He was very pink. His eyes were scrunched tight, just like his fists. He looked disgruntled at the world. And he was right, of course. The fluorescents were much too bright.
Skylar pressed him against his chest like two puzzle pieces falling into place. The love shining in his eyes was brighter than the sun.
“He’s perfect,” Skylar murmured. He glanced up at me with tears in his eyes, then laughed softly. “Thanks for helping me make him.”
I grinned and kissed Skylar’s forehead. “You’re welcome.” Then mischievously, I added, “I can always help you make another, like you said earlier.”
“Gonna have to think long and hard about that one,” Skylar mumbled, a smirk at the corners of his lips. “So. That name we discussed earlier. Since I won, I’ll be naming him.”
I smiled, knowing the whole thing was just us being playful, and I would have been okay with any of the names on the list--but knowing Skylar was the final one to decide was fine by me.
The nurse finally gave the pack of people waiting to come inside the green light, and they streamed inside with little gasps and wide eyes. Jake was practically mewling like he’d never seen a baby before, even though he’d given birth to his own. Beside him, Griffin was smiling wide. Finn was asleep, passed out over Griffin’s shoulder after the long labor proved to be exceedingly boring for a toddler.
Kaden has his hand covering his mouth, like the sight took him by surprise. He almost looked like he was going to cry. Cash stood behind him, and was the first to congratulate Skylar on his delivery before everyone else chimed in.
“So, are you gonna keep the name to yourselves or what?” Jake prompted. “Otherwise I’m gonna start thinking you spent the last nine months doing nothing.”
Skylar laughed, then exchanged glances with me. “I chose the name, so you can tell them.”
“Oh, thanks for the honor,” I said, bowing as Skylar rolled his eyes at me. I carefully picked up our son, still not used to the lightness of his weight in my arms. “Everyone, meet Beau.”
Skylar beamed with pride as I held our son. I noticed Beau blinking, and saw his eyes were light, just like Skylar’s. Combined with his dark hair, he seemed to be a perfect, beautiful little combination of the two of us.
And I’d never loved anything more than him.
23
Skylar
Beau definitely took after Rafael in the miscreant department.
He wasn’t a particularly loud baby, but he was fussy and demanding. Milk, blankets, toys, anything he could get his little fists on, he wanted. Yet always managing to do it in a charming way that made me laugh more than it annoyed me.
Still, the first few months were much different than Rafael and I expected, even after researching and planning and listening to Jake and Felix’s newborn stories. I was glad to get a few months off work, since taking care of Beau was practically its own full-time job.
Demon was great with the baby--well, as good as a cat can be, anyway. She mostly ignored him, since he didn’t do much except cry and poop, and he wouldn’t do much else until he was mobile and learning to talk. I had a mental image in my head of the two of them being best friends, a little baby and a little black cat, but only time would tell if that was true.
And most importantly, it turned out the Swedish crib that Griffin and Raf made together was put-together well enough for a baby after all.
* * *
“Bobo,”Finn said.
“No, honey. Beau.Beau.One word, one syllable,” Jake said gently.
Griffin snorted. “Don’t think he knows what a syllable is.”
Jake sighed. He held the bundled-up Beau in his lap while Griffin juggled the increasingly-rambunctious Finn in his arms. Beau looked like a blue loaf of bread while Finn looked like a pink spider monkey attempting to crawl all over the tree that was his father.
“Are you sure this is okay?” I asked again for the umpteenth time.
“Yes, you newbies,” Jake said with a scoff. “I’ve got more experience with babies than you, remember? We’ll be just fine.”
Beau started to fuss softy and I bit my lip, resisting the urge to go and retrieve him from Jake’s capable arms. But Jake just soothed him and offered his pacifier, shooting me a look that saidstay back, overprotective parent.
“It’s only one sleepover,” Griffin said. “We can handle it.”
Rafael shrugged. “See, Sky? They’ve got everything under control.”
