Page 21 of Eff Marry Kill

Nova

Three Years Later

"Here, Starlight," Hux says, leaning down over me, "let me have her."

I peek up at him, my heart rolling in my chest at the soft look on his face. I don't think I'll ever get used to the way he looks at me when I'm holding our daughter. It's like he's staring at his whole world.

"She's okay," I murmur, running my hand down her back. "You guys wore her out."

His lips curve into a grin. "I thought that's what we were supposed to do."

"No objections from me," Seraphina says from the lounge chair beside me, yawning. "I'm too pregnant to chase them."

"Same," Emelia groans, wincing down at her belly.

"Rather you than me," Ava says happily, her three-month-old nestled in her arms.

Seraphina sticks her tongue out at her, earning laughter from Emelia.

"Remind me again," Hux says, his tone dry. "Did your games say anything about the four of you all getting pregnant at roughly the same time, every time?"

"What?" My best friends all turn to gape at me with matching expressions.

"Hux!" I cry softly. "I thought we were going to wait to tell everyone!"

"We are," he says, stealing Lily from my lap. "But they aren't everyone, Starlight. They're your best friends." He adjusts our sleeping daughter in his arms before brushing his lips across my cheek. "Besides, you know how much I love it when everyone knows that you're carrying my baby."

I groan softly, my core clenching. He knows exactly what he's doing because he chuckles and then nips my earlobe before straightening. "You girls have fun. We've got the kids."

He winks and then strolls away, heading for the sand, where Dawson, Stone, and Royce are helping the other kids build a sandcastle. At least, I think it was a castle four parapets ago. Now, it looks like a whole fortified village.

I watch him go, admiring his ass. What? It's a great ass, even when it isn't in baseball pants.

"Can you believe this is how those games turned out?" Ava asks, her voice soft. "I mean, I don't know if it was the universe or magic or luck or if we manifested our destinies or if things just finally went right for us for once, but look at where we ended up."

"Magic isn't real, Ava," Seraphina says.

"Oh, really? Then how else do you explain all of this?" Ava gestures around. "We got exactly what we were all too afraid to admit we wanted. If that isn't magic, what is?"

"Love," I whisper softly, my eyes locked on Hux. "It wasn't the games that brought us here. It was love. The games just gave us permission to admit to ourselves what we really wanted. Once we did that, well…the rest was history."

"Agreed," Emelia says. "Love is the real magic."

"Agreed," Seraphina whispers.

"Yeah," Ava murmurs, glancing at the baby in her arms and then at Dawson, her lips curving into a sweet smile, "I guess you're probably right."

We all fall silent for a long moment before Seraphina grins devilishly. "So…what games are we playing next and what problems are we solving with them?"

"Nope," I groan, rolling from my chair. "Hell no!"

There's not a chance in hell I'm tempting fate again, not when I know for sure that it answers now. My life is perfect exactly the way it is. I'm not changing a single thing.

"Absolutely not!" Emelia cries, looking horrified.

"You have lost your mind!" Ava squeaks, her eyes wide.

Seraphina throws her head back, peals of laughter ringing out around us. "Just checking!" she chirps.

I just shake my head at her before striding through the grass toward the only future I need: Hux, the little girl in his arms, and the baby in my belly.