overlooking the sea. There was so much happiness here. It was hard to believe at times that it was all hers. That she had a family. That she belonged. She and Piers had both been drifters for so long, but somehow they’d found their way to one another and had at long last found what mattered the most. A home.
“I’d like to propose a toast,” Chrysander said as he raised his glass. “To the Anetakis wives. I’ve no doubt they’ll keep us on our toes well into our old age, and I plan to enjoy every minute of it.”
“Here, here,” Theron said as he raised his own.
Piers turned to smile at Jewel, and she rose to stand by his side as they both looked down at the bundle in his arms. She put out her arm, and Eric snuggled against her side.
“I’d also like to propose a toast,” Jewel said. “To Bella. May she give Theron a house full of girls all as beautiful and as sassy as she is.”
“Bite your tongue,” Bella said, but her eyes twinkled merrily.
Theron put his arm around his wife. “God help me if that is true. One Bella is all this world needs.”
“I’d like to propose a toast to love and friendship,” Marley said. She pulled Jewel and Bella away from their husbands and linked her arms around them both.
Jewel and Bella squeezed back.
“To love and friendship,” they both echoed.