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A small hand slapping my face pulls me from my sleep. I open my eyes to find the same shade staring back at me with a curious expression.
Somehow, Liam ended up in bed with Rose and me last night. She must have brought him back with her after getting up in the middle of the night to feed him. While I understand her need to keep him close, I sure hope it doesn’t become a thing because there’s nothing like a baby in bed to kill the mood in the morning.
Liam reaches out again and latches onto my nose this time. The boy has a strong grip for an infant, leaving me impressed and highly proud.
He’s so innocent and pure. His whole life stretches out before him. What kind of man will he grow up to be? Will he want to be in the life? Or keep to the edge? Will he prefer the logic of science, the freedom of art, or the strategy of battle? Whatever he chooses, though, I will give him the chance to discover his passion for himself and be there to support him when he does. It’s funny how my priorities have shifted now that I’m no longer the heir of the family and able to give Liam that freedom that I wasn’t awarded by my father.
Liam shifts his hand and sets his palm on my cheek, probably more by accident then intention. We lock eyes, and for a moment, I see the future I want for him, for us all. A future that includes more mornings like this with a few more siblings. The image sends an electric shock of protective emotion directly to my heart.
“Good morning.” I keep my voice low to avoid waking Rose up.
Reaching out, I trace down his soft, chubby cheek, completely in awe of the little human we created. His hair is a lighter shade with hints of red, and his eyes are the same light hazel as mine. I may be biased, but he’s a cute baby who will grow into a handsome man. A heartbreaker in the making. If our son is this perfect, I’m concerned about what our daughter could look like. I’ll probably end up killing more than a dozen men just for looking at her wrong. Better yet, maybe I should just lock her up until she’s thirty. Actually, I like that idea better.
My phone buzzes on the nightstand. I reach behind me and glance at the screen.
Dominic: My dad’s got the doctor in the white room. Your dad wants you here.
Me: Excellent. I’ll be there in an hour. Don’t have too much fun without me.
Dominic: I can’t make that promise. I didn’t get much sleep last night and haven’t had my coffee yet.
Rolling my eyes, I put my phone down and turn back to Liam and his mom. Rose peacefully sleeps with her mouth popped open in the cutest little O. The morning sunlight highlights her bruises, but I’m pleased they’re starting to heal around the edges already. Although some bruises can’t be seen, I hope those hidden ones continue to heal and fade until they’re nothing more than a memory.
It’ll be hard to leave her, but a skeleton in my closet needs burying before we can move forward. I need to know why the doctor lied last year. Not once, not twice, but three times. Once, I could write off as an accident, a false negative. But three times? No. Something more is happening here, and I intend to understand whatever it is.
Behind Liam, Rose takes a deep breath and blinks awake. Her eyes lock on Liam’s wiggling body right away.
“Good morning.”
She glances up and smiles at me softly. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she says, “Morning. Sorry if Liam woke you up. He was a little fussy last night, probably because of the time apart, and wouldn’t let me put him down. So I brought him in here with every intention of taking him back when he fell asleep…but I guess I fell asleep instead.”
I lean forward and kiss Liam’s forehead, savoring the unique smell only a baby has. “That’s alright. It was a nice surprise to wake up to you both. How did you sleep? Any nightmares?”
“Not a single one.” Rose smiles.
“Are you saying I’m to thank?” I cock a brow and chuckle when she rolls her eyes at my question. After the marathon session of orgasms I gave her last night, she better have slept soundly.
“Don’t let it go to your head.”
“Too late.”
She playfully shoves my shoulder before cuddling up around Liam. The baby makes a gurgling sound that I assume means he’s happy, but I don’t speak baby so it’s hard to tell.
“What time is it?” she asks.
“A little before nine. There’s an issue at work that needs my attention.” Her responding frown is adorable. She chews on her bottom lip, and I move my thumb to pop the offending part from her teeth. The only one of us biting her lips will be me. “What is it?”
“The last time you left me alone…” She looks away, but I understand. The last time she was left with her thoughts, she suffered a panic attack. She’s afraid it’ll happen again without me here.
“Do you think Gabriella could come over?”
Now, that’s a wonderful idea. “I’ll ask her. I’m sure she would love to.” I reach for my phone before I stop when a better idea strikes me. “Wait. I have an idea. I’ll be right back.” I carefully jump off the bed and hurry out of the room.
Swinging into my office, I grab what I need from my desk and return to find that she has moved to the edge of the bed with Liam nestled between pillows behind her.Rubbing the remnants of sleep from her eyes, she watches curiously as I hand her the rectangular black box.
“What is this?”
I eye the box in her hand and chuckle. “It’s called a phone, sweetheart.”
