Page 64 of Back to Claim His Crown
‘Not having to walk up the aisle, terrified someone mightstopit actually sounds really good to me,’ she admitted.
‘No one will be able to stop it,’ he promised. ‘Because we’ll already be married.’
‘That sounds perfect.’ She smiled.
And it was.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Four years after that
LUCIANWATCHEDINamusement as Niko walked towards him—one child on his hip, another walking alongside him, holding his hand. Maia was a step in front, holding yet another toddler, while the last was in the arms of a nanny. An entourage of assistants followed.
‘Wow.’ Lucian removed his sunglasses and smiled broadly as he took in the spectacle. ‘How was the flight?’
‘Piece of cake.’ Niko winked.
The good humour was so very typical of his larger-than-life friend.
‘What else is a ten-hour journey with triplet toddlers and a five-year-old?’ Lucian stepped forward to scoop up the nearest small person tottering rather unevenly on the frosty path.
‘I always forget how cold your country is, Pax.’ Niko shivered and wrapped his spare arm around his wife. ‘But it’s lovely to see your smile.’ He cocked his head. ‘You are quietly content, I believe.’
‘Ecstatic,’Lucian corrected. ‘And not quietly at all. Shouting from the rooftops, in fact.’
‘Where is she?’ Niko glanced past him.
‘Making sure everything is ready inside.’ He’d not wanted her to come out in the cold.
Inside, the palace was decorated in vibrant festive ribbons and bows, while Zara stood by the enormous twinkling tree in the entrance hall—his own sparkling angel. A heavily pregnant angel.
‘I wanted to come out to greet you.’ Zara hurried forward to hug both Maia and Niko as they walked in. ‘But Lucian bullied me into waiting in here.’ She shot him a look that was both vexed and flirtatious. His favourite kind.
‘I didn’t want you to slip on the ice—’ Lucian shrugged unashamedly and set Niko’s child down.
Niko laughed. ‘He’s right.’
The children scampered around their feet. His firstborn, Kristyn, was round-eyed at the triplets her own age, while Niko’s eldest, Kailani, took the lead. It was all chatter, giggles, full-bore chaos as all the treasure in the world tumbled about right in this room with him.
‘Is there caramel apple tart?’
‘Are we going to ice-skate?’
‘Or ski? Can we ski?’
Protective and possessive, Lucian laughed at the endless excited requests. His daughter had made him a hostage to fortune completely, but she’d enriched his life in ways he’d never imagined possible. He couldn’t wait to meet his son.
He felt Zara’s arm slip around his waist from behind and turned to draw her closer still. Emotions threatened to momentarily overwhelm him—but he let them wash through. He’d got much better at allowing them, accepting them—welcoming them even. Some emotions more than others—like happiness, amusement, love. He caught Zara’s eye and felt even more...bliss, anticipation.Anticipationof bliss.
Her hold on him tightened and she smiled. She knew he needed her close—that physical contact had become as essential and as natural to him as breathing.
Life was for living. And the life he’d built with Zara was utterly and imperfectly all.
