32. Chapter Thirty-Two ~ Emma
Chapter Thirty-Two ~ Emma
Staring down at the infant in my arms, I can’t imagine anything more amazing. Anything more amazing than this.
“She’s beautiful,” I murmur, more to myself than anything, but Chris is right beside me, staring at the baby with just as much awe as I have.
In fact, he’s been surprising me all along through this process. And now, after seeing and experiencing everything that he did for me throughout my labor, I’m definitely surprised, but pleased at the same time.
“She’s just like her mother,” he replies, reaching out to gently touch her hand with one finger. His motions are slow, more gentle than I would have imagined was possible from him, but he’s definitely acting like he thinks the baby might break.
Though to be honest I think I am, too.
She just seems so small. And so fragile.
Mom and Leann have stepped outside for a few minutes to give us a little time to just relax. And have some time with our baby without them hovering over. I’m enjoying having Chris right here, his arm draped around my shoulders as he leans in.
“We never discussed what we were going to name her,” he says and I hesitate a moment.
“I had … thought about it.”
“And what did you decide on?” I feel a little nervous to tell him, especially because he’s right; we didn’t talk about it before.
“I … was thinking of Chloe.”
“It’s a nice name,” he tells me and I breathe a sigh of relief.
I was worried he wouldn’t like it and we’d be trying to find a name for our daughter for a while.
Our daughter.
The words bounce around in my head over and over again and I can’t help but smile brighter as I stare at her. I also can’t seem to take my eyes off her.
“Chloe Mackenzie,” he adds and it’s perfect. The perfect name for our perfect little girl.
“Chloe Mackenzie Warren,” I finish, and now it’s his turn to smile so bright it seems to light up the room.
“But the question is … will she have the same last name as her mother?” he asks and my mind dashes back to where we left things. Where we were just before I started feeling the contractions. And the fact that he proposed. He actually proposed!
“I’m not sure, where were we exactly?” I ask, feigning ignorance and the look he gives me says he sees right through me. But he doesn’t care.
Because right there, in that hospital room, he gets down on one knee again. One of his hands resting on my knee, as close to Chloe as he can reach from his current position.
“Emma Randolph, this has already been the most amazing day of my life, because you’ve given me the most beautiful baby girl imaginable. But will you make it even better by agreeing to be my wife?”
“Yes,” I reply, because my heart is constricting at the perfection of this moment. Of being here, with my brand-new baby girl, and the man I love on one knee in front of me.
Though a part of me would love to draw it out, to tease him, the larger part says that there will be plenty of time for all of that in the future. And that right now, this is about how much I absolutely love him, and the little family that we’ve created.
He stands then and digs into his pocket because now he’s not holding the ring. But luckily he knows where it is. And I get my first glimpse of the gorgeous thing when he slides it onto my finger, because when he held it out the last time I wasn’t paying attention.
Now, however, I can fully appreciate the beautiful ring, and especially the unfamiliar weight on my hand.
“Are we able to come back in?” Leann’s voice startles me from the doorway and I give a wry grin to Chris but nod my head.
“Of course,” I agree and the two of them bustle in, both leaning over Chloe, murmuring softly and touching her little fingers or toes.
“She’s beautiful,” Leann tells me, which is also what she said when Chloe was first born. But I know that Leann probably really does feel that way, no matter what Chloe looks like. And so do I.
A look over at Chris says he certainly agrees and then there’s a loud squeal that causes me to turn my head sharply.
“Is that a ring? I think that’s a ring! Emma, is that a ring?” She’s ecstatic already. Her voice betrays her right off the bat and I can’t help but laugh.
“Yes, that’s a ring.”
Immediately she grabs my hand, examining it closely with a whole lot more squealing and shrieking, which keeps Mom away for a few minutes. But even she can’t stay away long because I can tell she’s excited, taking a look at the ring on my hand and then smiling at all three of us.
“You have a beautiful baby,” she tells me gently. “And it’s a beautiful ring. You’re going to be a beautiful family.”
She leans in to kiss me on the forehead like she always did when I was little and everything feels … right.
“We’re all a family,” I reply with a smile at her and Leann. “And I cannot wait to get home to enjoy it.”
“That will happen soon enough,” she promises and then gives me and Chris both a hug. “In the meantime, enjoy being here, with your baby, and your fiancé.”
Fiancé. It’s strange to think of him as that. But at the same time, the thought of it makes me smile.
Everything is turning out so well … and I can’t imagine anything better.
3 Months Later
It’s strange leaving Chloe somewhere without me. Even though I’m only going to dinner and then in the house right across the yard. And I’m leaving her with Mom and Leann.
“She’s going to be just fine,” Mom says, seeming to sense my concern. She gives me an indulgent smile and a hug, but makes no move to take Chloe until I finally hand her over. And even then I have to give her another hug and a kiss before I can make myself leave.
When I arrive back in the house, Chris is waiting, swooping me into his arms and kissing me sweetly, though there’s still plenty of power and passion in that kiss.
“She’s going to be just fine,” he tells me, somehow knowing exactly what I was thinking. But then, he always seems to.
“I know. I know Mom and Leann will take great care of her. I just … it’s strange to leave her. To be anywhere without her.”
“I know what you mean,” he agrees. “The first day I went back to the club and I wasn’t around her all the time … it was hard.”
It took him a few weeks to even do that. And as soon as I brought Chloe home it became extremely clear to me that I didn’t want to go back to work. Because I didn’t want to leave her, a fact that my boss seemed thrilled enough with.
I glance over at Chris remembering the way he tried to hide a grin when I told him I wouldn’t be coming back to work. And the way he managed to refrain from saying ‘I told you so’ or anything similar.
“Are you ready to go?” he asks and I take a deep breath then nod.
It’s just dinner. And then we’ll be right back here. Not that far away from her. It’s going to be just fine.
And even though we’re both constantly thinking about Chloe,and talking about Chloe, we manage to have a good dinner.
“Can you believe it’s been one year since you came up to my office for that first meeting?”
“You mean one year since you called me away from work for a booty call?” I retort, raising an eyebrow at him.
The grin on his face is wide and entirely unapologetic. Not that I really expected anything else. Of course he wouldn’t be ashamed of it.
“You were quite a sight, Sweetheart, and that sight has only gotten better.”
“Good answer for the woman who just gave birth to your child three months ago,” I tease and he grabs my hand from the table, kissing the back of it.
“And that is another thing that I can never thank you enough for. For being the mother of my child. For giving me such an amazing, beautiful little girl.”
“You know I didn’t really fulfill my part of the contract.”
He looks confused at that, his brow furrowed, and I can’t help but smile.
“You wanted a child to carry on your legacy. And I gave you a daughter, Chris. A little girl that you gave your bloodline to, but she won’t necessarily carry on your family name.”
“Well then, maybe we’ll need to work on that. To make sure that there’s a male heir to the family name, as well.” His grin is a lot more heated now and I can feel my own body heating in response.
“Another child?”
“Do you want more?” he asks me.
“Maybe we wait for more children until after we actually get married though.”
“I can handle that. Though I’m not entirely sure how long I’ll want to wait to get married to you anyway.”
“I don’t want to wait either,” I admit.
“Good.” His fingers rub over the back of my hand and I don’t want to pull away, even when the waiter arrives with our food and awkwardly tries to place it around our clasped hands.
He doesn’t say a word though and simply smiles and walks away, seeming to realize easily enough that we’re in the middle of something.
But then I have to reluctantly sit back so I can dig into the meal in front of me that looks absolutely delicious.
“A full year,” he says as he digs into his own meal. “And things have only gotten better as time has gone by. I never would have imagined that we would be here right now.”
“When you called me up for a one-night stand and then turned that into a proposition for a baby? You didn’t think that the two of us might end up as anything else?”
“Did you?” he asks and I smile.
“No. I never pictured any of this. I thought it would be a fling. And then I thought … maybe like an extended booty call, where I’d be right down the hall all the time. But not this. Never this.” I glance down at the ring on my finger and he practically beams at me.
“Well, Sweetheart, get used to it. Because I don’t plan on ever letting you go.”
“Good. I don’t plan on ever wanting to go,” I reply. “I want to stay here, with you, and Chloe, and however many other children we decide to have, for the rest of my life.”
It’s wonderful to sit here together and to just enjoy the moments. To enjoy the peace and comfort and relaxation and then rush back home so that I can find out how Chloe is.
Mom seems indulgent enough, letting me in so I can see Chloe sleeping in the back bedroom that they’ve converted into an adorable nursery.
Just watching her sleep for a few minutes is enough to help me feel a great deal better. Well enough that I can go back to the house with Chris, immediately wrapping my arms around him and enjoying the way that his mouth feels on mine.
“Mmm, it feels like it’s been way too long since I had time alone with you,” he murmurs. “And absolutely … no … distractions.” Each of his words is followed by kisses along my jaw, then down my neck, then to my chest, what he can see of it from the neckline of my dress.
“That feels good,” I reply with a moan and reach immediately for his shirt, unbuttoning it so I can feel the firm skin of his chest and his stomach.
As my fingers trace over his body he groans and his movements become slightly more hurried, dragging the straps of my dress over my shoulders so he can move more easily over my body, kissing my breasts and then down even lower still.
When his mouth and his tongue tease my center, where I really long for him, I feel my entire body shudder. Yes, it’s been entirely too long for this.
“I want you inside me,” I manage to get out, reaching to grab his shoulders and drag him back up over my body so I can kiss him again. This time my hands are reaching to unbutton his pants and get them out of the way. A feat that doesn’t take much because he kicks them away as soon as I manage to unbutton them with trembling fingers.
It feels like this is our first time together again. I feel overwhelmed. My entire body is heated and wanting. My heart hammers in my chest.
He picks me up then, carrying me to the bedroom so he can practically toss me onto the bed, following me even before I’ve managed to settle into a comfortable position. And then he’s kissing me again, every bit of his passion and desire wrapped into those kisses so that I’m panting with desire myself by the time he finally does enter into me.
My body reacts immediately to the feel of him and I can’t hold back the sharp cry at the pure pleasure of it. And neither can he, his groan audible as he clenches his eyes shut and his entire body tenses.
It takes him a moment to regain his own composure and to begin thrusting into me.
“You are amazing, Baby Girl,” he tells me and my hands clutch onto his shoulders, holding him tightly.
“I love you, Christian,” I murmur and his eyes immediately meet mine, with a new type of fire and passion there.
“And I love you, Emma. And I always will.”