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Suddenly, Liam and Bane were there, stepping in behind Sunny, sharing in my surprise.
“I hope you like it.” Sunny rubbed the back of his neck, lifting his shoulders. “You’re a designer, you probably had your own vision. If you don’t like it, we can get rid of it.”
“I dug up all of Lizzie’s baby things,” Liam said. “This was her crib. What I didn’t have—the changing table, dresser, and bookshelf—Bane bought and spent all night putting together.”
“The three of us stayed up all night,” Bane added. “Sunny and Liam painted the lilies.”
“Elizabeth loved the fairies, and Sunny swore you’d love these,” Liam said. “Though my artist skills are still lacking, so not quite an even trade.”
Laurel freed me. “Sunny, Liam, Bane, it’s incredible. I don’t know how to... Thank you so much.” I smiled at Laurel. “We love it.”
Bane whipped a piece of paper from his pocket. “Alright, I’ve still got a couple things to get off Fuller’s list. Baby in the compound again, so we’re going babyproof crazy. Write down what else you need. I’ll grab Shonda and knock this shopping list out in two hours.”
“You don’t have to, Bane. Truly, you guys have done so much for me. I’ll put her down for a nap, then I’ll go out and pick up the rest.”
“Mackenzie.”
Fire licked my cheeks. I couldn’t help it. Liam had this power of saying my name like a naughty sex act. His voice should come with a warning label.
Liam grasped my waist and the fire raged into an inferno. “You and Laurel have spent too long apart. You finally have her in your arms again, it’s our pleasure to be your errand boys, so you can spend all day right here—just the two of you. The first day of the new life you’re starting together.” He guided me onto the glider and put my feet up. Sunny was right behind him covering us with a blanket.
Bane bowed deeply. “Your princes are at your beck and call, miladies.”
“My princes?” I teased.
“Our mother calls us that,” Liam said. “The princes of Cinco City. Her being the queen, naturally.”
“All women are.”
Sunny chuckled. “Mom will like you. Yeah, that was our tag for a while—Cinco City Princes.”
“Then we became the Savage Princes,” Bane mused, “after a certain brother on a specific boat with a particular match and tub of gasoline.”
“A youthful indiscretion,” Liam lofted. “Henrik taunted me. Said I was too chicken to go through with it.”
“Bear said the same thing the night you scaled the balconies butt-naked,” Sunny said. The brothers strolled out, leaving me to my imagination. “You want to get Liam Hunt to do something, tell him he can’t.”
“I like to believe I’ve changed in the last decade.”
Bane thumped his back. “You do like to believe that, brother.”
Liam’s laugh echoed in the hall.
“Savage Princes.” Sunny’s voice carried back to me. “Always thought that had a nice ring to it.”
SIENNA AND I SPENT the whole day with Laurel—learning her habits and quirks I missed outside the stolen hour or two during Charlie’s Grey’s Anatomy marathon. Bath time: She loved it. Laurel squealed and splashed in the tub, showing off both her teeth. Diaper changes: My girl whipped and rolled like a ninja, trying to get away. Sienna had to distract her with videos on her phone. Nap time: Only if I held her until she fell asleep—which I did, soaking in each precious second with her.
Around us, the guys babyproofed, built, and set up the final things we needed. I watched them as they ducked in and out of the room, their whole day devoted to creating a comfortable space for a baby they met that day and her mother they’ve known for a few weeks.
That night, I laid Laurel down to sleep, murmuring how much I loved her. She looked so peaceful in Lizzie’s old crib, sleeping under a field of lilies. I turned on the baby monitor and slipped out, tiptoeing to my room.
“—not long,” I heard Sunny say.
“Have you been feeling alright?”
Fuller and Sunny stood just around the corner, their conversation filtering into the hallway.
“Are you sure you’ve recovered fully after the fall?”
“Feeling fantastic, Mama Fuller, and that’s a word we don’t use enough. Fantastic, incredible, tremendous, outstanding—all words that describe me.”
“You would tell me if it was otherwise, wouldn’t you?”
I went inside my room, stepped out of my clothes, and took a quick shower. I heard Sunny coming down the hall as I did up the last button, admiring myself in the mirror. Damn, I’m good.
Movement flickered out of the corner of my eye. “I’m off to bed, Angel. As always, the open invitation to join me...” Sunny stopped dead, and reversed backward to my doorway. “Still... stands...”
He stared at me, expression frozen taking me in. The right reaction considering I was standing in the middle of the room wearing nothing but a purple lace bustier with matching garter and thong.
