Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 41825 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 209(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41825 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 209(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Four months pregnant with twins, and I already looked closer to six. Thayer couldn’t keep his hands off the bump. Right now, his thumbs were stroking slow, soothing circles over the taut skin, and every once in a while, he’d press a kiss to my temple like he still couldn’t believe this was real.
“Look at Kylan go,” I murmured, smiling as Savannah’s son paddled furiously with his little floaties while Cecily, the swim instructor, cheered him on.
Thayer chuckled, the sound vibrating through my back. “Kid’s got his dad’s stubborn streak. Kane’s gonna be chasing him around this pool for the next ten years.”
I let my head fall back against his shoulder, soaking in the happy chaos of the club. This was my life now. It wasn’t polished, but it was real, and I couldn’t be happier.
A shadow fell over us. I looked up and found Jax, his expression serious but gentle.
“Hadley, got a minute?” he asked. “Both of you.”
Thayer helped me up, keeping one arm around my waist as we followed Jax inside to his office. My heart picked up speed, but Thayer’s steady presence kept me calm.
Jax didn’t drag it out. “I found them. Your biological parents.”
He handed me a folded piece of paper with names, an address, and phone numbers. My fingers trembled as I took it.
“They’re doing well,” Jax explained. “Still married, two more kids. They built a good life after everything. Found out the organization did one good deed back then. They faked your death. It gave your parents closure. They grieved and moved forward. They seem happy.”
I stared at the paper, my throat tight. A thousand what-ifs flashed through my mind. I couldn’t help but wonder how different my life might’ve been if I’d grown up with them. But I was too happy to worry about it for long.
“I don’t want to reach out.” Thayer’s hand rubbed slow circles on my lower back, offering me the only comfort I needed. I folded the paper and handed it back to Jax. “They have closure. Upending that wouldn’t be fair to them. It would be selfish of me to come bursting into their lives after twenty years, blowing their world apart.”
Jax nodded, respect in his eyes. “I’ll destroy this. No one else ever needs to know.”
When he left us alone, Thayer turned me gently to face him. His hazel eyes were full of love. “You sure, baby?”
I placed both hands over my belly, feeling one of the twins give a little kick. “I don’t need to know who I could have been. I like who I am now. The woman you gave me the freedom to become. Yours.”
Thayer’s expression softened into the devastating smile he saved only for me. He cupped my face and kissed me, pouring all his love into it.
“I’m so fucking proud of you,” he murmured against my lips. “Strongest woman I know. Best decision I ever made was claiming you that night at Brake Point.”
We stayed like that for a moment, breathing each other in before he took my hand and led me back outside.
The pool area was still full of noise and joy. Cecily was helping Nella take off her floaties when a new figure appeared at the gate—Tyre.
He froze the second his eyes landed on Cecily in her simple black one-piece. Several married dads stood nearby in swim trunks, laughing and encouraging their kids, completely oblivious to anything but fatherhood.
Tyre’s jaw clenched so hard I could see it from across the pool. His hands flexed at his sides like he wanted to throw every single one of his club brothers into the deep end, married or not.
“Oh no,” I whispered, biting back a laugh.
Thayer grinned beside me. “Here we go.”
I’d heard so many stories about how the other couples wound up together. I was excited to have a front-row seat to the next one.
EPILOGUE
CAGE
The hospital room was quiet now, the soft hum of medical equipment faded into the background as the afternoon sun spilled gently through the half-open blinds. Hadley lay propped against the pillows, her hair falling in loose waves around her flushed cheeks, exhaustion and joy painting her face in equal measure. She was fucking radiant.
I’d never seen her more beautiful than she was right now, holding our twins close against her body, wrapped in soft blankets, their tiny faces peaceful and perfect as they slept.
I moved quietly toward the bed, feeling like my heart had been cracked wide open and rebuilt a thousand times in the past few hours. Hadley glanced up as I reached her side, her gaze bright and warm, tired but filled with a quiet pride that stole the air from my lungs.
“Hey.” Her voice was still raspy from exhaustion and emotion. “You holding up okay over there?”
I chuckled softly, leaning down to press a gentle kiss to her forehead. My thumb traced her jaw, brushing softly over her flushed skin. “You’re asking me? I’m not the one who just brought two tiny humans into the world.”