Page 118 of The Final Contract

Everyone except Eve, who looks positively green. “I can’t believe you’re spawning.”

Elena laughs, nudging her best friend. Children and relationships have never appealed to Eve.

Elena twines her fingers with Damien’s, her engagement ring flashing in the light. “Hey, children wouldn’t be so bad.”

Damien’s smile could power all of New York; his gaze is locked on her. “Trouble, if you gave me a little brunette baby girl, I’d give new meaning to the word spoiled.”

Her breath catches, lips parting just before he leans over to claim them in a quick, tender kiss.

Cassidy clears her throat, tugging a small velvet box from Jaxon’s tuxedo jacket. “I have a little surprise—a wedding-day gift for my husband.”

Jaxon takes it, suspicion written all over his face. He flips it open—and instantly goes pale. “Am I looking at what I think I’m looking at?”

Cassidy just nods, laughter bubbling from her chest.

“Twins?” His voice cracks.

“Yes,” she says, delighted, and that’s all it takes. He surges up, scooping her into his arms by the bottom and spinning her in wild circles, both of them laughing breathlessly before he sets her back down for a kiss that has the whole table cheering louder. Cassidy’s mother watches from where she’s sitting, happiness glazing her eyes.

The joy is contagious. Elena wipes at her eyes with a napkin; Eve gapes in disbelief, muttering, “This is worse.” Someone orders more champagne.

By the time Jaxon sits again, Cassidy perched happily in his lap, the ultrasound photo is already making its rounds. Eve stares at it like it might bite, then shoves it into Sienna’s hands, who gazes down at it with a smile before passing it on.

“Overachiever,” Jaxon announces, arms spread wide. “What can I say?”

“Actually, it’s the mother who’s the overachiever,” Eve shoots back with a smirk.

Lucian’s gaze flicks to Sienna, voice smooth as smoke. “She’d have to be, to put up with him.”

The laughter rises again, echoing through the rafters.

Jaxon lifts his glass, Cassidy’s hand tucked tight in his. “You guys better get your empires back in order. There are nieces and nephews on the way.”

“Oh, we’ll be ready.” Lucian raises his glass in answer. “With the Italians under the Ledger.”

Killian’s arm curls heavier around my shoulders; his own glass rises. “And the Irish under me.”

Lucian’s smile sharpens, final and sure. “We’ll rebuild, and come back stronger than ever.”

He looks around, taking in this odd assortment of people who have become a family, and pushes to his feet, lifting his glass higher, his voice rich with pride and power. “To the Ledger. To family. To our future.”

Everyone joins in, voices overlapping, glasses clinking, the sound rolling like thunder.

Killian leans over to kiss me, slow and certain, and I rub my nose against his when we part. My whisper is for him alone. “And here’s to my final contract, big man.”

His glass tips toward mine, eyes holding me captive. “You’re damn right—and I’ll prove it with every breath, angel.”