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His mother had been stuck in an impossible situation, and Hawke refused to allow any bitterness to take away the good she’d done. Cooper Hawthorne had been the demon in both their lives, evil to the core.
And somehow, someway, Hawke had allowed himself to believe what the bastard had constantly told him. The man who had lied, stolen, cheated, and beaten his wife and kid to a bloody pulp—the scum of the earth if there ever was one—had been inside his head, telling him who he was and what he would be.
No. Fucking. Way.
“Get out of my head, old man,” Hawke snarled. “I am not you.”
With that, Hawke got out of the SUV and strode to Olivia’s house. He didn’t stop until he was on the front porch. He didn’t need to knock. Livvy had seen him and had opened the door. She had been watching for him, waiting for him to be the man she needed—the man she knew him to be.
“I want to be your husband, Livvy. I want to be the father of your babies. If you’ll let me.”
“You already are, Nic,” she said softly. “I never signed the divorce papers. We’re still married.”
More grateful and humbled than he’d ever been in his life, he pulled her into his arms and buried his face in her neck. Holding her as tightly as he could, he whispered roughly, “I’m sorry, Livvy. I’m so very sorry. For everything. The things I said, the things I’ve done, not done. All of it.”
“Shh. I understood. We understood.”
He went to his knees and pressed his face to her belly. “I’m sorry, angel. I promise…I swear… I’ll be a good father to you.”
“She knows that, too.”
He looked up at her. “She?”
“Yes. She.”
He kissed Livvy’s belly and then stood. Wrapping his arms around her again, he kissed her with all the passion, hope, and commitment he had in his heart. For the rest of his days, he would strive to be the husband she deserved and the father his children needed. He had been given a second chance at heaven, and this time, he would never let it go.
EPILOGUE
On a bright, sunny Florida day, Maggie Nicole Hawthorne made her appearance. Her exhausted mother glowed with happiness, and her father had tears in his eyes as he met his sweet princess face-to-face for the first time. Watching her big, strong husband hold their tiny, precious daughter in his arms was a moment Olivia knew she would relive forever.
“She has your nose,” he said.
Filled with both elation and exhaustion, Olivia smiled up at the loves of her life. “And her father’s dark hair.”
He grinned. “But hopefully not his big feet.” His eyes swept over her. “How are you feeling?”
“Considering our baby girl weighed in at a healthy seven pounds and three ounces and decided she wanted to meet the world butt first, surprisingly good.”
When the doctor had realized the baby was breech, it had been a few tense moments. The worry in Nic’s eyes had been belied by his encouraging words and soft kisses as he’d held her hand. She had been prepared to do this without him, but she thanked God she hadn’t had to do it alone.
“Did you let everyone know?” she asked.
“Yeah. Talked to Ash. He’ll tell everyone. Offered his congratulations and said he, Jules, and Josh are looking forward to meeting Maggie Nicole.”
“I was thinking we could call her Nikki,” she said softly.
His eyes glinting with emotion, he said gruffly, “I like that.”
“What about Noah?”
“Called him, too. He and Samara send their best. They’re coming down to Tampa in a few weeks. He said they’ve been accumulating baby gifts from LCR people all over the world.”
Olivia breathed a sigh filled with sheer joy. She had a beautiful, healthy daughter, a husband she loved more than life, and an extended family with LCR and OZ, most of whom were some of the toughest, most wonderful people in the world.
Her eyes blinked heavily, and Nic leaned over and kissed her mouth softly. “Get some sleep. Nikki and I will be right here when you wake up.”
Olivia fell asleep with a smile on her face, knowing that when she opened her eyes again, her precious family would be waiting for her.
* * *
The other side of the world
On the phone in her hand, the blond woman watched the little family in the hospital room. She noted Olivia’s serenity and Hawke’s happiness. She nodded slowly and whispered, “Good for you, Olivia.”
She deleted the app she’d used to hack into the hospital’s security cameras. Removing the SIM card, she broke it in half, then in quarters. With quick efficiency, she dismantled the burner phone. She’d distribute the pieces throughout the city as she went about her day.
Satisfied, Iris Gates went back to work.