When I laid a hand on Ari’s hip, she nodded. “Someday. But not too long. I want three, so it’s going to take a little while.”

My head jerked to the side. “Three?”

Her smile widened. “I was going to say four because there were four of you growing up, but I think that’s a touch excessive.”

“Two. That’s plenty.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Then we’ll agree to disagree.”

“Hmm, sounds like y’all are gonna have fun with that,” Yve said. “God knows Titan will probably knock me up with triplets because of his super-sperm.”

Titan chuckled, and I decided to stay silent on that subject.

“Sorry to barge in,” Delilah said, “but I’ve got the good champagne and JP has the fake shit. Whoever has a bun in the oven that hasn’t spilled about it is about to be outed because Vanessa insists on a toast.”

When Titan and I both reached for the real champagne, Delilah rolled her eyes. “As if I thought there was a question there.”

“You’ve all met my home girl, Honor, haven’t you?” Elle asked as she joined the group, carrying Charlie and Simon’s baby.

We all nodded as Elle ran down the list of reasons Honor was the coolest baby ever, and why Rix and Valentina and Eden and Bishop had their work cut out for them if they wanted to have a cooler kid.

I couldn’t get over her name and the innocent aqua eyes staring back at me.

Honor. I’d thought that was the only thing that mattered for so long, but I’d been wrong. It was people who mattered. Principles were cold company if you had no one in your life to share the good times and the bad times with.

Sitting in that hospital waiting room, not knowing whether Ari would make it through surgery, everything had become crystal clear. I would have done anything, given everything, to guarantee she’d come back to me. And maybe there was a certain kind of honor in that—the willingness to do whatever it took to protect the people you loved.

I would lie, cheat, and kill if it meant protecting Ari or any one of the people in this room, and I wouldn’t lose a minute of sleep at night because of it.

“So, who wants to play a game?”

The entire room filled with groans at Vanessa’s question.

“I thought you said no games?” Ari asked.

“Hey, y’all pipe down. This is a good one. The ladies are going to come up with an idea for a tattoo to grace your significant other’s body . . . and then Con, Bishop, and Delilah are going to draw them up for you and ink them all this week.” She paused. “But there’s a catch—you’re getting a matching tattoo, except for the girls who are knocked up. You get a rain check. No backing out. No pussy shit. Who’s in?”

Everyone looked at Vanessa and then at their partner before voicing their agreement. Ari’s okay had been quiet.

“You don’t have to, Red. You might be the only person in this room without ink, and no one’s going to push you into it.”

Her gaze swept up to meet mine. “Oh, hell no. I’m doing it. But the pressure’s on. I have to make this perfect.”

I could practically hear the gears turning in her brain as her focus turned inward.

Never before would I have thought watching a woman think could be so damn sexy, but that was another way Ari changed everything. She was the exception to every rule, and she was mine.

A glance around the room revealed gleeful smiles and contemplative looks. This was going to be an interesting week at Voodoo Ink, to say the least.

Vanessa came around with sketch pads and pencils, and Ari accepted one with another glance at me. She grinned and began to draw.

* * *

Simon

Voodoo Ink, later that week

It had been a while since I’d sat in this chair, and all I could think about was how much my life had changed since the first night I’d walked in. Charlie’s aqua eyes had slayed me then, and now I see them every time I look at our daughter. We’ve had plenty of challenges over the years, but together we’ve grown stronger as we’ve overcome each one.

“You going to show me before they do the transfer?” I asked, wondering what my former notorious runaway had thought up to be inked on us both, although hers would be put off a few months because she was breastfeeding.

With a smile, Charlie turned around the sketch pad to show me the design she and Delilah had created. The corners of my mouth tugged up.

It was a red-and-black Mardi Gras mask, and the significance hit me immediately. It was a replica of the one she’d worn the night her true identity had been revealed, the night that had changed everything for us. Charlie faced her past, and together we’d fought for this incredible future. I looked closer at the drawing to find there were two dates along the bottom edge—our wedding day and the day Honor was born. Two of the most important dates of my life.

I threaded my fingers through Charlie’s, tugging her close to steal a kiss. “I love it.”

She pressed her forehead to mine and trailed her fingertips down my cheek. “I’m so glad. Thank you for never giving up on me.”

I made her a solemn promise. “Never. I will never give up on us. I love you, Charlie.”

“I love you too.”

* * *

Con

A few hours later

“All right, princess, whatcha got for me?”

I waited for Vanessa to finally show me the design she and Bishop had worked on. I was already covered, so I was curious to see where this piece would even fit. But since this was Vanessa’s idea, one she didn’t run by me, I might add, I was going through with it. She was too, before we left the shop today.

“You sure you’re ready?”

“Lay it on me.”

She flipped the sketch pad around and showed me a pair of boxing gloves drawn in the traditional style with the words Fight for Love written around them. Instead of an emblem on the back, they had a fleur-de-lis matching the one I’d tattooed on Vanessa in this very same chair.

I met her gaze as she held her breath, waiting for me to say something. Anything. She was crazy if she thought there was a chance in hell I wouldn’t like it.

Her impatience took over. “So? What do you think?”

I reached out and grabbed the sketchbook before sliding a hand around the back of her neck and dragging her down for a kiss. “I fucking love it. You killed it. Now, where is it gonna fit?”