Page 167 of A Dangerous Proposal

“Good job. You’ll be ready before we know it. Won’t you, Jaxy?”

Madison arched a brow. “Ready for what?”

“Anything he wants.” Alex tickled Jax’s stomach. “In this case, I meant learning to fight. He’s already taking me down, and he runs this house like a tyrant. He’s a natural leader.”

Madison snorted. “He’s a toddler.”

Alexlifted a shoulder, unbothered. “Details.”

Shaking her head at him, she said, “Julia, at the production company, called us earlier. Apparently, our ratings are better than ever. All it took was a public explosion, Cami collapsing, and a few viral videos.” She chuckled. “Poor Cam, James has gone full blown overprotective mode. I didn’t think it was possible to do more than he already was.”

“I don’t blame him. I wouldn’t let you or Jax out of my sight if you weren’t so stubborn.”

She sighed. “Not this again.”

“You know, a lot of women would think my desire to surround you with security is evidence of my love and devotion.” He arched a brow.

Madison snorted. “Yeah, well, you wouldn’t love me if I were most women.”

Alex stared at her for a moment, his intense gaze making her shiver. “Very true.”

Epilogue

2Years Later

Madison pushed open the back door, balancing a tray of sandwiches while Cami followed behind with a pitcher of lemonade.

“You know if he sees you carrying that he’s going to have a fit,” Cami pointed out.

“I’m pregnant not helpless,” Madison muttered. “This weighs all of five pounds.”

“I kind of hate you these days, you know that right?”

“I’m not doing it on purpose.”

“Sure, sure. You look more beatific with each pregnancy. You haven’t been sick once for either of them. It’s not fair.”

Madison shrugged. “Sorry?”

Cami sighed dramatically. “It’s starting to look like a daycare out here.”

Colorful plastic trucks and toys littered the grass, and several stuffed animals had been abandoned on the patio steps, along with at least three sippy cups.

Declan stood near the porch, holding his son on his hip whilegiving Jax serious instructions on how to ‘fix’ Alex’s tattoos, while Alex mouthed obscenities at Declan whenever the children looked away.

Jax’s tongue peeked through his lips as he concentrated on ‘coloring in Daddy’s pictures.’ Olivia sat on the nearby lounge chair, holding Madison and Alex’s daughter, smiling at the men’s nonsense. Across the lawn, Cami’s twin boys sat on a blanket with Luke and Dahlia’s ginger-haired twin girls under their Aunt Cara and Uncle Wes’s supervision.

Over the past couple of years, Madison had become close with Cami’s in-laws and considered the women to be her closest friends. Alex still grumbled about there being “too many Blooms always around,” but there had been a noticeable thaw between him and Declan’s younger siblings.

Cami nudged her with her hip. “Who would’ve thought Mr. Tall, Dark, and Dangerous would turn out to be such a family guy.”

“I did.” Madison said, butterflies taking flight as she watched her husband patiently lie beneath Jax’s artistic endeavors on his powerful forearms. “I always saw the man beneath.”

For a man who never wanted attachments, Alex had found himself tangled in a giant, chaotic, extended family. And, by the look of him, he didn’t seem to mind one bit.