“And Henrik and Ez and Wally?” he demanded.
“Them, too, of course.”
“I always wanted a big family,” he admitted, curling into me and casting an almost shy glance at Carter in the corner. “Are your brothers gonna be like my uncles, now?”
I looked over his head at Carter.
“Sure, we are,” he agreed easily, then he bent forward. “Lucian and Leo couldn’t be here, but you’ll be seeing a lot of us in the future. I hear you like superheroes. You know, not to brag or anything, but I’ve helped save the world before.”
Brando’s mouth fell open. “Woooow. That’s so cool.”
Everyone chuckled, Brandon’s charm melting the last of the cold tension in the room. Carter started entertaining Brandon with stories of his own adventures, and Sarah and Beckett struck up a tentative conversation in their chairs.
So, I took the momentary respite to urge Bianca’s head back and kiss her deeply.
“You have hospital breath,” she teased when we broke apart.
I growled, nipping at her lower lip until she laughed.
“I don’t care,” she whispered as if it was a secret. “Honestly, I don’t even care about Dad’s will or getting into NYU or about Constantines vs. Morellis. I don’t care about anything except for you and my baby brother.”
“You don’t have to worry about us,” I swore, cupping the entire back of her head in one of my palms, loving the vulnerability of her resting her skull in my care. “We’ll always be here. You can focus on graduating, on making new friends and growing up, and being NYU’s brightest new student. You can have it all, Bianca, I’ll make sure of it.”
Her laughter feathered over my lips as she cupped my scarred cheek. “Whoever would have guessed that my nightmare would be the best dream I’d never thought to hope for.”
I grinned at her. “Oh, I think I can remind you of just how much of a monster I can be when the occasion presents itself.” She laughed again and the sound did more for me than the IV drip ever could. “So, is this it, the happily-ever-after you promised me?”
“Does it feel like it?” she whispered against my lips.
I kissed her again, sealing our lips around the words I didn’t have to say. Laying there in that hospital bed, riddled with bullet wounds, bereft of my house and my club, but surrounded by people who wanted to love me, I’d never been happier in my entire godforsaken life.