Epilogue

epilogue

Five Years Later

S erenity tried to look down at her feet and sighed. She hadn’t seen her toes in at least four weeks.

“Sit,” Adam said as he walked into the kitchen.

Serenity rolled her eyes. The last nine months had been a lesson in patience. Both Adam and Mick had hovered over her like she was some fragile little thing. When she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes six weeks earlier, they had become impossible.

“I’m hungry.”

He stepped closer, trailed his fingers down her arm. The calluses on his fingers never failed to send a frisson of heat through her.

“Come one. Sit down and I’ll make you something.”

Another sigh escaped before she could stop it. “I don’t know what I want.”

“Tell you what. Come on over here and sit down,” he said, in that gentle voice she usually loved but now it irritated her. Still she said nothing because she knew he was just trying to help.

“What is going on here?” Mick said as he hurried in.

“Nothing. She’s just a little out of sorts.”

“I am not out of sorts. And I told you not to talk about me like I’m not here.”

Both of them shared a look and she couldn’t blame them. She was out of sorts. The trades had died earlier in the week, her lower back had been aching the last twelve hours, and she could only wear men’s XL slippers because her feet were so swollen. She just couldn’t get comfortable.

“How about some eggs?” Mick suggested.

“I think that might be too heavy.”

“Fruit salad?” Adam asked.

She nodded. It didn’t really sound good, but it was more appetizing than eggs.

As Adam prepared the fruit salad, Mick sat down beside her. She really was grateful for her men. They took good care of her and she took good care of them. Their relationship had only deepened over the last few years. She had never been so happy ever.

Just then, she felt a twinge in her lower back. This was worse than the others and she wasn’t able to hide her reaction.

“What?” Mick asked.

“My back,” she said, breathing through the pain.

He growled. “Come on. Let’s sit on the couch.”

Since that sounded lovely, she agreed. Taking his offered hand. The moment she stood, her head spun and she felt something pop before a gush of water.

“Oh, no,” she said.

“What?” Adam said as he turned around. His eyes went comically wide before both of her men when into action. They quickly helped her clean herself, grabbed the go bag, and were on their way to Queen’s Medical before she could even think of what needed to be done.

Serenity: Well, my water just broke.

Nic: What? No. I am supposed to be there. That baby shouldn’t go against my schedule.

Serenity laughed. It was such a Nic comment.

“What?” Adam asked as he kept his eyes on the road.

“Nic is mad that our girl is coming early.”

Mick smiled, but there was tension behind it.

“Don’t worry. Everything is going to be okay.”

“Are you trying to calm me down?” he asked.

“Yes. Because when we get to the hospital, I need both of you to be calm. You know I am going to freak out.”

His shoulders settled and some of the tension drained from his expression. “I’ll be calm once you are surrounded by a lot of beeping machines that tell us what is wrong.”

She snorted. “There’s nothing wrong. She’s just impatient.”

Thankfully, the traffic was light for mid afternoon and they made it to the hospital in record time.

“See, I told you,” she said, as Mick rolled her into the hospital. Yes, they would not let her walk, so Adam was parking the car. By the time he joined them, they were already being led to her birthing room.

She smiled at her men as she settled into her bed. “See, this will all go smoothly.”

Eight Hours Later

“I thought you said that would go smoothly,” Adam said.

Okay, Serenity had been wrong. It had taken forever, and she wouldn’t dilate, so after six hours, they had to do a c-section. It hadn’t been her choice, but her blood pressure had gotten dangerously high. Thankfully, it went off without a hitch and they didn’t have to put her to sleep for it so the guys could be in the room when Arabella was born.

She glanced up at the bandage on Adam’s head. “I didn’t know you would pass out.”

Mick laughed so loud Arabella stirred in his arms.

“Shh,” Serenity said with a smile. They have been back in her room for about thirty minutes and the guys kept taking turns holding their baby girl.

“Sorry, but that is never not going to be funny.”

His eyes narrowed. “You didn’t see it.”

It was apparently a bit of blood that spurted. Big, bad Adam passed out.

Her phone buzzed and Adam handed it to her.

Nic: Pictures or it didn’t happen.

Only her best friend would demand pictures of her child.

Serenity pointed her phone in the direction of Mick who was smiling down at Arabella.

Nic: Aww, that is one proud Papa. That girl is going to be spoiled. Thank them for keeping me updated. We will be there in about eight more hours after this refuel.

Serenity: I love you.

Nic: Love you, too. Now get some rest.

Serenity handed her phone to Mick who had already handed off Arabella to Adam who was settled in the chair. These men…she never thought she would find one man to love her, let alone two. But together, they made a family and she knew they would all love that little girl until the day they died.

With a sigh and a smile on her face, she settled back against her pillow and drifted off to sleep.

Thank you so much for reading Harmless Scandals! I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please think about leaving a review on your favorite online store or review site.

If you want to find out what happens with Nicola, please check out Faith (formerly A Little Harmless Faith) releasing in October of 2024.