we’d passed to reach this moment.
It was like one of those goddamn montages in a TV show.
All the blood we’d shed, all the lives we’d slain, all the money we’d earned, and all the favors we were owed and owed in turn…
Every part of it had led to here.
And every step we’d taken and every business decision we’d made had led to the partners who were at our sides and the children who were our house’s tomorrow.
Matri sniffled. “I always had faith in you, my darlings.”
I shot her a dopey grin. “Don’t lie, Matri. You know you cursed us a time or two.”
“That’s a mother’s right.” I barked out a laugh when she used the tablecloth to swipe at her eyes. “Let’s live now. We need to move on from the past.
“Yes, it brought us to this moment, and yes, it will never stop affecting us and we will never forget those we lost along the way—” Her look was particularly pointed as she aimed it at me. “—but it’s time. No more regrets.”
Luc raised his glass. “No more regrets.”
“Just rugrats,” Hunter tacked on with a chuckle.
Rory and Jen groaned but Kitty cackled.
“It’ll be your turn soon enough, Kitty,” Matri inserted calmly. “I’ve been seeing a lot of videos about something all the boys around this table seem to have…”
Rory tutted. “God complexes?”
“No, child, no.” She reached for her wineglass. Paused. Then, a tiny smirk made an appearance that she hid behind the crystal stemware. Innocent as ever, she murmured, “I think it’s called… a breeding kink?”