Claiming Sarah (Ace Security #5)(80)

It took a second for her words to sink in, but when they did, Sarah smiled huge. “Are you saying what I hope you’re saying?”

Felicity nodded. “It’s early. Eight weeks today, but still . . .”

There was more screeching from the women and more hugs given out.

Alexis held up her hands when everyone was done congratulating Felicity. “Don’t look at me. Blake and I are going to wait a few more years. We want to enjoy the fact it’s just the two of us for a while longer.”

“I hope you’ve got good birth control,” Grace said dryly as she patted her flat tummy, “because it seems those Anderson boys have very potent sperm.”

“You are fucking kidding me!” Alexis said in mock disgust as everyone laughed and started the congratulatory hugs once more—this time with Grace.

Sarah stood in a circle with the women who had become as much her sisters as her friends, and she couldn’t help but remember what her life had been like just six months ago. She’d been lonely and simply going through the motions. Now here she was, married to the love of her life, pregnant with twins, and celebrating bringing new lives into the world with some of the nicest, and toughest, women she’d ever met.

She and Cole had decided to wait on adopting any children until she’d had these first two, but that was definitely on their agenda for the following year as well. They’d already put in their application and had their background checks completed, so it was just a matter of finding the right child.

Her house had sold almost immediately, and Cole had insisted the money from the sale go into an account in just her name. He’d said he never wanted her to feel dependent on anyone, even her husband. He wanted her to have the freedom that money represented, the independence Mike and Jackson would’ve wanted for her.

He’d also unreservedly supported her decision to hyphenate her new last name, especially after reading the beautiful letter her dads had written for her future husband . . . for Cole.

Sarah glanced back over at her husband, who was still standing with the Anderson brothers on the other side of the gym. He saw her looking at him and raised a brow, as if asking if she was okay.

She nodded and blew him a kiss. Cole lifted his chin in return.

Sarah turned back to her friends, happy she was here with them, but counting down the minutes until she could go home with her husband. The further along she got in her pregnancy, the hornier she became. It was no wonder Cole wanted to keep her pregnant. He certainly benefited from the hormones coursing through her body.

Besides, she had a special surprise for him tonight. She’d finally decided on what she wanted for the tattoo she’d agreed to get after losing that bet with Felicity all those months ago.

Cole had refused to allow her to get inked while she was pregnant, and Sarah knew she’d only have a small window to get the design inked on her body after the twins were born, before Cole probably knocked her up again . . . not that she was complaining. She wanted to share the design with him. He was going to be floored, and she couldn’t wait to see his reaction.



“I see our women have finally shared the good news,” Logan said dryly to his brothers and Cole.

Everyone laughed. Logan, Blake, Nathan, and Ryder had never been tighter. When the triplets had first come back to town and started up Ace Security, they were basically strangers. But living near each other again, not to mention the shit they’d been through with their women, had brought them closer together. And bringing Ryder into the fold had cemented their bond.

Cole knew Logan had told his brothers the day after Grace had taken a pregnancy test, even though she’d made him swear not to tell a soul until at least the eight-week mark. The same had happened with Ryder. He’d been so excited to share the news that he’d knocked up Felicity, he also hadn’t honored his promise to keep it a secret.

As a result, the five men had already congratulated each other and reveled in the fact that their children would grow up together.

Cole hadn’t shared that Sarah was going to have twins yet; he was still reeling with the news himself. He had no idea how he’d gotten so lucky. Sarah was the best thing to ever happen to him, and while he was thrilled about the twins, he was also scared to death. He might’ve told Sarah he’d give her as many children as she wanted, but it was a little daunting to have two at the same time.

Vowing to have a long talk with Logan later about raising twins, he looked back over at the group of women standing on the other side of the gym.

He saw Sarah looking at him, and he raised a brow at her. When she smiled and blew him a kiss, Cole gave her a chin lift in return and turned his attention back to the men at his side.

“You heard anything about Owen?” Blake asked.

The topic of his wife’s kidnapper was enough to put a damper on Cole’s excitement. “Yeah, the lady who’s in charge of the group home emails me every week with updates. Apparently he’s doing really well. He likes working a couple of hours a day at a local diner near the house, and he’s gotten really close with one of the other residents. She says they play Go Fish for hours every night.”

The other men all grinned, except for Logan. “How are you doing with Sarah’s visits to him?”

Cole sighed. They’d had their one and only fight a few months back, about her desire to check on Owen. He’d relented when he realized it was something she had to do in order to move on from her ordeal. But he’d made her swear that she would never, ever go to the home without him. He’d been afraid that seeing Owen would bring back bad memories for her, but it seemed he was wrong. Seeing him happy and flourishing in the group home had made the few nightmares she’d still been having disappear.