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“Your mom called me too,” he says, eyes still on the baby. “She chewed me out for not having her over at the house yet, but I think she was mostly kidding. Maybe. He’s a few weeks old now and we have a routine down, so maybe we can have your mom and sisters over? My grandma’s been asking about the baby too.”
I laugh. “I’ll tell my mom she can come over tomorrow. She’s been blowing up my phone too. We’ll see how that visit goes, then invite everyone else over after. Does that work for you?”
Rudy nods, flicking his eyes up to mine. “Yeah.” He smiles, returning his gaze to the baby in his arms.
What is it about attractive men holding babies? It’s got to be the hottest thing in the universe, which is saying something because right now, sex is the furthest thing from my mind—but the sight of Rudy feeding my child with love in his eyes makes my body freeze, emotion rooting my feet to the ground.
How could I get so lucky? How did I manage to find a man who can treat this child like his own, then look at me like I’m the best thing that ever happened to him?
“I don’t deserve you,” I blurt.
Rudy stops rocking, puts the now-empty bottle aside, then shifts Liam to his shoulder. He walks toward me while gently patting the baby’s back, his hand spanning almost the entire width of Liam’s tiny body.
Rudy moves toward me until he’s standing just inches from me. His eyes hold mine for a beat, then he shakes his head. “Lily, out of the two of us, the lucky one is me.”
“You really believe that,” I whisper.
His eyes crinkle as those beautiful, masculine lips curl into a smile. “Of course I do. I love you, Lily. And I love Liam too.” Still holding the baby against his shoulder, he reaches over to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “You want coffee?”
I blink, unable to process the question because Rudy just said he loves me, and it sounded like he really meant it. Gaping at him, I stand rooted to the spot until my man lets out a little chuckle. He ducks his head and kisses me softly, then moves down the hall, all while burping my baby.
Our baby.
Jaw hanging open, I listen to his retreating footsteps until I hear a kitchen cupboard closing and a mug being placed on the counter. Then I follow behind him and accept a steaming mug of coffee from the man of my dreams.
Staring into the brown liquid, I wait until the baby is burped and settled in his cot before moving to intercept Rudy when he makes his way back to the coffeemaker. I put my hands on his chest and lift my eyes up to meet his.
“I love you too, Rudy,” I whisper, the words rough in my throat.
He takes one hand in his and lifts it up to kiss my fingers. “Good,” he says. “Because I’m not letting you go.”
“Right back at you,” I say, a smile blooming over my lips. “So if you ever get sick of seeing this body that’s been sliced open and stitched back up, well, too bad. There’s no trading me in for a younger version.”
Rudy’s shoulders soften as he runs his hands up my sides to rest on my rib cage. He pulls me close, resting his forehead against mine. “Your scars don’t scare me, Lily. They never will. They make you who you are, and that’s the woman I’ve fallen in love with.”
A last hard knot unwinds in the pit of my stomach, and I find myself melting into his arms. My life hasn’t been a fairy tale, but I’m starting to think I might get my happily-ever-after.
A few weeks later, when my family and friends have all met the baby and elbowed their way back into my life, I realize that I’m well and truly settled. Being with Rudy every day no longer terrifies me, nor does it feel stifling to have my family around to rely on. I’m not a burden to them; I never was. Therapy helps, of course, especially while my postpartum hormones wreak havoc on my body and mind. I’ll get through that too, though, because for the first time since I was a teenager, I have a home.
As that reality really sinks in, I sit back on the sofa watching the early spring sun pierce through the clouds outside, and I find myself on the phone with my sister Trina.
“So your salon appointment is at three o’clock, and we’re heading to the Cedar Grove around six.”
Chewing my lip, I let out a sigh. My eyes move to the baby sleeping next to me, and I find myself stroking his tiny, soft hands. “I don’t know, Trina. Girls’ Night doesn’t really seem important right now.”
There’s shuffling on the phone, and Simone’s voice comes through the line. “Girls’ Night is sacred,” she intones. “And you haven’t had more than an hour off since Liam was born. So from six to eight, you’ll be with us drinking bad wine and singing Mariah Carey songs at top volume. Got it?”
The front door opens and Rudy enters, wearing suit pants and a shirt with the top two buttons undone. He crosses the distance to me in mere steps, placing a kiss on the top of my head before bending down to do the same to Liam. “Is that your sister? I’ve been told I’m on baby duty from six to eight tonight.”
My lips twitch. “You guys set me up,” I tell Simone in my best, hardest accusatory tone. “You got Rudy in on it too.”
“Good. We’ll see you at six.” She moves the phone away and I hear her tell Trina to cancel my salon appointment. Moving the phone back to talk to me, she says, “There. I cleared your schedule. Six o’clock. Got that, Lily?”
The smile tugging at my lips grows to the full breadth of my face. “Got it.”
As soon as I’m off the phone, Rudy hauls me into his arms and kisses me hungrily, his hands sinking into the flesh on my hips. He smooths his hands over me, humming against my lips. “Still as hot as ever.”
A spark ignites between my legs. “It’s been long enough.” A hoarse whisper. “My OB cleared me for sex.”
