Claimed by the Sicilian Tycoon (Criminal Seduction #3)(58)

Rachel stuck her tongue out. “If you had to drag as much stuff around you’d stay put, too.”

Penny laughed. “Carmen has her own room here. She has absolutely everything she could possibly need upstairs, and, Rach, you have a freaking driver. Ryan goes everywhere with you. You were just being lazy.”

“I can be lazy if I want,” Rachel replied, rocking a sleepy Carmen against her breast. “I was very recently pregnant, and I had a horrific labor.”

“There was the unmentionable issue,” Lyra agreed.

Rachel flushed bright red. “We promised we would never mention that ever again.”

“Which is why I said unmentionable,” Lyra replied.

“You wait till you’re both in labor. I’m going to record it,” Rachel threatened. “Then play it back every Christmas for the whole family.”

The sisters laughed, their husbands joining in. Carmen gave a little mew, and a moment later Dominic’s frighteningly glamorous mom swooped in and lifted her from Rachel’s aching arms. She said something in Italian and Rachel nodded happily.

“So we were thinking….” Penny said, lifting a random niece or nephew onto her lap.

Her husband nodded. “Go on.”

“There are plenty of places we can go.”

“Indeed.”

“But really there’s only one place we should go,” Rachel interjected.

“And that would be?” Dominic asked.

“You really have to ask?” Lyra said.

The husbands looked at one another, each confused until a moment later understanding dawned. A look passed between them. The look said quite clearly that they had no chance of changing the sisters’ minds, so why even bother?

“You don’t mean?” Andros began and the sisters laughed.

“Of course we do.”

****

“We did it,” Rachel said as she looked around the room.

“Of course we did,” Penny agreed. “Was there any doubt?”

Lyra laughed. “Let’s be a little honest here. There was for a while, for all of us. It could all have gone completely tits up.”

Penny shook her head. “Nah, it was always going to end up like this. Kind of like fate had a say.”

“Fate?” Rachel said. “Really?”

“Well, think about,” Penny said. “Three sisters from the wrong side of the tracks. So f*cking poor we could barely afford to put the heating on to keep warm. We concoct some completely fantastical plan to get a bunch of money so that others don’t have to have such a shitty time of it. Then, not only do we manage to make the plan work, we all bag super-hot, billionaire husbands at the end of it.”

“When you put it like that…”

“I can’t believe we thought the plans would even work,” Lyra sighed. “I’m not sure we really thought them through as well as we should have.”

“But they did work,” Penny laughed. “That’s my point, excuse the pun. Just look.” She waved a hand around the room and the sisters followed it. Teenagers milled about, enjoying the food and the refreshments. A couple had their babies with them, some young children. A small bunch were busy at the computers, another bunch at the game consoles. The room had a festive feel, and Lyra grinned as she imagined the fireworks they planned to set off later.

It was the first of many celebrations at The Point, the first of so many more to come.

“Looks like Andros is recruiting again,” Lyra said slowly, as she watched her fiancée. He took out a business card, and passed it across to one of the teenage boys using the free computers. He was gesturing to some sort of programme on there, smiling as he did so. He’d already taken on nineteen staff from around the estate, and the three men were all working on a university fund for more.


“Dom needs to bring my baby back,” Rachel pouted. Her husband was completely captivated with little Carmen, and, despite a grueling schedule, insisted on doing his share of the night feeds. “I swear between you two, him, his mom, and his sisters, I barely see her.”

Penny rolled her eyes. “You have her all day long to yourself. All those classes you drag her to, not to mention all the time at Little Ducks. I swear there is no nursery in this country better provided for than that place.”

“Give me time,” Rachel said softly. “Just give me time.”

“Seb is going to burn the burgers,” Penny added. “He can’t cook for shit, just like you, Ly. I don’t even know why he tries.”

“He’s chipping in,” Lyra said. “And those ones look only slightly charred. Besides, Jan’s helping.

“I should just keep him in bed,” Penny laughed. “God knows the man has got plenty of skill there.”

“Same with Dom.”

“And Andros.”

The sisters laughed at one another, before each turned slightly to find their man again in the melee. They were all busy, all fitted in so easily at The Point and with the people that both used and worked at it. Really, each sister thought, they were beyond lucky, could have asked for nothing more.

Three sisters.

Three marks.

Three happy endings.

No, Lyra thought, as Andros caught her eye and extracted himself from the group, love burning in his eyes as he made his way through the crowd. It wasn’t a happy ending at all, it was better than that. It was a happy beginning. The thieves and the billionaires, with all the years spread out before them…