EPILOGUE II
Alessio
Years Later
THE FINAL DAYS of summer gave way to what had become a yearly tradition with our growing family of Kings.
For a week, we all gathered at Villa Monaco with our partners and kids and indulged in all the Rock had to offer, without the distractions of work or duty.
There was a strict no-phones, no-computers policy, one that had been damn near impossible for me at first, but had become something I actually looked forward to all these years later.
With our filled wine glasses in hand, I headed out of the sprawling mansion’s French doors and onto the terrace that stretched out behind the house. There used to be only one long table, back when there were seven of us, but that number seemed to grow every year.
The most recent additions to the family were chasing each other across the lawn, laughter ringing out as their tiny little legs stumbled over the thick grass to get away from the “monsters.”
Which happened to be Shep, Dimitri, and Kai, an unusual trio if I’d ever seen one.
America’s golden son, a scary arms dealer, and a man who was barely taller than the kids themselves.
It was more than amusing to watch, which was what I found Rafael and the others doing where they lounged.
Zac and Cooper were manning the grills with East directing; Benoit and Theo were smoking and probably gossiping by the pool; King and Lucien were holding court at the table of appetizers, the latter keeping a watchful eye over his husband and kids with a soft smile on his face.
I rounded the table where Rafael was laughing at something Lachlan said, which, knowing his mouth, was probably inappropriate and something I’d want to slap him upside the head for later.
“Tell me he’s not filling your head with filth,” I said, leaning down to kiss Rafael’s temple and hand him a glass of sauvignon blanc. “You might need something stronger than this.”
Rafael smiled as I took the seat beside him. “You say that like I haven’t heard worse.”
“Maybe, but you’re not required to absolve them of their many sins anymore.”
“What, a man can’t tell a dirty joke without needing to say a few hail Marys?” Lachlan shook his head and took a sip of his whiskey on ice.
I arched a brow. “Nothing in that twisted brain of yours is just ‘dirty,’ you deviant. Keep your sins out of my husband’s ear.”
“Oh, come on, he laughed.”
“Being polite, I’m sure, which”—I turned to Rafael—“you really don’t have to do. In fact, if you want to throw your wine in his face at any point, I fully support that.”
“The abuse.” Lachlan clutched at his chest and stood up from his chair.
“If I’m such a monster, I guess I should go…
” He trailed off as one of Theo and Shep’s twins ran toward the table, and he quickly scooped up the toddler and held him upside down.
“And gobble up a little kid.” Shrieks of laughter rang out as he carried him off back to the others, and I grinned as I watched the kids try to tackle the newest monster.
Rafael took a sip of his wine and threaded his fingers through mine, his gaze on the wild scene playing out.
There was a soft smile on his face, a look of utter contentment that made my heart clench.
Sometimes it was hard to believe I could be this happy, that Rafael chose this life with me every day.
That he’d wanted it so much he’d let me put a gold band on his ring finger and never, ever took it off.
I brought our joined hands up between us and held them against my cheek, still watching him.
It was overwhelming the way I wanted to give him the world, anything he asked for and even what he didn’t.
I’d always felt a little selfish when it came to Rafael, not wanting to share him with anyone after being without him for so long.
But what if…
“Are you thinking about it?” I asked quietly.
The sides of his mouth drew up even more, and then he looked at me, curiosity in his eyes. “Are you?”
“I think”—I kissed the back of his hand—“that you would make an incredible dad.” He’d already been an incredible reverend, and a mentor to many of the teens in the city who looked to him for advice and direction. It was such a natural fit for Rafael, the next step in our relationship. If only—
“You would too,” he said. “I know you’re scared, worried you wouldn’t be good at it, but no one has a bigger heart than you, Alessio. No one has more love to give. Plus, you’d be able to track their every move, and that would make me feel a lot better.”
I laughed out loud then, because he wasn’t wrong about that. No child in our extended family would ever be out of my reach, and I was more than happy to keep tabs on the twins and Lucien and Kai’s kids as they got older.
But having one of our own…
God, it was scary as hell to think about. But shit, Theo had done it, and he was an amazing dad. And any child would be the luckiest in the world to have Rafael as theirs.
I smiled, kissed the back of Rafael’s hand, and nuzzled it again as peals of laughter echoed off the stone terrace.
“Hmm. A little Rafael Junior with bright blond hair,” I mused.
“I don’t know, I think it’s a missed opportunity if they don’t have your hair. And I’d love to see you with a little girl.”
I almost choked on my wine, coughing into my fist as Rafael laughed. “A girl? What makes you think I’d know the first thing about raising a girl?”
Rafael gently ran his fingers down my cheek. “You have a way about you. It’s quietly protective, thoughtful, and gentle.”
“Gentle?”
“Yes. You’re patient, understanding, and capable of disappearing any boyfriends—or girlfriends—we don’t approve of.”
My eyes widened a fraction. “Okay, I’m banning you from talking to Lachlan on your own from here on out. He’s definitely having an influence on your state of mind.”
“I’m merely stating the pros of being married to the most talented technocrat around when it comes to having children.”
“Uh huh.” I took his hand and brought it to my lips. “But you really have thought about it?”
“More and more this last year. I just wasn’t sure you wanted that. If you saw that for us.”
I looked at him, a grin stretching my lips. “I see everything for us. It’s just a matter of when. I didn’t want to overwhelm—”
Rafael put a finger to my mouth. “You couldn’t. This life that we’ve built together, this future we’re talking about—it excites me. It doesn’t overwhelm me.”
I leaned in to take his lips in a kiss I felt all the way to my toes, imagining the future we’d just discussed, and could see it now.
Waking on the weekends, the sun streaming through the windows, a little girl with dark hair twirling in a little tutu, as a boy with blond hair jumped on our bed demanding pancakes.
“Is this a party for two, or do you mind some company?” Shep asked as he and Theo moved around the table to a couple of chairs that faced the shallow end of the pool, where the twins were now floating with East and Zac.
It didn’t surprise me in the least they’d left King in charge of the grill in favor of something more relaxing.
East would do anything to get out of “actual” work.
I moved back into my seat, but made sure to keep Rafael’s hand in mine as I smiled at the two standing in front of us. “You can sit.”
Theo smirked as he relaxed into one of the chairs and put his feet into Shep’s lap. “I feel so welcomed.”
“As if you would’ve left if I’d said no.”
“Accurate,” Theo said, then looked over his sunglasses at us. “But you’ve had enough alone time. We never get a minute to converse like adults anymore, so we decided to join you.”
“Funny,” Rafael said, gesturing to the kids with the floaties. “We were actually just talking about what life would look like with couple of our own.”
“Rafael…” I said.
“What? Oh, was it a secret?”
I chuckled and shook my head, but his sheepish smile was so damn adorable. “No, but I love that you’re so excited.”
“So you’re thinking about having a baby?” Shep’s world-famous smile lit his face and just as I was about to answer I heard—
“You’re having a baby?” King’s deep voice had me jerking around in my seat to see him standing in front of us with a tray of steaks. But before I could correct him, he called out to everyone, “Hey, get over here! Alessio and Rafael are having a baby.”
“No, no—” I tried to get in front of the misunderstanding, but it was too late.
“A baby?” Benoit said, tugging Dimitri across the lawn, not about to miss out on the gossip.
“No, it’s…” Rafael snorted as I struggle to contain the misunderstanding. “We—”
“Come back here, you rascal,” Lucien interrupted, scoping up his little one and smacking a kiss on their cheek, as him and Kai stopped at the table, wide grins plastered on their faces.
“Sure you’re ready for this?” Kai asked, ruffling the damp hair of his little angel.
“No,” I finally said, getting to my feet, and Rafael busted up laughing. “We aren’t sure—we literally just talked about it five minutes ago. But you bunch of lunatics took it and ran with it.”
“See,” Cooper chimed in as he and Lachlan took a couple of chairs opposite us. “This is how gossip mags make their money. One slight misunderstanding and Rafael and Alessio have three children?”
“Three?” I was going to have a heart attack. They all started laughing, and if I didn’t love each and every one of these assholes, I would’ve killed them all in their sleep. “You all suck.”
They all settled in, the chatter starting up as we all filled our plates and wine glasses, Zac and East joining us with the twins once Shep and Theo had their plates ready.
As the sun began to set, I glanced around the table as each of my brothers sat reminiscing about the past and more recent adventures we’d shared, and I couldn’t help but think how lucky I was.
These men were family, our partners that we’d chosen to bring into our world were family, and this, I thought as I looked up to see Rafael watching me with a smile that warmed my soul, was what we fought for day in and day out.
The laughter and love we all shared, it was more than a family we’d built. It was a kingdom. Our kingdom. Something bigger than all of us, something that would last even when we were long gone.
And honestly, who could ask for more than that?