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June was lying on my thighs, half asleep.
“Come on, baby, let me take you to your room.” I lifted June and carefully walked up to her room. I tucked her in bed, then got up to leave. “I’ve called your teachers to let them know what happened to you. I was thinking you could use a few more days to rest up.”
“Will you stay home with me?” June asked.
I smiled and pinched her cheeks playfully. “I will have to check my calendar first, baby, but I’m sure we can work it out.” I had already decided before then that I would be working from home for the rest of the week.
It was going to mean inconveniencing Amy, but I was certain she would understand.
I kissed my baby goodnight and exited the room. The crazy thing was, no one had spoken about what happened on the wedding night—not myself, not Madison. We had been too preoccupied with June’s emergency. Perhaps it was for the best. I didn’t wish to say anything stupid to hurt Madison any further.
As the days went by, I found myself thinking about her a lot, especially reliving memories of our nights together. I relished every memory of it.
Chapter 8
Madison
I woke up a bit late the next morning. Evidently, my body was trying to make up for the night at the hospital. I hated hospitals. The last time I visited one, one of my friends back at the orphanage was struggling for his life. Maybe it was just my personal bias, but I felt like they didn’t do enough to save his life, probably because he didn’t have wealthy parents who were willing to spare every expense to save his life.
I got out of bed and went straight to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Maria wasn’t in the kitchen, surprisingly so.
I could hear Hudson’s voice in the living room as he tried to appeal to Amy.
“He’s not going to like this, Hudson. You know this,” Amy said.
“I know, Amy, but I could try talking to him if you want. It’s just for the week. I promise you’ll get an extra week to compensate. It’s not a cancellation of your honeymoon. You’re just putting it on hold for the week for the sake of your favorite niece.”
“You know, I still can’t believe June was hospitalized for more than twenty-four hours, and you wouldn’t call me. Why are you bent on turning me into an irresponsible auntie?”
“It was just allergies, Amy. Plus, I was there with her, and Madison, too. I didn’t think it was necessary to disrupt your bouts of matrimonial sex,” Hudson teased.
“You’re an asshole, Hudson Powell! Make no mistakes about it!”
Hudson’s laughter lingered for a while before it was disrupted by Amy’s voice once more.
“I’ll drop by to see her later today. Do take care of her,” Amy said.
“You know I will,” Hudson replied.
I had walked into the room just as he was about to end the call. June was playing a game on her father’s iPad with a headset placed over her ears.
“Good morning.” Hudson greeted me with a smile. His smile made me feel warm on my inside. I tried hard not to blush.
“Good morning. Sorry, I’m up late,” I said.
“That’s totally fine. I hope you’re well rested now.”
“Oh, yeah. Hospital beds truly sabotage the beauty of sleep.”
He laughed at my joke and then placed his phone on the table in front of him.
“What’s she doing?” I said in a whisper, pointing in June’s direction.
“Why did you suddenly begin to whisper? You see the headset over her ears, right? She can’t hear you.”
He continued to laugh—at me this time.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at work, though?” I asked.
