Page 122 of Code Violation

She switches Alfie from one breast to the next right as there’s a knock at the door, followed by Naomi’s voice.

“Can I come in?” she asks, cracking the door open an inch.

Vesper invites her sister in, and she takes a seat in the chair I was using earlier.

Naomi arrived a couple of days ago after I flew her into Seattle, so Vesper had at least one member of her blood family around for the birth.

It’s the first time I’ve met her sister, but if I’d seen her on the sidewalk before now, I’d never have put the two down as related. They look nothing alike. Naomi has red hair and brown eyes and is way taller than her sibling. She’s nice though, and that’s all anyone can ask of their family.

Unlike Vesper’s mom and dad, who both sent a Congratulations text message yesterday when they heard the news.

If my mom were here, she’d have been in her element with my new family, and that’s what pisses me off—shit things happen to good people, and she was taken way too early.

“You’re a freaking natural,” Naomi coos into the quiet room as Alfie finishes up feeding and Vesper clips her top back into place. “And you …” She motions toward me as I begin braiding … very fucking badly. “I was going to ask if you have a brother since I’m newly single, but we both know the answer to that question.”

There was a time when even the slightest reference to Kane would cause every muscle in my fiancée’s body to tense. Now she simply waves Naomi’s comment away like it’s nothing.

He’s nothing.

Kane Giles was a chapter in both of our lives, and now we get to finish the story together. As it was always meant to be. Since the day he was escorted by security out of Will and Drew’s wedding six months ago, we haven’t heard a thing from him. The only updates we’ve received have been via the courts and my lawyers, confirming Kane’s eighteen-month prison sentence will be carried out in another state due to overcrowding in the penitentiaries here. I can’t say I’m mad about it, nor was I sad to see his apartment up for rent when I drove past the other day out of curiosity. If that prick has one brain cell remaining after Mason’s punch, he’ll stay away from Seattle for good, and something tells me that he will.

“My mom would be so damn proud of you,” I whisper against Vesper’s neck as I secure the end of her braid with a scrunchie and set it over her right shoulder.

Naomi has hearts in her eyes when Vesper half turns on the bed, and I take Alfie from her so she can head for the bathroom.

Don’t ask me why I know where she’s going—I just do.

Grabbing a white rag from Alfie’s diaper bag at the end of Vesper’s bed, I throw it over one shoulder and begin burping him.

Naomi pulls her phone from her jacket pocket.

“I just got a message from Drew.” She smiles brightly and I can’t help but feel happy that Vesper’s sister is making friends too. “She’s asking if now’s a good time to come and meet Alfie.”

“Sure!” Vesper’s voice filters through the door.

I chuckle. Apparently, pregnancy gives women radar hearing too.

Three minutes later, my alternate captain has taken over burping my son while Vesper, Drew, June, Marley, and Naomi all discuss middle names for Alfie.

“You look like a bulldog with a stick up its ass,” I say to Tristan as he chews on a piece of gum, arms folded tightly across his chest.

He huffs out a breath through his nose. To an onlooker who doesn’t know him, my teammate comes across as the biggest jackass. But despite his shitty moods lately, I know he has a good heart. He wouldn’t be here if he didn’t care about me, Vesper, and Alfie.

“Do you think the Rogues will drop me to the farm team before the preseason?”

His question catches me completely off guard as I smile proudly at Vesper, who is showing the girls her ring for the hundredth time.

“I don’t think one bad season will fuck up your career, man. You’re going through a rough patch right now, but it’ll come right.”

Tristan’s eyes flick to Will as he continues burping Alfie.

I give it two years, and Drew will be pregnant.

His attention then falls to June, who is still talking to Vesper about potential middle names.

“It feels like everyone in this room has their shit sorted, you know?” He slides his hands into his pockets and blows into his cheeks. “Take your girl, for example. She just had a baby after signing a contract to collaborate on book designs with that hotshot artist you met in Italy. Her work will literally be across stores in a few months.”

He doesn’t sound bitter toward Vesper’s success, but I am starting to worry that Tristan’s spiraling.