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She nodded. “I didn’t want to tell you until I finished these paintings. They can go above the cribs.”

“How far along are you?”

“Just two months. The doctor did a blood test and confirmed the sex.”

I frowned. “I want to be at all the appointments with you from now on.”

“Yes, please!” She fell into my embrace.

“Let’s go to the living room.” I scooped her into my arms and lowered her to the couch. She was carrying two babies inside her. I could only imagine the energy that took. That explained her moodiness the past few weeks. I assumed it was her menstrual cycle or working too much. I hadn’t expected this, but I was grateful.

Smiling, she patted the seat beside her. “Do you want to have the baby shower at our place or somewhere else?”

“We can have it here. It’ll be more comfortable for you. We have plenty of room to host.” I placed a hand on her belly. “Hello, there, little ones. I’m your daddy.”

She laughed. “Anything interesting happen today besides playing video games?”

I sat back, pulling her close. “Detective Farmer called me.”

She stiffened, looking up at me. “What happened?”

“Nothing to worry about. He’s helping his detective friend in Boston investigate a murder. They found the suspect’s apartment, but he escaped. He had one of your paintings on his wall.”

Vanessa sat up. “What painting? Can you describe it?”

I pulled my phone from my pocket and showed her the picture of a rose with petals and thorns.

“That’sA Petal for Your Thoughts,” she said. “He came into the shop a few times, asking if I had any bleeding hearts flower paintings. Seemed like a friendly man. He wore a red cap and dressed casually. We might still have some old recordings of him on video.”

“You’d make a brilliant detective. I’ll check out the recordings and give the detective what we have. If the Bostondetective wants to speak to you, we can stop by when we visit my friend, Kain Kessler. He’s right outside of Boston.”

“Who is he?” she asked.

“A friend I met when I was undergoing physical therapy many years ago. He recently expanded his workout studio and invited me to visit. We haven’t had time to catch up for a while, but he purchased a copy of WaterFyre Rising and reached out.”

“I’d love to meet all your friends,” she said, snuggling into me.

I told her the boys and I wouldn’t retire the V.A.T.V. mission. If that mission needed us again, we’d be there. For now, the Vigilantes Against the Villains was a hobby. I continued telling her about my day when an adorable snore escaped her.

I glanced down and smiled at the beautiful woman in my arms. A surge of protectiveness and love overwhelmed me. I loved my little family so much. I watched Vanessa for a long moment, imagining my life with her and our children. She was everything my heart and soul needed, and I couldn’t wait to meet our babies.

AUDRI AND REMI

EPILOGUE

Months later

Remington

I woke up early to the warm Hawaiian weather. My wife was curled beside me, wearing nothing. I had on boxers. Surprisingly, she was also awake and looked at me with adorable brown eyes.

“Morning, Sexy Dot,” I said, brushing my finger over the beauty mark on her lip.

“Morning, DLS. You’re up early.” She traced my lips with her finger.

I couldn’t believe she still called me DLS—Dangerous Line Segment—after so many years. But I loved it. It reminded me of our beginning. She was my best friend’s sister—someone I never thought could be mine.

We’d married a week ago in Providence and landed in Honolulu yesterday. Audri and I took our time getting married. We loved each other but didn’t want to rush. But it was time for us to make it official and perhaps start a family soon.