“Probably that you’re a man whore,” I razzed.
“Recovered man whore,” he countered.
“Getting weird with you guys all settling down,” Fuse said.
“You’re next,” Reaper said, shoving his shoulder.
“Unlikely,” Fuse said. “When’s the big day?”
Hatchet glanced at me. “That’s up to my bride.”
“The end of May. I want a spring wedding. The magnolias and peonies will be in full bloom.”
Merrick choked. “May? That’s only eight months away.”
“Aw, he can do math,” I mocked.
Merrick’s eyes flicked to Kenna. “We’re going to let them get married before we do?”
Kenna rolled her eyes. “Tell Reaper to get our house built. Once we’re settled, you can put a ring on it.”
“I can’t believe my baby sister’s getting married before me,” Merrick grumbled bitterly.
Hatchet huffed a laugh. “What can I say? Some of us are just husband material.”
Epilogue
Gathering the kids for the family photo was no small feat. Two-year-old Kolter was red-faced and sobbing after an epic meltdown because I served hot dogs for lunch instead of nuggets, even though he’d begged for the cut-up sausages all morning. For twenty minutes, four-year-old Isabella argued with me about wearing the dress Merci had picked out, trying to negotiate wearing her T-Rex costume instead. And ten-year-old Charlotte tried painting Chaos’s claws instead of her own nails.
With Merci finishing up at the clinic, Jessa jumped in to save me. We made a good team, turning the near-calamity into cooperation by offering gummy bears and tablet time to wrangle the entire family for the most important day of our lives.
I strapped the kids into their seats in the minivan—fuck me, Idrove a goddamn minivan like a pussy—and headed to the park where Rhetta, Eva, and Kenna had worked to set up the occasion.
Merci pulled in right behind us, and I smirked as I watched her quickly apply makeup in the rearview mirror. She didn’t need it, so I honked the horn and gave her a heated look to remind her just how beautiful she was.
The second she was close enough, I pulled her in for a kiss under the balloon arch—a move that earned a chorus of disgusted “ews” from the rest of the family.
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t home in time to help you get everyone ready,” she said, a little breathless.
“It’s fine. Jessa and I killed it, right?” I said as I high-fived my sister.
Merci appraised the kids before her and laughed. “Well, Kolter’s shirt is buttoned unevenly, and Isabella’s skirt is inside out and backward. And you forgot the bow for Charlotte’s hair.”
I chuckled. “None of that matters. No one will remember what they were wearing today.”
The photographer posed us in front of the balloon arch and captured a few shots. Boredom set in within minutes. Chaos was dead set on digging a hole big enough to bury a body, Charlotte pulled at her braids, Isabella argued with Jessa, and Kolter was minutes from nodding off for a nap. Merci shot me a look that said, “We'd better do this now.”
“OK, kids, we have a surprise!” Merci said, getting everyone’s attention with the excitement in her voice. “I want you to look at the cameras and say, ‘We’re adopted!’”
Charlotte froze. “Really?”
“Really,” I said, kneeling to meet her eyes.
Isabella screeched with excitement, and Kolter, well, he didn’t have a care in the world.
“All three of us?” Charlotte asked.
“Yes, all three of you. We didn’t want you to be separated, sowe’ve been working with the court to bring you into our family permanently.”
