“So, Mama, how do you like being in Maryland?”

On the sun porch of Nick’s home, Deirdre Marino turned to Connor, her youngest child, who was seated next to her. “I’m happy to be here, son. I miss my house, but I’d miss you all more if we hadn’t come down.”

Connor kissed her cheek. “And now you have the babies.”

“Ah, a blessing, that is. I love helping Isabelle.”

Mama and Pa were staying with Nick for the first months after little Dee and Evvie—short for Deirdre and Evelyn, named for their grandmothers—were born.

“How come you’re going to Gabe’s next instead of us?” Con asked.

“Because you’re newlyweds.” This from Tony, his dad, who had a twinkle in his brown eyes. “The wedding was only three months ago.”

And what a wedding it had been. Connor and Calla took vows in Casarina in a small ceremony at the palace, with only family in attendance. Calla had recently gotten an annulment from her abusive husband so a larger, fancier one seemed inappropriate. Since Connor wanted to get a ring on her finger and make her his, he didn’t need anything more. And they’d had a Catholic service, so his parents were happy.

He frowned at their explanation. “You’re welcome to move into the guest house any time.”

Deirdre grasped his hand, her blue eyes warm with affection. “The guest house is meant for King Gentileschi when the royal family visits.”

That family was something else, too. Connor had fallen with a princess, and after a few months of anger at her father, he’d come to love the king, Renata, her mother, and the six other Gentileschi sisters.

“The house is for you and Pa, too. Honest, Mama.”

“Maybe.” She patted Tony’s knee. “But since we’re pretty sure we’ll stay here, I think I might like my own home now.”

“What are you three doing out here?”

Connor looked up to find his bride in the doorway cuddling one baby to her chest. His heart swelled at the sight of her, with the child she held and her own slightly rounded belly. Sometimes he couldn’t quite believe he was going to have his own baby soon. Whitney was behind Calla, with the other.

“We’re talking about Mama and Pa’s plans.”

“Ah.” Whitney put her little bundle over her shoulder and rubbed the infant’s back. “When are we going to get our turn to have you with us?”

Gabe called from the kitchen, “When you get a house, kiddo.” He was playing chess with Simon. They’d taken lessons together to learn the game.

Macy, who sat with Gabe and her son, glanced up from her sketchpad. “Done with baby care, Whit? Can I have her now?”

“No.” She nestled the child closer. “Not done yet.”

“How about you, Calla?” Macy asked.

“Maybe you should get off your feet, love.” This from Connor.

Calla lay her face against the child’s cheek. “All right. I’ll sit. You can have Dee.”

Macy kissed Gabe’s cheek, he squeezed her hand, then she got up, came to the porch and took the baby. When Dee started to fuss, Macy walked her back and forth.

Whitney and Calla joined the group on the porch, and minutes later, Dec came into the kitchen with the three girls.

Morgan rushed to Whit. “I want to hold one.”

“Me, too,” Meli said, right behind her.

“Settle down first, ladies,” Whitney told them with a smile.

Morgan gushed, “They’re just like us.”

Since the babies were born, Dec’s younger girls seemed obsessed with the fact that Isabelle had twins. Connor noticed Maggie had crossed to Macy. They spoke softly together as they walked the baby through the rooms.

Declan glanced around. “Where are the rest of us?”

“Nick and Isabelle went for a walk. Max is—”

“Right here,” he said coming in from the side door. He’d been outside with Jamie and Ryan, Nick’s kids, and some of their friends on the street. Max wiped his sweaty brow. “I’m getting too old for baseball in this heat.”

“Nah, you still got it, honey.”

He gave her a lascivious look. Connor laughed. It was so good to see them happy and planning for their own little addition, which he hoped would be announced soon. Everyone knew they were trying to get pregnant.

An hour later, with the babies in their bassinets, the family gathered around the dining room table for brunch. Connor got his helping of ham, egg strata and crusty bread from the kitchen island and took his seat. He loved this Sunday tradition, not only for the food, but that all the siblings and his parents tried to attend. Today, especially, he was glad they were here. They ate with gusto. He noticed his wife went back for seconds. She slid in next to him. “Eating for two, love?”

She grinned. “I am.”

When everyone finished the meal, and the boys asked to go outside, Connor held up his hand. “Wait a second, guys. I have an announcement to make.”

“Another one?” Whitney asked. “Calla’s already pregnant.”

“Yeah. This is connected to that.”

“Then spill, cuz.”

“We just found out that the baby is a boy.”

Cheers, exclamations and one fist punch from the Marinos.

“Why is that special, Mom?” Jamie asked Isabelle.

“Because we’re going to have a prince in the family. He’ll eventually become the king of Casarina!”

When Nick got up to clear the dishes and Maggie and the girls volunteered to pitch in, Dec snuck into the living room. He crossed to the wall of windows and stared out at the front yard. Big oak trees shaded the lawn and lavish flowers grew in pots and in the ground outside. Nick’s landscaping was beautiful, but he took no pleasure in the sight. He was still reeling from his encounters with Lila this past week, and trying to keep those thoughts at bay was exhausting. After a while, he heard behind him, “Dec, you okay?”

He glanced over his shoulder to find Connor had come into the room. They’d gotten close when they’d worked together at the ER in Rockford, before he reunited with Calla. “What are you doing out here? We’re having the celebration cake we brought.”

“We should get back, then.”

Connor came closer. “Not for a few minutes. What’s bothering you?”

Declan heaved a labored sigh. “I’m jealous. Everybody’s life has turned out nearly perfect and mine’s a shambles.”

“Is it? I didn’t know that.”

“Well, my personal life is.”

“That’s because you haven’t moved on.”

Declan turned around and sat on one of the couches. Connor took a chair across from him. Declan faced him squarely. “I know.”

“So you have to either try to get Lila back, or find someone else.”

“No way can Lila and I reconcile.”

Connor beamed. “Want me to set you up with one of the Gentileschi sisters? They’re all in the vicinity.”

Declan shook his head. “No, because I suck so much at personal relationships, I’d probably fuck it up and then cause family problems.”

His brother turned serious.

“What?”

“I don’t think you want to move on. You’re still tied to your ex-wife.”

“Maybe. Being down here, seeing her, is harder than I thought it would be.”

“What’s gone on between you two? We haven’t talked about her at all. When I’ve asked, you redirected the conversation.”

Feeling as if he was about to erupt, Declan decided to let some of this out. “She’s got a boyfriend. She moved into a new house. And she’s going to share a lot of the duties for childcare.”

“How are you feeling about that?”

“Shitty as hell.”

“About which one?”

“All of them. Since she found happiness with another guy, I feel even more like a failure.”

“Not in my book. You tried hard to make it work once she moved down here.”

“First off, I didn’t come with her, like she thought I would, like I led her to believe I would.” He raked his hand through his hair. “And then she says she waited for me to come to my senses. Why the hell didn’t I do that?”

“Do you feel guilty about not moving here?”

His family didn’t know the extent of what went on between them when she got the new job. “I always have. Now that I’ve moved anyway, it bothers me even more.”

“You gotta make a plan for your life, brother.”

“My plan is to work at MedStar, acclimate Morgan and Meli and try to help Maggie with whatever’s bothering her. As you’ll find, there’s not time for anything else when you have kids.”

“Not if you don’t make it.”

“Lay off, Connor!”

His brother recoiled back at Declan’s sharp tone, which seemed to come out of nowhere. The two of them, Nick, Gabe and Whitney argued, of course, but snapping at each other was unusual for Declan.

Sighing deeply, Declan scrubbed his face with his hands. “I’m sorry. Now I’m going to alienate you.”

“Nah, never.”

“Connor and Declan,” they heard Mama call from the family room. “Come back to the dining room.”

“We’ll be right in, Mama.” Declan turned to Connor. “I’ll think about dating. That’s about the best I can do.”

“I want you to be happy.”

He clapped Connor on the back. “Like you, buddy? You’re gonna be the father of a future king.”

“That I am, Dec. That I am.”

Despite his happiness for his brother, Declan kept thinking about what he could have done differently with Lila. Trying to banish the recriminations, he followed Con to the dining room.