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And then she had simply rocked her, held her. She had very little memory of going to bed. But when she woke up that morning, cocooned in impossible softness, she was nearly afraid to open her eyes. If she did, would she be gone? Would her baby be gone?
Would she wake up and find that she was actually just still Riot, sad and alone in Georgia having had no adventures, and no life-changing loves?
But she opened her eyes and saw that pink canopy cloud, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
She would take not remembering if she was able to wake up here. She would take it every day if she had to.
Krav was nowhere to be found that morning, so she went and got Soriya out of bed, and played with her. She was so...she was so happy with how easily her daughter took to her.
She found herself weeping often throughout the day, and she wondered if there was a time when she wouldn’t feel overwhelmed by emotion over the situation. But she didn’t mind. Not now.
“He brought her to see you every day.”
She was getting assistance from the nanny still, it was helpful, and she didn’t want to take a steady caregiver away from Soriya while she was still getting used to Riot.
It hurt. It hurt to realize that this other woman had spent more time with her baby than she had.
But she was a soft, grandmotherly figure, and as long as Riot thought of her that way, it settled all right.
Particularly since her own mother would never make a good grandmother to Soriya.
She wondered about Krav’s mother. Wondered if she was still alive. If Soriya would have any grandparents...
“He did?”
“Yes. It was very important to him that she knew you.”
She was touched by that.
Later, they went outside and she laid out a blanket for Soriya, and the nanny left the two of them alone to simply enjoy their time together.
She smiled as she watched her little girl crawl around, from the blanket to the grass.
And she looked up at the blue sky and wondered how she had gotten quite so lucky.
It was still like a dream, but over the next few days she woke up every morning and it seemed to remain.
She made going and lying on the lawn with Soriya a routine. And it was wonderful. If there was anything that settled uneasily in her it was her relationship with Krav. She couldn’t quite... She couldn’t quite square up the way that she felt around him with the fact that they were supposed to be in love. There was attention there. Something that she couldn’t quite readily define. He was so kind. And incredibly patient.
But her afternoons were happiest when it was just her and Soriya. Because at least there everything seemed simple.
She stared up at the sky, her beautiful child next to her, and for the first time, things in her life felt...
Perfect.
Krav watched her from his position on the balcony. He pressed his hands firmly into the marble as he gazed down at her below.
The sight of her with the child made him feel an intense sense of possessiveness.
That he had nearly lost them both seemed unconscionable now.
But they were here. They were here and they were his. And it was time. She had been awake for a week, and he had kept a respectable distance. Trying to gauge exactly what was happening with her memory.
It seemed to him—Doctor though he was not—that there was no point waiting around to see if it might return. She was happy. He would do his best to make her his.
And once those things were accomplished, there would be no question about her remaining with him. With Soriya.
It was what she wanted, after all. Or had been. He was not a man given to self reflection, but he knew that he had reacted...badly. He was not a man given to regret either, but it had been a constant gnawing regret ever since.
