Love Bug (The Prescotts Book 3) by Tara Wyatt (electric book reader .TXT) 📗

She didn’t need an app to tell her that he was her perfect match. She knew it in her heart.

THE END

Thank you so much for reading Max and Willa’s story. I had a lot of fun writing this one and I truly hope you enjoyed it. If you’re not ready to say goodbye to Max and Willa yet, I have good news for you. There’s a bonus epilogue! It involves Max and Willa, a surprise trip to Paris, and quite possibly that ring he bought…To get access to this bonus content, all you have to do is sign up for my newsletter (if you’re already a subscriber, don’t worry, you’ll get a link where you can download this bonus content). Click here to subscribe! And keep reading for a peek at what’s next for the Prescott brothers (hint: it’s finally Lucian’s turn!)

Two Weeks Later

Lucian Prescott didn’t think he’d ever held a baby before, aside from his youngest siblings. He wracked his brain, trying to recall a time in his life when he would’ve, but he came up empty. Staring down at the tiny pink bundle in his arms, he couldn’t help but feel as though he were sullying the perfect little girl just by touching her. Hands like his—hands that inflicted pain, that took away that which was precious—were far too dirty for something so pure and pristine as a baby.

And yet.

With his newborn baby niece Isabella in his arms, something visceral passed through him. Something wholly unexpected that made him close his eyes and breathe in her soft, sweet new baby smell. He glanced over at his sister Aerin, nestled into the other corner of the couch, Isabella’s twin Arianna sleeping in her arms. Aerin’s husband Javi hovered nearby, a burp cloth tossed over one shoulder.

Five days ago, the surrogate that Aerin and Javi had used had given birth to two perfectly healthy baby girls and everyone—Theo and Lauren, Sebastian and Kayla, Max and Willa, and Lucian—had converged on Dallas, eager to meet the first in the next generation of Prescotts. For a while, Lucian had thought that Bella and Ari, as they were already being called, would likely be the only members of the next generation, but after the way things had unfolded over the past several months, he wasn’t willing to take that bet anymore.

Theo and Lauren were engaged and getting married next year. He had no doubt that Sebastian and Kayla and Max and Willa wouldn’t be far behind. There would be weddings and babies in the future, and knowing that felt like knowing that flowers would bloom in what had once been toxic soil.

Aerin shot him a smile, her eyes tired but her body relaxed and happy. Returning the smile, he looked back down at tiny little Bella, his heart twisting at the knowledge that he would never have this. His life was messy and dangerous and complicated, and however his story ended, he wouldn’t go down as the hero. He was a villain, and villains didn’t get to live happily ever after. That wasn’t how the world worked.

Besides that, he was forty-four years old. The baby ship had sailed long ago. If it had ever even existed for him. But it existed for the rest of his family, and that was good enough. More than good enough.

He’d spent his life looking out for them. Protecting them and bailing their idiotic asses out time and again, and it hadn’t always been easy. It hadn’t always been painless. Some of the things he’d done had cost him little pieces of his soul that he knew he’d never get back. But for them, he’d do it again. Over and over. Until there was nothing left.

“Who wants a turn?” he asked, glancing around the room at the rest of his family. Willa and Max sat together on the couch across from him, her legs over his lap, Max staring at her as though she were the most remarkable thing he’d ever seen. Kayla and Sebastian stood near Aerin, cooing over Ari.

“Can I?” asked Lauren, stepping forward, her face bright and eager. Aerin nodded and after Lauren had cleaned her hands, Lucian carefully passed the bundle to Lauren, letting her have his vacated seat.

God, the look on Theo’s face as he watched Lauren hold little Bella…What would it be like, to feel that kind of love? That kind of devotion? He envied his brothers and what they’d found, all while knowing that it wasn’t meant for him. He’d chosen a different path a long time ago, and there was no getting off it now.

As if she could hear his thoughts, Aerin’s eyes locked on him, her head cocked. She passed Ari to Sebastian and then stood and stretched. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, there were dark circles beneath her eyes, and she was wearing an old Dallas Longhorns T-shirt with not one but two spit up stains on it.

She’d never looked happier.

“You okay?” she mouthed, her eyes narrowing.

He nodded and slipped his hands into his pockets, but apparently Aerin wasn’t the only one who’d taken notice of his reaction to holding the baby.

“You know,” said Lauren softly, looking up at him as she stroked a finger down Bella’s tiny nose, “you’re the only single Prescott left.”

Yes, thank you. I am well fucking aware.

The words were on the tip of his tongue but he bit them back, instead going for levity. “True. But I do believe you’re out of friends, Lauren.” They laughed quietly at that, seeing as Sebastian and Max had both fallen for Lauren’s two best friends. “And I’m not. Noah, Hudson and Levi are all single.” His phone began buzzing from his pocket. “Excuse me,” he said, moving through the living room and into the kitchen where he stepped out into the backyard.

“Lucian. You’re needed back in New York.” Luca’s voice was clipped, his tone urgent.

“For?”

“Salvatore just called in his favor.”

Lucian closed his