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Story: Princes of Legacy

He laughs, winding his arms around my waist and pulling me close. “No one’s trust fund is bigger than mine.” He punctuates this by pushing his crotch into my thigh. “Oh, wait. That’s mythrustfund.”

I groan, sagging in his arms. “Come on, really? Enough with the dad jokes.”

“Can’t help it, Red.” He pulls me into an artful spin. “I’ve ascended.”

“Where’s the baby?” I ask, fighting a smile.

He grips my hand, and idiotically, it takes me a moment to realize we’re dancing. “Lex is putting him down.”

Chuckling, I guess, “He’s hassling Adeline about the importance of the dinosaur blanket, isn’t he?”

“Tummy time isn’t for ducks,” Wicker mocks in a staunch, definitely not-Lex-like voice. “You know, I remember the first time I saw you.”

I search my memory. “Out on the dance floor?”

“At the Fury,” he corrects, “when I beat Oakfield into a weeping pulp.”

“Oh, right.” That night seems like a million years ago. “You upset a lot of DKS that night.”

He smirks charmingly. “I could tell you were the only prize worth winning, even before I knew your name.” He bends and tugs on the lobe of my ear with his teeth before whispering, “Maybe later we can head upstairs for some tummy time of our own.”

Leave it to Wicker to get my panties wet while I have actual work to do.

“If we can get through the night without any actual bloodshed, I think it’s an excellent idea.”

He kisses me, slow and lazy. When he pulls away he searches over my head and asks, “Have you seen the waiter? The little cakes are on-fucking-point. Highly recommended.”

I make a face. “My stomach’s been crazy with nerves all day. Could you pilfer one away for me later?”

He spins me. “Anything for the Queen.”

When he snaps me back, Lex is there, scowling. “I’m supposed to do that.”

Wicker smoothly spins me into his brother’s waiting arms. “Just limbering her up for you, caveman.”

Lex is stunning in this three-piece suit, the gold mask tied neatly around his loose hair, and not for the first time tonight, I feel my knees go a little weak at his touch. “Let’s see if I can remember how this goes,” he says, leading me into a waltz.

Rolling my eyes, I ask, “Who are you fooling? I know all your moves.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Do you?” Abruptly, he dips me, the move flashy and quick. I bark an embarrassing laugh, the sound inelegant but full of delight. His movements are just as exacting and confident as they had been that night a year ago. Back then, he’d seemed so stiff and cold.Scary. Now, he’s anything but. His amber eyes bore into me when he snaps me upright. “I know all ofyourmoves,” he claims.

This time, I raise the eyebrow, winding my arms around his neck. “I’ve got a move you haven’t seen before.”

He nods, spinning us expertly past another couple. “Let’s see it then.”

Wetting my lips, I look around before straining up on my toes, pressing my whisper right into the shell of his ear.

Our movements come to a jarring and sudden halt as Lex freezes, jolting back to meet my gaze. “What?”

My heart hammers inside my chest, but I gather the courage to speak the words again. “I’m pregnant.”

His lips part on an aborted inhale, and then he glances down at my stomach, as if he could possibly see a baby there already. Skeptically, he asks, “Are yousure?”

Searching his eyes for a reaction, I assure, “I took five tests. But you can—” My words slip away when he yanks me into a hard, unyielding embrace.

He crushes me against him, breaths erratic. “Justice is going to have a brother or a sister?”

Laughing, I let the worry I’ve been carrying all night melt away. It’d be a lie to say I’m not scared. Carrying Justice was an experience that I haven’t even completely recovered from. It’s far too soon to create again.

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