‘Sure you did.’
‘Cole,’ I hiss, ‘I’m going to murder you slowly in your sleep for this.’
He strokes my jaw, eyes overflowing with love. ‘Not before you give me our daughter.’
That does it.
My heart squeezes.
My throat burns.
I push.
I scream.
The midwife says something encouraging, but all I hear is Cole.
‘That’s it, baby. That’s it. I’m right here. I’ve got you. She’s almost here.’
And then?—
A cry pierces the air. A tiny, furious, life affirming cry.
And it’s the most perfect sound I’ve ever heard.
My whole world stops.
‘She’s here,’ Cole breathes, voice cracking. ‘Zara—look. She’s here.’
Tears stream down my cheeks as Dr Kensington places our baby on my chest. My heart swells, then explodes into a trillion pieces. Cole watches on with an expression of utter awe.
‘Hi, princess,’ I whisper, tears spilling hot and fast. ‘Hi, my gorgeous girl.’
A stray tear streaks his cheek. He swipes it away swiftly.
He’s crying. The man who stared down my brothers without blinking, who charged into a burning building like it was a minor inconvenience, is openly weeping as he puts his baby finger in our daughter’s curled up little fist. ‘I love you,’ he chokes out—to me, to her, to all of us. ‘God, Zara, I love you both so much.’
‘Hi Tierney,’ I whisper, as our tiny, perfect miracle snuggles into my chest, her other tiny fist gripping my gown like she already owns me.
She owns both of us.
‘Cole?’ I whisper.
He lifts his red-rimmed eyes to mine. ‘Yeah, sweetheart?’
‘I changed my mind.’
He blinks. ‘About what?’
‘Sex. I will absolutely have sex with you again. In about… six months. Because I’m going to need more babies. A house full of them.’
Do I still want to run the most successful Beckett subsidiary?
Absolutely.
I excel at overachieving.
His deep, rich laughter fills the air, along with Dr Kensington’s and the midwife.
