Epilogue
Peyton smiled as Valentino peeled back the wad of wrapping in the crook of his wife’s elbow to reveal his one-hour-old son Ferdinando Lombardi.
She was exhausted from a fifteen-hour labour but somehow still too elated to sleep. Erica had taken her off the nifedipine ten days ago and their son, after wanting out at such an early stage, had finally decided to make an appearance, weighing a very healthy three and a half kilos.
‘Can we come in?’
Peyton looked up to see her parents and McKenzie waiting impatiently in the doorway.
‘McKenzie!’ Valentino held out his arms.
She rushed into the room, her grandparents following at a slightly more sedate pace. Slightly.
Valentino swept McKenzie into his arms and plonked her on the side of the bed. ‘Are you ready to meet your little brother?’ he asked, signing simultaneously.
McKenzie squirmed with barely suppressed excitement. ‘Yes!’
Peyton’s heart burst, still in love with her daughter’s voice as she turned the sleeping bundle in her arms around for a sisterly inspection.
‘This is your brother, Ferdinando,’ Valentino introduced as he signed.
McKenzie looked at him as if he were a baby unicorn she’d found in an enchanted forest, her eyes big and round. ‘Nandi,’ she said, and leaned forward to kiss the tip of her sleeping brother’s nose.
‘Looks like he’s already acquired a nickname,’ Peyton’s mother beamed, reaching forward to gently touch her grandson’s tiny fingers.
Valentino chuckled. ‘I like it.’
Peyton made way for McKenzie to snuggle into her side, and they all gazed at the newest edition to their family. With Nat and Alessandro’s daughter, Rosa, arriving a few weeks earlier, the Australian contingent of Lombardis had doubled.
‘He’s perfect,’ Valentino murmured.
Peyton smiled as her little boy slept. She couldn’t agree more. He was perfect in every way. They were perfect in every way.