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“I forgot about them, actually. I’m crying because of you.” I kiss him. “You were so patient. Thank you so much.”
He pulls the duvet up over us, then slides his arms around me, and we cuddle up close, wrapped around one another.
“I am sorry if I squeezed you to death,” I tell him.
“No apology needed. It was extremely erotic. We’re definitely doing that again.”
I giggle and snuggle closer. “I’m so glad.”
He yawns and sighs. “Sounds like Leia’s asleep.”
“She’s a good girl.” I sigh. “She’ll be our daughter soon.”
“Yeah. It’s funny, isn’t it? Neither of us wanted children, but here we are…”
“Mmm. Strange how the world works.”
“I love you,” he says.
“I love you too.”
And even though it’s not particularly late, we both fall asleep, content in each other’s arms.
*
Over the next few weeks, we have sex a lot.
It’s not a linear thing. It’s not as if it slowly gets better. Sometimes, we get carried away—one of us gets frisky in the middle of the day when Leia’s snoozing, and we close the curtains and just get down to it on the sofa, making the most of the moment, and everything’s fine. At other times, maybe when I have too much time to think, my anxiety gets the better of me, and my body tenses up. But when that happens, James just announces it’s time for a mega kissing session, making me laugh, and then we make out for ages. Sometimes it ends with us making love, at other times Leia wakes and the moment’s gone, but James doesn’t seem bothered by it, and gradually I learn not to worry, because we have all the time in the world.
Leia’s now twenty-three weeks old, and flourishing. Part of me feels sad that she’s too young to miss her birth mother, but mostly I’m pleased that she’s doing so well. It’ll take a while before it doesn’t feel strange to think of myself as her mother, but Leia seems to feel happy with me, and James and I are both looking forward to witnessing her firsts—first word, first solid food, first steps.
James seems happy, too, especially after the coroner’s report comes through which states the cause of Maddie’s death as accidental. At last he seems to be able to put behind him the fear that she took her own life. Then, the day after, we hear that the court has finally granted him the Parenting Order for Leia, so at last we’re on track to adopt her.
Gone is some of the intensity and seriousness that always seemed to surround him in the past. He still misses his sister, but he laughs a lot now, and he’s always ready for a kiss or cuddle. We see the guys he works with a lot, and they tease him that he’s become domesticated, and that they’re going to buy him slippers and a pipe. He bears it good-naturedly, saying they’re just jealous.
I don’t think he’s right where Gaby and Tyson are concerned, and Alex and Missie are obviously happy together. He could be close with Henry, though. I don’t know what’s happening with him and Juliette. He’s been like a bear with a sore head, so something’s obviously bothering him.
I hope he’ll sort it out, whatever it is. I want everyone to be as happy as I am.
On Valentine’s Day, James and I are eating breakfast in the kitchen, with Leia in her highchair, when he says, “Alex is proposing to Missie today.”
“Oh?” I stare at him, delighted. I know the two of them are attending some sci-fi conference in Queenstown with Finn and Zelda.
James finishes off his cereal, then says, “I’ll be back in a sec.” He goes off, then returns a minute later and puts a pretty bag in front of me. “Happy Valentine’s Day,” he murmurs, bending to kiss me.
“Aw. Thank you!” Touched, I open the bag. There’s a card, a large, flattish parcel, and a small square bag. I open the card, read the poem inside, and kiss him. Then I open the large, flat parcel.
I give him a wry look.
He chuckles. “I did promise.” The pearl necklace, together with its matching earrings, gleams in the early morning sunshine.
I brush them with my fingers. They’re obviously real. “It’s lovely, James, thank you so much.”
“And I got you this, too.” He passes me another velvet box. “It struck me that you didn’t have an engagement ring, so…”
I open the box, and my jaw drops. It’s an enormous diamond, sitting on a gold band, with two small diamonds on either side.
“I hope you like it,” he says hopefully.
