“You’re going to have to put the baby down eventually,” Lenni said to Hilary. “Not that I’m complaining. She loves you guys, and it’s nice to have someone else she wants to hang on to.”
“And we love her,” Melody said in a singsong voice. “I just want to eat her up. She’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“I can’t wait until we have a little niece to play with,” Hilary said. “Can you image how cute it will be to have the two little girls playing with each other? I won’t be able to take the cuteness!”
“Me, either,” Stephanie said. “Not to rush you or anything, sugar.”
“No, we get it,” Mary told her new mother-in-law. “But don’t be disappointed if we take a year or more. We want to enjoy ourselves. Relax a little bit.”
Connor kissed her on the forehead. “And if there’s anything my wife deserves, it’s relaxation. I don’t think I know anyone who works as hard as she does.”
“Hear, hear,” Gina said, raising her champagne glass. “You two lovebirds should take at least six months for a honeymoon.”
“I agree,” Stephanie said, clinking Gina’s glass. “Six months is enough time to get you guys started on the baby-making, too.”
She winked at Mary.
It was so strange seeing Gina and Stephanie interacting. Mary had known they would have to meet for the wedding, but she’d never imagined that they were going to get along so well. Her and Connor’s love brought everyone together and made it magic.
The courtyard at Connor’s company’s headquarters was the perfect spot for their magical day. She was so glad she’d been able to convince Connor’s parents to let them have a small wedding. His dad had been worried that it would offend some of their business colleagues, but Beckett had argued that he and Lenni had already had a large wedding.
Their wedding had been open to the whole world, so it was just as well that his little brother had a small one. There was no need to repeat the big fuss. Thanks to Beckett, Mary and Connor had gotten the intimate wedding of their dreams.
Mary was thrilled that she’d been able to get her way. It was the perfect wedding on a lovely spring day. Only a few people had been invited, mostly family.
Connor’s parents, his brother and sister-in-law with their baby, Beckett’s housekeeper and butler, the twins, and Gina. That was it. Beckett had even married them. There were no servants around to wait on them, either. Everyone had pitched in to make sure the wedding went off without a hitch.
Stephanie had made the wedding cake. That had blown Mary away. It was a small hummingbird cake that was more than enough for the group. Stephanie had learned to make the cake while she was working for Greg, and she’d made it all the time for Connor when he was a little boy. It meant a lot to Mary that Stephanie had made one for her too. It had been served at Stephanie and Greg’s wedding, then Lenni and Beckett’s, and now her own. It was a tradition she couldn’t wait to see continued with her kids.
“You know,” Stephanie said, rubbing her chin, “you girls are Mary’s sisters. I’m Mary’s stepmother-in-law. Doesn’t that make me like your aunt-in-law or something?”
The twins looked at each other. Hilary shrugged. “We could call you Aunt Stephanie.”
“I’d like that,” Gina said. “I hope our families can stay close. I’ve always felt bad that the girls and Mary didn’t have more siblings or a bigger family growing up. But now we can have a big family and always have big get-togethers.”
“My wife is just excited because that means she’ll have two more children to plan parties for.” Greg put his arm around his wife and kissed her on the cheek. “You should know what you’re getting yourselves into, girls. She loves to meddle.”
“And be a matchmaker,” Stephanie said proudly. “You know, I got these two married, and I also hooked up Beckett and Lenni. Maybe I should create my own app.”
“Stay away from the apps,” Connor said ominously.
Mary shook her head. He was so suspicious of the app, but it wasn’t that bad.
Business was going great, even with that minor scandal. After the boys had turned themselves in to the police, there was a media firestorm in town. It had even hit the national news for a few days, but the story had fizzled out soon after.
Things had worked out better than Mary could have hoped for. The people who had committed the crime had been punished, and it hadn’t created any negative blowback on her family. The girls didn’t even need to testify, since the boys had confessed to selling stolen merchandise.
Since they were just teenagers, the boys hadn’t even gotten the book thrown at them. They were going to be doing community service, and there wouldn’t be a mark on their adult records. What they’d done was terrible, but Mary had a feeling that they had learned their lesson. They wouldn’t dream of doing anything so stupid ever again--especially since her big, strong lion had taught them a very real lesson.
Was it really worth losing your life over a few dollars? The next time, they might mess with someone who wasn’t as nice as Connor.
She was sad that the girls had gotten involved with buying stolen goods, but she hoped they’d never have to buy cheap goods in the future. That they wouldn’t have to struggle.
She doubted that would ever be a problem for her again. Nothing like that would have to cross her mind in the future. Not only was she marrying into a wealthy family, she also had a husband who would never let her want for anything for the rest of her life.
She knew she could trust Connor not only with her heart and her family, but also with her future. He was her rock, and she would always lean on him. She’d finally found someone she could count on, and she was going to enjoy living happily ever after with him.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Thank you so much for reading The BiLIONaire’s Ball. If you enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a review and signing up to my so you don’t miss any new Lola Kidd books. Thank you :)