Sinning in Vegas (Vegas Morellis 2)

“No one else was knocking down the door to take her in,” he replies.

Sin shakes his head, looking over at me. He doesn’t say anything, but he doesn’t have to. I know exactly what he wants. Nodding my agreement, I place my hand on his thigh to show my support.

Now that I’m on board, he looks to Rafe. “We’ll keep her.”

“Are you serious?” the husband asks. “This isn’t even your problem.”

“She’s not a fucking problem,” Sin snaps. “Jesus Christ, you people. Babies are not problems.”

Putting a hand up to keep the peace, Rafe nods his head. “All right. That’s fine with me if it’s fine with everyone else.

Rafe’s jerky cousin and her dumb husband seem irritated, but not by the loss of Skylar. They leave grumbling under their breath, but Sin doesn’t care. I don’t either. No wonder Vince doesn’t associate with that sister; she sucks.

Sin looks down at Skylar on his chest, and she holds onto his finger while she naps.

My heart fills up, aches, bottoms out, and fills up again. I hope the sight of him in daddy mode breaks my heart a little less once I get used to it, but right now it all feels very dramatic. My heart splits in half because I can’t help thinking of Ellie, but then adheres together again because he seems so much more at peace already. He may be snarling at Rafe’s asshole family members, but overall, he’s calmer with Skylar around.

Tonight when we take her home, he’s the most at peace he has been since I met him. I’ve seen him stoic, passionate, mean, happy, in love—I see love shining in his eyes each night when he holds me in bed, but the peace, that feels like something new. I thought the measure of peace I brought him was as good as it got, but now I get the feeling his missing pieces are finally all filled in. No one can ever take the place of Ellie, naturally, but Skylar gives him back something he lost. Something he never thought he could get back.

I get teary thinking about it, but most of them are happy tears.

The little family we are piecing together may not be entirely conventional, but it’s ours. As long as we all fit together, it really doesn’t matter where we came from.

52

Laurel

Four months later

The hot Vegas sun beats down on every inch of my exposed skin—and it’s a lot of inches, because I’m six months pregnant and wearing a hot pink bikini. I absently rub my baby bump, wondering if I should get out of the lounger and into the pool with Sin and Skylar. I love soaking up the sun with Rafe while Sin plays in the water with our little one, but I’ve been relaxing here for a while and I don’t want to accidentally bake my unborn son.

“I’m thirsty. Get me a drink.”

I lift my eyebrows and turn my head, looking at Rafe like he’s lost his damn mind. “Get it yourself, lazy ass.”

“Remember when you were so dazzled by me that you served me without question?” he asks.

Pointedly sticking my nose in the air, I say, “Not really. I think you’re remembering wrong.”

Sighing, he folds his hands over his washboard abs and laments, “I should have knocked up a nicer girl.”

“Hey! I’m a nice girl.” I scrunch my nose up at him and reach into the lemonade glass beside my lounger, grabbing a few fingers full of ice and flinging them at him. He jerks at the sudden cold hitting his side, but smirks nonetheless. “I’m the one growing a human being inside my body,” I inform him. “If anything, you should be catering to me.”

“Not really my thing. You have a fiancé for that.”

Eagerly anticipating the wrath I’m about to incur, I say, “Not really his thing, either. We should start inviting Rex to Sunday dinner. He’ll make sure all my needs are met.”

A violent wave of chlorinated water suddenly surges out of the pool and hits my legs as Sin splashes me. “That’s not fuckin’ funny.”

I grin at him. “Yes, it is. You know I don’t go for guys my own age anymore, baby.”

Keeping one hand on Skylar’s baby float to keep her stabilized, he uses his other one to point at me. With a warning look that makes me tingle, he states, “Your ass is gonna pay for that bullshit tonight, mark my words.”

“My ass is looking forward to it,” I tell him with a wink.

I chuckle to myself, grabbing my lemonade and sipping through the straw. It’s a source of much amusement for Rafe—and sure, me—that Sin gets possessive when it comes to Rex. After Mateo’s guys helped clean up Rafe’s mess, a few of them stayed behind to help him and Sin rebuild. Rex was one of them, and since he’s a nice guy (for a thug), sure, he makes a point to catch up with me when he’s around. Since he’s also physically attractive and age-appropriat

e, and because Sin is an absolute caveman, it makes him salty.