He cheated i chose two firefighters novel Chapter 86

Chapter 86 Her Father’s Approval

Jace’s POV

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A new, fragile peace hangs in the air the next morning. Something has clicked into place, a gear finally meshing. We move around each other in the kitchen with easy coordination, helping Scar prepare

breakfast.

She assembles burritos for us to eat on the road to my mother’s. A knock at the door announces her parents and Hale. We gather pies, containers, and our wrapped breakfasts, filing out to Milo’s truck

and Hale’s Bronco.

Twenty minutes later, we are pulling up to my mother’s house. Joe and Junia come out to help us unload. Introductions are made in the bustling driveway–Romero, Hale, and Isadora to my mom and the girls. Soon, we men are banished to the living room, while the women claim the kitchen. Milo and I settle on the love seat. My arm stretches along the back, my fingers idly threading through the hair at his nape. I catch Romero’s eye across the room. He sees the casual intimacy, and a quiet, approving smile touches his lips as he gives a faint nod.

“You should ask Romero now,” I whisper into Milo’s ear.

He turns, his eyes wide with surprise and hope. “You think?”

I simply nod.

He clears his throat. “So, Romero. How was the night?”

I catch the glance that passes between Hale and Romero a moment before a low chuckle escapes

them both.

“My night was… informative,” Romero says, his gaze resting on Milo and me with deliberate slowness. “Scar’s condo is lovely. Did you know that floor shares a central venting system? You can hear the

faintest sounds drifting through.”

Our jaws go slack. No. We did not know that. My eyes dart to Milo; his face is the color of a fresh beet. Hale lets out a full–bellied laugh, while Romero merely smiles, a quiet rumble in his chest.

“I’m joking,” he says, the stern lines of his face softening. “I had to fuck with you a little. Since I didn’t get the chance for a proper interrogation, this seemed the next best thing.”

The breath Milo and I have been holding whooshes out of us in a synchronized rush.

“I see the way my daughter is with you,” Romero continues, his voice dropping into something earnest and grave. “And the way you are with her. I’ll say this: in the short time you’ve known her, I’ve never seen her glow the way she did last night, or this morning. You’ve made my daughter a very happy

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woman. For that, I thank you.”

the

“We’re honored to have Scar in our lives,” I say, the words feeling both heavy and right. “Thank you for raising such a kind and beautiful woman.”

He tips his head in a gesture of simple acknowledgment.

“Romero,” Milo blurts out, the sentence tumbling from him in a nervous rush. “We’d like to ask for Scar’s hand. We want to marry her.”

Romero’s eyebrows shoot toward his hairline. Hale’s eyes gleam with pure, unadulterated merriment. We already have his approval; that much is clear. But Romero’s is the one that holds all the weight.

“Do you now?” Romero says, leaning back. “And how would that work, exactly, with the three of you? Where do my future grandchildren fit into this arrangement?”

“Milo will be the one to legally marry her,” I explain, picking up the thread. “Then the three of us would have our own private ceremony. I don’t need a piece of paper to tell me she’s my wife, or he’s my husband. As for children… Milo and I have talked it through. Since he gets the legal marriage, I get the first child. He would father the next. Any children after that, it won’t matter who the biological father is. We’ll love them all as if they came from our own bodies. We just wanted to ensure we each had that connection once. We asked Scar about kids. She’s adamant she wants at least four. Ideally six.”

Romero chuckles, a warm, knowing sound. “She always wanted siblings. We couldn’t have more after Scar. When she played house as a little girl, she’d line up six, sometimes ten dolls as her babies.”

I can’t help but smile at the image: a miniature Scarlett, fiercely tending to a brood of plastic infants.

“I’ve never seen my daughter so happy,” Romero says, his voice thickening. “And while your relationship isn’t a conventional one, her mother and I have no objections to it. You have my blessing. I can speak for Isadora–you have hers, too. She doesn’t go around calling just anyone her sons.”

The pressure that’s been sitting like a stone on my chest finally dissolves. Beside me, Milo lets out a

happy, shuddering sigh.

“When are you boys thinking of proposing?” Hale asks, leaning forward with keen interest.

“Christmas,” Milo says. “Or New Year’s, at the stroke of midnight.”

“Do New Year’s,” Romero decides, his tone firm. “She needs to walk into the new year better than how she walked out of the last one. This year has been hard on her. She almost lost herself, from what Natalie tells me. Scar would never show that side to us. She knows I would have called in a favor and had Brennan taken care of. I have friends in the States. Hale has connections, too. But she doesn’t

want me doing anything drastic.”

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He pauses, a shadow crossing his face. “She doesn’t know it, but I called in a small favor to get him. fired. They were more than happy to oblige–he’d started neglecting his job. There were complaints about cancellations. It was just the push they needed. I wanted to do more, but it seems he’s

vanished. He even got rid of his phone. I can’t track him anymore.”

“Huh,” I murmur. “Maybe seeing Scar finally pushed him over the edge. Especially after what he did.”

Romero’s head snaps up. “What did he do?”

Shit.

We explain the confrontation, the vile words, the threat. As the story unfolds, a cold, focused fury

settles over both Romero and Hale.

“Don’t worry,” Milo says, his voice low and deadly serious. “If we ever see that guy again, he’s in for a

world of hurt.”

I nod, the agreement absolute.

Around two o’clock, a knock rattles the door. I get up to answer it, and immediately roll my eyes.

“Everett.”

“Hey, stud!” He grins, all perfect teeth and trouble. He gestures to the sleek, smiling man beside him.

“This is my friend Elias. He works at Club Oasis.”

“Hello, Elias.” I offer a curt nod. “I like Club Oasis. Haven’t been in a while.”

“And you never will again,” Milo says, appearing at my shoulder with a smile that’s more possessive

than pleasant.

“Mmm, Milo,” Everett purrs, ignoring the warning. “Is sexy Scar here with you?”

“Back off, Everett.” My voice is flat. “You know she’s ours.”

“Hmm,” he smirks, that infuriating, playful glint in his eye. “For now.”

The little shit. He loves pushing our buttons precisely because of what happens next: one of us tackles

him, and he uses the opportunity to cop a feel. The fucker.

“Where are my girls at?” he asks, breezing past us.

“My sisters are in the kitchen. Stay out. They declared it a no–man’s–land. Come to the living room.”

We herd them into the main space. I introduce Hale and Romero to Everett and Elias. Romero immediately begins asking Elias about the club he works at. Elias’s eyes light up. So do Hale’s. I can

see future visits materializing in the air between them. I find myself genuinely wondering about their

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dynamic with Isadora. This is an interesting development.

A moment later, Scar walks into the room.

I start to rise, but Elias is faster. He pops up with a brilliant grin, hustling across the floor toward her.

“My favorite client!” he exclaims, his voice a delighted sing–song. “It is so wonderful to see you! I was hoping we’d meet again.”

Scar stands frozen, her eyes wide, as this stranger closes the distance, wraps his arms around her, and pulls her into a tight hug.

Shit! No.