The way a family should be.

His family.

As Benji looked from Angie’s profile to Lucy, he couldn’t help but think of Ava and Leary. How he was going to make them proud by loving these two women with all the fierceness in the world. The guilt was still there in the background at being so happy, but he decided that was something he’d have to live with because he wasn’t living without his girls.

As they signed the paperwork the judge had given Mark, Benji’s hand shook so badly, but he was able to get his signature on the paper. He couldn’t help but grin at Lucy as she signed too. They even had Angie sign below their names, and when she looked up at them, the future in her eyes, Benji had to do everything to keep it together.

When Mark handed back the paperwork, the judge stamped it and nodded, looking up at Benji, Lucy, and Angie.

“I’m going to metaphorically take off my judge’s robes here for a second, since I know you to be good, Christian people. A child you raise will likely be your greatest contribution to God’s kingdom, not your own acts. And I truly believe that a family is God’s masterpiece. Benjamin, you are getting the gift of something truly special. A beautiful young lady who you will help mold into an adult who will mirror you and your wife,” he said. He paused as lips curved, and Benji’s body broke out in gooseflesh. He swore he heard Autumn ask once against if the judge had said wife, and he almost looked to Lucy. Hadn’t she told her mother that they had to get married for this to happen? Before he could, though, the judge captured his gaze. “I am very proud of the three people I see in front of me, and I will never forget this case. I pray that you live long, happy lives—and that the teenage years don’t drive you into the ground.”

They laughed, Benji’s face hurting from smiling so hard as he looked down at Angie. As much as he wanted to believe she would be a great teenager, he would never forget the story of Lucy Sinclair as one. Or hell, himself.

They were doomed.

But he didn’t care as long as he was with Lucy, being doomed together.

“So let’s get this started, huh?” the judge asked and they all grinned up at him.

Benji actually held his breath as he squeezed Angie’s hand.

“By the power vested in me by the state of Tennessee, I approve this adoption by Mr. Benjamin Walter Paxton of Angela Lynn Hart, who will now be known as Angela Lynn Paxton. May God always be with your family.”

Before his gavel could even hit the desk, Benji had Angie in his arms and she let out a whoop of excitement, hugging him tightly. Kissing her hard, he squeezed her as the room broke out in applause. Pulling back to look at him, she grinned, her green eyes twinkling as she asked, “So you’re, like, really my dad now, right?”

“Really.”

“And we’re a family, right, Mom?” she asked Lucy as Benji wrapped her up too.

“Yes, honey, we are,” Lucy cried, leaning against her husband.

“Cool,” she decided, and they laughed, probably to keep the tears at bay.

“You know what that means, right?” he asked and Angie beamed.

“We’re going to Disney World!”

“Yup.”

“Yay!” Angie cheered as Benji’s eyes flooded with tears.

Lucy eyed him. “But the real question is are we sleeping in the castle?”

“Pfft. I’m Benji Paxton, the leading scoring defensemen in the league—”

“No, you’re not,” Lucy said.

“On the Assassins?”

“Nope, Jayden is,” Angie said, and he thought that over.

“Fine. Of course we are, because I paid a lot of money to do it,” he decided, and that had Lucy cracking up as Angie wrapped her arms around him, kissing him hard on the cheek. He was grinning from ear to ear as they started toward the back where everyone was waiting. But before they could even get that far, Autumn stopped them.

“Lucy Lane, did you marry this man and not tell me?”

Laughing, Benji looked over at Lucy. She pointed to her mother. “Well, you see…what had happened was… We couldn’t finalize the adoption unless Benji was her stepparent. So we got married,” she said and Autumn’s eyes widened.

“You mean to tell me like you did before, like Jayden, like Jace, you ran off and didn’t give me a wedding? Lucy! What in the world?”

But Lucy held her hands up. “I swear, I am having a big ol’ wedding later. We just wanted to be complete, Mom. You can’t be mad at that, can you?”

Autumn paused, her eyes narrowing, and while Benji knew she was annoyed, she wasn’t mad. She was too happy to be mad. River wrapped his arms around her and beamed at them. “No, sweetheart, we can’t. Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” she said, looking up at him. “We’re pretty happy.”

“We are,” he agreed as he looked out at the crowd. Shea and Elli Alder grinned back at him, with Jordie and Kacey Thomas beside them. Everyone he loved was there. His teammates, his family, all of them grinning, so proud and supportive. He couldn’t have gotten through the last couple months without a lot of them—but most of all, he couldn’t have done it without Lucy.

Looking at her, he grinned as her eyes glossed over, and he whispered, “I can’t believe this.”

“I can’t either,” she admitted, going up on her toes and kissing his jaw. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”