Epilogue
“Itold you, he doesn’t like it.”
“Doesn’t like it? Look at him; he loves it!” I laugh at Danielle as she frowns at me.
Alec Junior giggles beneath my touch, but then starts to cry again.
“Baby, he’s hungry.” Danielle sweeps him into her arms, kissing his soft black hair as she settles him at her breast, humming softly.
“Damn, I’d turn down belly tickles for you to—”
“Blake, that’s inappropriate,” Danielle whispers, shaking her head at me good-naturedly as I sigh.
I crawl over to them on my hands and knees, bypassing the diapers and the toys to gaze at my son.
He’s perfect.
His lips wrap around the bud of Danielle’s nipple, and he sucks to his heart’s content, his dark blue eyes rolling back in his head. His button nose and his tuft of hair make him look like a cartoon character.
“I didn’t think I could love anyone more than you,” Danielle murmurs, stroking my hair with her free hand.
“Me neither,” I admit, staring at our son in awe. “There’s no mistaking the James genes in him, huh?”
Danielle laughs, moving her gaze from me to our baby. “No. It’s like I was a human suitcase just to deliver him!”
I can’t stop smiling.
I’m glad he looks just like me because despite the ninety-nine percent test, I needed that extra one percent.
Danielle leans back into the rocking chair, closing her eyes as the sound of Alec Junior feeding fills my ears.
There’s no better sight than the woman you love feeding your child; the tiredness she wears like armor only makes you appreciate her even more.
“You need to let me feed him tonight; you need to sleep.”
Danielle has been pumping so that I can help through the long nights, and after her long-ass birth, she needs to recover.
He’s almost four months old, and I can’t believe how big he is already.
“Plus, my mom is dying to have him overnight…”
Danielle nods, her head lolling to the side as she snuggles with Alec Junior.
A lump fills my throat, and I vow once more that nothing will ever come between us again.
I’d have loved Alec Junior regardless of his father, but the fact that he is mine melts my heart and seals us together as a family.
“I want a thousand more,” I whisper to no one in particular. “And a thousand more lifetimes with you.”
Danielle smiles softly, but she’s half asleep.
I pad over to the bookcase in the corner of the nursery, picking up the framed photograph of my mom and dad grinning back at me from some sun-soaked island.
Tears sting my eyes.
I wish he could’ve met him.
I wish he could’ve seen how in love I am with Danielle.
My wedding ring shimmers in the moonlight, and I stare down at it, twisting it happily.
It may be my imagination, but I could swear my dad winks at me from that photo.
Wishful thinking, perhaps, but I’ll take it.
Thanks for everything, Dad.
I’ll make you proud.
Thank you for reading my book!