Lifting her face, she kissed him, wanting to put the seal on their happiness. Maybe she had stopped believing in happy endings but she had been wrong to do so. She had her very own happy ending right here, although not just an ending but a beginning as well. The beginning of a wonderful new life, loving and living with Sean.
‘I love you,’ she whispered.
‘And I love you too. So very, very much.’
Christmas Eve, one year later...
‘Come on, sweetheart, you’re nearly there! Just one more push and you’ll do it.’
‘You want to try pushing,’ Molly muttered, screwing up her face as another contraction began. She clung tight hold of Sean’s hand as she worked through it, her heart lifting when a second later she heard the tiny cry of a newborn baby. ‘What is it—a boy or a girl?’ she demanded, lifting herself up on her elbows.
‘A boy—a beautiful, perfect little boy,’ Sean told her, his deep voice choked with tears. Bending, he kissed her cheek. ‘Thank you so much, my love. I didn’t think I could be any happier since we got married but I was wrong. Having you and now our son is like having all my dreams come true.’
‘Mine too,’ she told him, smiling into his eyes.
They had married in the spring, shortly after Molly had discovered that she was pregnant. Sean was surprisingly old-fashioned about such things and had wanted their baby to be born into a traditional family setting. Everyone had been delighted, Sean’s parents and hers—even Claire’s parents had sent them a card on their wedding day. It felt as though everyone had moved on and now, with a new baby to celebrate, the future looked rosier than ever.
‘So what are we going to call him?’ Sean handed the squalling infant to her, perching on the edge of the bed so he could examine his new son’s tiny fingers and toes. ‘We’ve changed our minds so many times that I can’t remember what we finally decided on.’
Molly laughed. ‘It was Sam for a boy, but would you mind if we changed it?’
‘Again?’ Sean rolled his eyes. ‘What to this time?’
‘Joseph. It just seems fitting for the time of year, don’t you think?’
‘Mary and Joseph and the Nativity, you mean?’ He nodded. ‘Yes, I like it. Joseph Fitzgerald. It has a definite ring to it.’
He picked up the baby’s hand and solemnly shook it. ‘Welcome to the family, young Joseph. I know that you are going to be very happy because you have the best mum in the whole wide world.’
‘And the best dad too,’ Molly added, dropping a kiss on the baby’s downy head.