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  Besides, I had some business of my own to settle first.

  I strode into my brother’s office at eleven a.m. on Monday morning like I owned the place. And I did. All of it. I’d bought enough shares from the board to secure my spot as owning sixty percent in the company. Now, I could do as I pleased with Davis. Considering his recent dating habits had garnered terrible PR for the whole corporation and he’d botched the Canadian acquisition, it was enough on the surface to make the board happy with my choice.

  In truth, it was far more complicated than that. I still loved my brother, but he had a lot of growing up to do, and he couldn’t do that while meddling with my life and fucking with the company we’d both worked so hard to build. Some time off would give him the space he needed to think and the space Savannah and I needed to ensure none of his dumbass stunts endangered her pregnancy.

  “So,” he said, putting his feet up on his desk. “Rumor is you got that dancer pregnant. Classy.”

  I shoved his chair until it rolled back from his desk and forced his feet to the floor. “It’s still classier than helping a woman who embezzled from your own company. Seriously, what did Bella offer you?”

  “Nothing, but I thought you could get back into something, anything! You’d been so broken since Penelope, then you had a spark with Bella. After her, it was like nothing was fun anymore.”

  “Because she took my trust and spat on it.” I threw my hands up in the air. “Unbelievable. Did you really do all of that to what? Get my mojo back so you could have a wingman?”

  “So I could have my brother back! I haven’t seen him in a long time.”

  “And hooking me back up with the woman who stabbed me in the back would have fixed it?”

  “I don’t know. I tried taking you to every club from here to Lisbon, to getting you to sky dive and go swimming with sharks. Nothing made you happy or got you to show a goddamn emotion. I was getting desperate, man.”

  “Did it occur to you that Savannah makes me happy?”

  “And she’s just a dancer. She has nothing to do with anyone. Bella’s at least a model, bro.”

  “With a criminal record. You only saw what would make you happy, the type of woman you wanted. I don’t think you understood me at all. Maybe you haven’t in a long time.”

  Davis stood up and started to pace. “You’re right. I don’t. I don’t get this monk I see most of the time, and I don’t get the choices you make, how low your standards are.”

  Enough. My fist lunged out and connected with a satisfying crunch against his jaw. Davis spiraled back and crashed to the floor. I didn’t bother to help him up.

  “You’re right. I don’t get you either, not now. The board’s with me on that, especially after Canada.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re fired, Davis. Maybe one day you can come back to the company and this family. But until you accept that Savannah and my children—all of them, including the triplets—are family, then you can’t be here.”

  “Holy shit! Three of them?” He staggered to his feet and wiped the blood from his swollen lip. “You really outdid yourself this time.”

  “As did you with Bella, Brother. I’ll have security see you out.”

  ***

  “Ian,” I said after we’d celebrated a very relaxed pizza dinner with him, Savannah, and Melanie at my penthouse. “Miss Savannah and I have a lot to tell you.”

  My son blinked up at all of us. “What’s going on? Is this all because Miss Savannah has a ring now?”

  “Why don’t we go over to the couch?” Melanie chirped. “I really think you’re going to love this, kiddo.”

  Ian frowned but followed us over to the living room. “Okay.”

  We sat down together, Melanie on a far corner of the sofa and Savannah right beside me. I settled Ian on my lap and almost cradled him there like I hadn’t since I’d had to tell him Penelope had died. This wasn’t bad news, but it was about as earthshaking. He might not like learning he wasn’t an only child anymore. Far from it.

  “Ian, kiddo, you know that Savannah having that ring means something, right?”

  He nodded. “It means that you’re going to get married.”

  Savannah reached out and stroked his back. “Are you okay with that? I am not trying to be your mommy. I’m not even trying to be as cool as Aunt Melanie.”

  Mel winked at us from her corner. “You wish you were this cool.”

  “I am that cool,” I said and stroked my beard. Savannah liked it that way, and I’d let it grow out since New York. “Still, Miss Savannah is a brand new person. She’s here because she wants to be a new part of this family, but she’s not replacing anyone, especially your mom.”

  Mel nodded. “It’s like how families always have lots of love to give. Well, we’re growing, and I mean by a lot.”

  Ian frowned. “Why?”

  Savannah took his hand in hers and placed it over her stomach. “They’re not kicking yet…they’re not big enough, but inside you have three new siblings. We’re going to keep it a surprise for when they’re born, so we don’t know if they’re boys or girls or a mix, but you’re going to be a big brother.”

  Ian’s eyes were wide as hubcaps, and I figured that was the same look I’d given Savannah at the hospital. Whenever you said “three babies” out loud, the figure didn’t seem real. “Three?”

  I looked down into my son’s bright eyes, so like my own, and nodded. “Are you okay with that? I know it’s sudden, and Miss Savannah and I are going to do everything to make sure we don’t get swept up in having all the triplets and ignore you either. You’re the big brother, so you’re special in all of this.”

  Ian nodded and nuzzled me even as his hand stayed over his siblings. “But I’m still the big brother?”

  “Yes,” Savannah said. “You can help us design the nursery and do all sorts of things.”

  “Can I name them?”

  Melanie laughed. “Maybe, but if they all come out named after Ninja Turtles, then that’s probably a no, kiddo.”

  “And,” I said, patting his hair, “I have one other thing to tell you. We’re going to be moving to New York for a while.”

  “For how long?”

  “I’m not sure yet,” I answered honestly. “But that’s where Savannah’s aunt and sister are, and it’s a good place with lots of the best doctors, and the babies need that cause Savannah’s a little bit sick.”

  Ian sat up straight and then hugged Savannah tight. “How sick?”

  “A little bit, and I have to rest a lot and see the doctors every week, so I need to be in a place where I can get lots of care. Aunt Mel is coming with us too.”

  “Thank God I’m basically graduated by now,” Mel said. “I’ll just finish the diss in New York, but of course, kiddo, I’d come with you any day.”

  Ian smiled broadly even if he still clung to Savannah. “I never have to see Brad again?”

  “Nope,” I said. I didn’t mention I’d finally found a way for his dad, the senator, to have a tabloid problem of his own related to some compromising photos of him and a well-known recovering addict and embezzler. It was unlikely Brad would be able to attend Holton Prep again either way. “Does that sound good?”

  “And scouts?”

  Savannah squeezed him tightly. “They have a troop there and the best natural history museum in the world. If you thought you’d seen dinosaur bones before, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

  Ian beamed at her. “Okay, but I get to name the babies.”

  ***

  “I’m not sure I can keep all my promises to Ian,” Savannah said. “I’m going to want to name my own children.”

  “Maybe middle names then?”

  “I hope so. I’m not thrilled with having mini Michelangelos and Donatellos running around if he does get a pick of anything he chooses.” Savannah slipped out of her clothes and into one of my baggy undershirts.

  My cock was hard instantly, but tonight wasn’t about making
love. Savannah still had blood pressure issues to worry about and would for the remainder of her pregnancy. I had to be strong for her, keep her safe. Right now, all I wanted was her in my arms.

  She slid into bed beneath the covers, and I curled around her and our children. “But it went well. I was so worried. I didn’t think he liked me,” Savannah added.

  “I was worried too. Maybe just felt he’d blame me or think we were trying to replace his mom.”

  “I’d never do that.”

  I squeezed her hand. “And he knows that. Besides, he’s so obsessed with going to see the New York natural history museum that he’s already got the whole trip planned out. He’s been Googling about their dinosaur collection for hours. He even mentioned when I got him a glass of water that it wasn’t too far to take a train to see the Smithsonian in D.C. either.”

  She smiled at me and then flinched and rubbed her side. “Ugh.”

  I hopped to attention immediately and checked under the covers for bleeding, relieved when she was still okay. “I’m sorry the pregnancy has to be hard. I’ll do anything and everything I can to make it as smooth as it can be. Like I said, you name the expert, and I’ll get them for you.”

  She kissed me and nuzzled carefully in at my side. “All I need is you. You being here is more than I could have hoped for, so I feel bad for wanting even more.”

  “Yes, you’re known to be so greedy and selfish, darling.”

  She shook her head, and a cascade of gorgeous brown hair fell over her eyes. “Maybe. It’s just, I already discussed this with my aunt before I got sick. I want to be a mom, believe me I do.”

  Frowning, I glanced back at her, studied those coffee brown eyes half-hidden by her hair. I couldn’t quite read her expression. “Why do I sense a ‘but’ coming?”

  “Because I want something more too. My whole life, even when I was in those crappy off-off the strip review shows or even with all the crap I’ve put up with as the Green Fairy, I’ve always wanted to be on Broadway. When the kids are old enough, I’m going to do everything I can to make that dream a reality. My aunt’s retired and can watch them, and there’s Mel and Mary and us, but I’m going to take time for me too.”

  I kissed her long and hard. “I can’t believe you had to worry about this.”

  She pushed her hair back from her face and blinked up at me. “But Penelope…when I talked to Mel today…she said that Penelope was a stay-at-home mom and did charity work.”

  “Because that was what she wanted to do after Ian was born. I asked her a few times if she wanted to go back to newspaper reporting, and she said the medium was dying and that she wanted to make a difference in the world in a different way. If you’d probed Melanie a bit more, she’d have told you that Penny also had a very well-respected blog about women’s issues. I never would have stood in her way if Penelope had demanded we move to Washington, D.C. so she could write for The Post.”

  “So, you don’t mind if I try and go for it on Broadway when the kids are here and bigger.”

  “Honestly?”

  “Yes?” she asked, leaning so close to me that the delicious scent of strawberries teased my nose.

  I ran my hand through her silky hair. “If you don’t follow your dreams because of me, then I’d be nothing more than the same kind of asshole Samson was. I want you to have everything. Hell, I’d call a producer friend in New York tonight and find a way to get you ready right when the kids are ready to bottle feed. But—”

  “Nope. No nepotism,” she said, her expression firm. “I saw Samson use wheeling and dealing to steal something from me. I’ll never have something just because my husband made a call. I can’t do that.”

  I kissed her, long and lingering. Then, I nibbled at her bottom lip for good measure. “All that integrity is why I love you. But of course, however I have to stand behind you. Whatever you want, I’ll support you.”

  “Even if I work crazy hours, assuming I can even land a TV show or onstage gig? Maybe I’m just kidding myself.” She sighed and leaned back against the mattress. “Sometimes I think all I’m fit for is the Green Fairy title.”

  “First of all, you were impressive as hell when I saw you at The Bacchanal. I’ve rarely seen anyone own a room like you did. Second, it’s obvious that you have talent. It’s why Alan kept trying to tie you down in rule after rule. Third—”

  “I really must have you worked up if there’s a third!”

  “Third,” I continued, “If you can’t make it out there in show business, no one can. Trust me. I’ve seen you, and you’re downright hypnotic.”

  “Maybe.” She chuckled and let her hand stroke low to caress my cock.

  God, the things that woman could do to me.

  “Oh, definitely. No doubt about it, siren, you put a spell on me.”

  Epilogue

  Ryker

  Five Months Later

  The fact we’d been able to get to almost eight months in the pregnancy was a small miracle. No, that wasn’t fair. “Miracle” didn’t give credit to the team of doctors, including one of the best OB/GYNs in Europe and the best cardiologist in the USA who had kept up with my wife’s case, made sure that Savannah had all the care she needed to stay safe and keep her blood pressure as low as it could be with the preeclampsia. It had been terrifying the whole time, but now I was a father, having worked with the massive teams of nurses and techs and docs and successfully navigated through the difficult Caesarean section, and I was finally able to see my children, to hold them in my arms after months of waiting.

  And not a little fear.

  The nurses had taken the babies away at the birth for shots and testing, but after a few hours, a very exhausted Savannah and I were in the maternity suite and waiting for the doctors to wheel them in. Mary Anne, Melanie, Ellen and even Davis—who’d had a journey of his own and wasn’t quite the ass he’d been before, although we’d never fully get along—were in the waiting room taking care of Ian and waiting to be called back. But right now?

  Now, it was time for Savannah and me to meet the children we’d worked so hard to protect and to bring into this world.

  The nurses came in one by one, wheeling in incubators that had three pink blankets in them. I was a mix of relieved and terrified, relieved because Ian would get to be special as the only boy in the family, but terrified because, let’s be fucking honest, I knew how guys thought. For a long time, I had been that guy that parents warned their daughters about. Maybe I needed to invest in three shotguns to chase guys away with right there and then.

  “They’re beautiful,” Savannah breathed, snapping me back to reality.

  “And they’re all perfectly healthy and strong,” the nurse said. She placed one squirming pink bundle in Savannah’s arms and started showing her how to nurse. “It’s not too hard. You’ll get a feel for it soon. We’ll be showing you through the next couple of days how to really get a handle on feeding.”

  “So?” I asked, grinning even as the second nurse helped place a baby in each of my arms. “I get to see even more of my wife’s beautiful breasts while she nurses? This pregnancy thing just keeps on giving, doesn’t it?”

  “Ryker!” Savannah squeaked. “He doesn’t mean it.”

  “Oh, I do.”

  The nurse showing Savannah how to breastfeed chuckled. “He’s about the billionth partner to make that joke. Trust me, we hear it all here. But we wanted to congratulate you; these girls are going to be healthy and strong, just like their momma.”

  I sat still in the chair and focused my attention on the tiny bundles before me. I had held Ian many times, but I was nervous doing two at once. Even if I wanted to banter and tease Savannah a bit, I couldn’t take my eyes off my daughters. “She’s the toughest living woman I know.”

  “Amen,” said the nurse who’d helped me hold my two daughters. “Now, it really is time to name them. You can’t keep calling them A, B, and C forever.”

  God, names. I’d been expecting three sons. I had a list a mil
e long for guys, but I hadn’t thought about what was a good girl’s name. “I…wow…Savannah, do you know?”

  “Actually,” she said, still cradling “baby A” against her breast. “I have a few ideas…”

  ***

  Savannah

  Six Years Later

  The lights of the theater blinded me at curtain call. With every light and eye in the house on me, I sang my reprise along with Klaus of “Music of the Night.” My voice soared over the crowd, and when I was done, the entire audience was on their feet and roaring their approval. I’d been in a sold out revival of Phantom of the Opera for almost two years now, and every time I took a bow for the audience, I couldn’t believe this was my life.

  Perfect children, including Ian. Perfect husband, and the career I’d always wanted.

  After the children were three and spending days with Aunt Ellen, I’d started auditioning, working my way up in off-Broadway shows. A producer who’d seen me at The Bacchanal years ago and had even approached Alan then had caught me in a performance of Pippin. He’d offered me the lead in Phantom on the spot.

  I’d been packing the house ever since, and not one favor had to be called in.

  I was the success I’d always wanted, on my terms, and I finally felt complete.

  After the show, I walked back to my dressing room and smiled when three little faces greeted me. My first-grade girls raced for me. Each of them had my long brown curls but were tall like their father and had eyes the color of sapphires. They also seemed to have inherited both Davis and Ryker’s devil-may-care attitudes, and I could tell we were going to be in for a hell of a time when the girls got to be teenagers. For right now though, that much precociousness was adorable.

  “Natalie, Fiona, Anna, hi!” I hugged my girls close. “What did you all do in school today? Also, it is a school night,” I said, glaring at my husband and Aunt Ellen.

  Ryker shrugged. “It’s a three day weekend this weekend for Memorial Day, and the girls are little geniuses. No shock here. They can live with an early start to hanging out with Ellen and Ian.”