“Do you want some help?” I ask them.
“No,” both of them say together. And then Ronan adds, “we need to sort this out on our own.”
I stifle a smile and slip quietly out the door. Although I’d very much like to stay and witness the rest of the stooges in all their glory, I have a feeling Ronan is attempting to take this very seriously. He’s nervous about being a father. And the fact that he’s practicing with Lachlan is pretty much testament to that.
Three hours later, I find him passed out in a chair downstairs with Daisy bundled up in his arms. Her head is lolled to the side, her tongue hanging out of her mouth while she snores against his chest. I retrieve my phone from my pocket and snap a photo of the moment before he can wake.
And when I stare at the screen with a huge stupid smile on my face, this is how I know he’s going to be a good father.
Chapter Forty-Five
Sasha
After what seemed like an eternity, Ronan has finally given us the all clear to go home. I’m nervous for a whole heap of reasons and I can’t even really figure out what they all are.
Mack still doesn’t know about Talia. And even though I hardly saw her during my time at Alexei’s, I know she’s there. And I don’t want to lie to her about it. Lachlan hasn’t told her yet either, but at some point, one of us will need to.
I’m quickly learning that the syndicate has a lot more secrets than they’d like anyone to believe. Some of those work out to our advantage. Although, I’d never wish ill on Niall, in a way I’m grateful he retired. Because it left the burden of punishment for Ronan’s betrayal up to Lachlan. And it’s safe to say that it’s pretty much been swept under the rug.
But there’s also the small matter of dealing with the feds. Although Ronan assured me that it’s all been handled, they still need to interview me about what happened at that safe house. So the day we get back to Boston that’s where I spend the majority of the afternoon with my syndicate appointed lawyer at my side.
They wouldn’t let Ronan come into the interview with me, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought. The lawyer handled almost everything, just as Ronan said he would. Since there isn’t enough evidence to indict Ronan or I with anything, we are officially free to begin our life together.
We’ve decided to have a small ceremony at Slainte just like Mack and Lachlan did. It’s strange that the place I thought I’d never want to see again is where I’ll be reciting my vows. But now that Ronan’s in charge there, I couldn’t imagine wanting to be anywhere else. We’ll be surrounded by our friends and family. Which is exactly what the syndicate is. A family.
The only person who won’t be there is Emily. When I told her I was marrying Ronan, she didn’t have much to say about it. I’m honestly okay with that. Em is living her life, and I’m living mine. She might not understand my choices, but I’ve come to terms with them, and that’s all that really matters.
Ronan is my life. My breath. My sole reason for existing sometimes. I know it sounds insane, but it’s how I feel. We were put on this earth to find each other. And when he looks at me with those dark brown eyes like he’s doing right now, I know what we have is one of a kind. A supernova. A love so rare, so unparalleled, it shines brighter than any other in existence.
He wraps his arm around me protectively and bundles me into the car, going so far as to reach down and buckle me in.
I’m smiling up at him, and when he catches me, his fingers graze my jaw and he kisses me. I grab his head and kiss him back, getting really into it before he pulls away.
“Sasha?”
“Hmm?”
“We have to go see about this baby,” he says.
“Oh.” I glance at his watch and check the time. “Right.”
Ronan shuts the door and walks around to the driver’s seat. He was relieved for all of two seconds upon leaving the interview, and now he’s nervous all over again. But I am too. We’re having our first scan today.
I’ve already got a little bump. Time is slipping away from me, and there’s still so much to do. I have to get everything for a nursery and start doing some reading. Mack’s called me about twenty times freaking out because she read that her feet are going to get huge and never return to normal. Then she started telling me about the uterus stretching to the size of a watermelon. That’s when I told her to stop calling me.