Extra Epilogue
Nova
“But daddy,” Gemma whined, blinking her big green eyes at me, a move that I had a hard time resisting. “Both Seth and Joshua were dating by fourteen!”
“They’re boys,” I said, shaking my head and continuing to clean my tools. Gemma and Gillian had come into the tattoo shop a few minutes before, and I’d known immediately by their innocent expressions that I was about to be played. They knew exactly how tightly wound around their fingers I was.
Still, there were some things I wouldn’t budge on. Even if they broke out the alligator tears.
Gillian put her hands on her hips and stomped her foot. “Double standards!” she griped with a huff.
“Yup,” I agreed as I put away the last tool and turned to face them. “My fourteen-year-old baby girls are not going on dates.”
“We’re not babies, Daddy,” Gillian protested.
I walked up and curled my arms around them, pulling them close and kissing each of their heads. “You’ll always be my baby girls.”
Gemma leaned into me and squeezed my waist. “Yes, we will.” Her tone was sweet and she was gazing up at me with adoring eyes.
Our twins looked almost exactly alike, but they were as different as night and day. Gillian had a temper to go with her fiery red hair and would never be described as quiet or docile. Gemma was soft spoken and thoughtful. But they were inseparable.
And they both knew how to use their personalities to manipulate.
I could always see through their schemes, but that didn’t mean I was always able to resist them.
“Seth has been dating since he was fourteen!” Gillian complained.
“He’s a boy.”
“Ugh! Double standards!” Gillian stomped her foot and threw her hands in the air dramatically. However, it was the glare she leveled on me that had me mentally wincing. I hated it when my girls were mad at me or disappointed.
“It’s just a group of friends going to the movies.” Gemma smiled sweetly up at me.
“I’ll tell you what,”—I smiled inside, confident that I was about to win the argument—“your mom and I will drive you to meet them. We haven’t been to a movie in awhile…”
I trailed off when both girls gasped as if I’d kicked their puppies. “We’d be laughing stocks if we show up being driven by our parents and then having them stay as if we were little kids,” Gillian argued.
I shrugged. “Take it or leave it, girls.”
They met each other’s eyes, silently communicating in that way that twins could. Finally, Gemma looked up at me, and this time, when she blinked, tears filled her eyes, twisting something sharp into my chest.
“You remember what it was like when you were a teenager, right, Daddy? You wouldn’t want us to lose our friends and be all alone at school, would you?”
I nearly rolled my eyes at their dramatics. “Okay, how about this. Uncle Dax and I will take you on our bikes.”
Gillian perked up. “Ooooh, Gem. Think how awesome we’d look showing up with two badass bikers!”
Gemma didn’t say anything at first, clearly thinking things over. “How about Patriot and Breaker?”
I rolled my eyes and started walking them toward the door that led to the clubhouse. Riley was in the kitchen with the other old ladies, baking and drinking. She would probably be tipsy before we left. Not that I had a problem with that. My wife was horny as fuck when she’d had a little too much to drink. It also made her more adventurous. Which was how we almost got caught fucking on the back of my bike in the garage by our kids when we’d forgotten that they had a half day at school. Thankfully, we’d locked the door.
“It’s your uncle and me or no deal, princess.”
Gillian pursed her lips and stopped in front of the door, stepping in front of me. “Will you stay out of the theater while we see the movie and meet us back outside?”
“Deal,” I compromised, already planning how to keep my promise and still have eyes on the little fuckers in their group of friends who might try to get fresh with my baby girls.
Gemma and Gillian both squealed and threw themselves at me, making me laugh as I hugged them tight. “All right, go tell your mom it’s time to go.”
They practically skipped off to do as they were told. I followed behind but stayed outside the kitchen when I spotted the prez, Hack, and my brother-in-law, talking quietly a few feet away.
Mac heard me approach and raised his head, then gestured for me to join them. He had a wide grin on his face—not a common sight—while my brothers looked like they’d swallowed nails.
“Avery wants to go to the movies on a group date,” Hack growled.
“Leah, too,” Dax added. “Please tell me you told the twins no.”
Mac laughed, and we all glared at him.