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I settle in the plush rocking chair set up in the corner, holding Hope while she sleeps soundly against my chest. Ace texts me a few times, but I ignore the messages, content to stay where I am with my girls.
This is it, this right here in this room is everything I need in the world. Fuck, this is my whole world.
I feel like a blubbering fool, like a fucking punk crying like the little girl in my arms. Hell, she cries less than I have over the past few hours, but I just can’t fucking help it.
“I’ll always keep you safe,” I whisper to Hope. “Daddy will make sure the whole world is yours.”
It’s a promise I damn sure intend to keep.
CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE
Sophie
“What’s all this?” The hospital room looks like it’s been visited by the cast of a cooking show with food piled on every available surface.
“I thought you might be hungry,” Tank says easily. “But I didn’t know what you were in the mood for.”
This man.My heart clenches at the shy expression on his face, like he’s unsure of himself. It’s so unlike the big bad, former SEAL I know and love. “Thank you.”
“Anytime,” he shrugs. “How are you feeling?”
“Good. Not as tired as yesterday,” I admit. “My boobs are a little sore. It took Hope a minute to latch on.” But once she did, the sight of her feeding the way nature intended brought me to tears.
“Want a massage?” He wiggles his brows, a playful smile on his handsome face.
“I’d love one, but we’ve got weeks to go before we can see that massage to its inevitable conclusion.”
“Just a massage, Sophie. For now.”
I let out a swoony sigh at his offer. For the past seventy-two hours, Tank has been nothing short of perfect, keeping me fed and relaxed. He even massaged my legs and feet because he said the stirrups looked uncomfortable. He brushed my hair and even helped me get in and out of the bed. “What did I do to deserve you?”
“You were just you, Sophie. I love you.” It’s the second time he’s said the words to me, and my heart soars, my soul calls out to this man as if he’s the one made just for me. “Eat,” he orders in that sexy, commanding tone.
“I can’t. My vagina hurts. Every time the baby latches on, I get cramps, and I want to scream. I feel like I’m having another baby. That shit hurts.”
“I’m sorry, babe. Anything I can do to help?”
“No, just let me bitch about it,” I say and pick at some fruit. Tank’s so good with Hope, already protective as hell even with the nurses.
When I woke up in the middle of the night, he was whispering something to her I couldn’t hear, and my heart nearly fell out of my chest. Pretty sure my ovaries exploded.
Tank looks at me with a wide smile so full of love I can’t breathe.
“Josie stopped by earlier this morning with a shit ton of things for you and the baby.” He smiles, nodding to the stack of gift boxes in the corner.
“I love you.” I blurt the words out with a bite of cantaloupe still in my mouth. It’s not how I pictured telling this man I love him for the first time, but nothing about our firsts have been perfect. We fucked for the first time in a supply closet instead of a rose-covered bed. He was in jail when I told him we were having a baby. It’s only right that I have no make-up on, a hospital gown and fruit in my teeth when I tell him I love him.
His expression brightens and then a gorgeous, heart-stopping smile spreads across his face. “I love you too, babe.” He leans forward and pulls me close for a kiss. “And I love your cantaloupe kisses.”
I laugh and shove him playfully, sighing at the normalcy of us being together like this. Like a family.
A knock sounds on the door and when it opens, it’s Stone. He flashes a wide smile at me, and it fades as he turns to Tank. “We need to get back ASAP. Got some info from the Reapers.”
I watch Tank’s expression go from calm and easygoing to tense, like someone had just flipped a switch on his emotions. “Got it.” His gaze is fixed on the door until it closes completely. “When you’re good to go, we have to get back to the clubhouse.”
I frown. “Doc says we’re okay to leave today, but I don’t know what time. And we can’t go to the clubhouse. We have nothing there for Hope.”
He sighs. “There’s enough there to make it through a few days. If we need more, we’ll get it. Lockdown is still in effect,” he tells me with regret. “Has been this whole time, but I’m here with you.”
