EPILOGUE
Five months later
‘WHATBIGLUNGS you have, Master Wolfe.’ Jack grinned down at the angry little face of the baby held securely in his arms as the tiny infant screwed up his eyes and launched into another angry, ear-splitting wail.
‘All the better to drive us both mad with!’ His wife grinned tiredly from the bed across the room.
‘Shh, shh, little fella. It’s okay. Daddy’s here,’ Jack said as he rocked the baby while crossing the room—to absolutely no avail. Young Master Wolfe was not happy. ‘Sorry, Red,’ he added, aware of how tired Katherine looked. ‘I was hoping we wouldn’t wake you.’
It was midnight. They’d only brought their son home this morning after Katherine had endured a twenty-two-hour labour. Jack adored his son to pieces, his awe and gratitude knowing no bounds when the baby had been handed to him after he’d cut the umbilical cord at the midwife’s suggestion.
But no way in hell were they ever having another child. The labour had nearly killed him, and watching Katherine battle bravely through so much pain still had anxiety gripping his throat. He intended to wear condoms now for the rest of eternity.
If she ever wanted to sleep with him again, which was debatable. Because he wouldn’t blame her in the slightest if she refused to allow him within ten feet of her naked body after what she’d been through less that twenty-four hours ago.
‘It’s okay,’ Katherine murmured sleepily and sat up in bed—looking ludicrously serene and happy for a woman who had just survived what he considered to have been a major war.
Lifting her breast out of the feeding bra, exposing the plump nipple, she reached tired arms towards Jack. ‘Give him to me,’ she said, stifling a yawn. ‘He probably just wants to feed.’
‘Damn, seriously! He’s done nothing but eat since we got home,’ he murmured as he resolutely ignored the shot of arousal at the sight of his wife’s glorious breast and handed her their precious little bundle of absolute fury.
The baby found the nipple, latched on immediately and began sucking furiously as if he’d been starved for hours, while his little fist finally stopped moving and settled against his wife’s cleavage.
Another shot of arousal rippled through Jack’s system...
What was wrong with him? Was he some kind of animal that he could get turned on by the perfectly natural sight of Katherine feeding their son?
‘He’s definitely a boob man, that’s for sure,’ Katherine said, her lips quirking in a cheeky smile that had his heart thumping his chest in hard, heady thuds. ‘Not unlike his father.’
He chuckled, releasing the tension in his chest and letting go of the guilt.
God, but he loved this woman so much. How could she be so relaxed, so competent, taking this scary new experience called parenthood in her stride, when he was so useless? But he knew why. Because she was brave and smart and beautiful inside and out. And she had a wicked sense of humour that matched his own.
‘Yeah, well, I hope he realises I’m gonna want those boobs back eventually,’ Jack said wryly, joy bursting in his heart when she chuckled back.
‘That may take a while, given how sore his mum is all over.’
‘No worries,’ Jack said, knowing if sexy banter was all he was going to get for a while it was more than enough. ‘I can wait.’
She sent him a tender, welcoming smile as he climbed onto the bed beside her. He slung an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side, impossibly grateful for the companionship, the feeling of home she had created for him over the last five months...
He watched his son’s cheeks gradually stop moving and the plump red nipple drop out of his mouth as he drifted back to sleep, as if by magic. Jack pressed a gentle kiss to his wife’s temple while the wonder, the love—that was never far away when he watched his wife and child, his family—swelled in his chest, making it a little hard for him to breathe.
‘Thank you, Mrs Wolfe,’ he said softly.
‘You’re welcome, Mr Wolfe,’ she whispered back. She lifted her head to smile at him. ‘We really ought to give Master Wolfe a name, don’t you think?’ she said.
‘How about Greedy?’ he said.
She gave him a nudge in the ribs. ‘I’m serious.’
‘Okay, what do you want to call him?’ Jack said, aware of a tickle of apprehension in his throat at the thought of this conversation. After all, the last time they’d discussed naming their son, he’d nearly torpedoed their whole relationship. ‘I’m happy with anything you like,’ he said, determined to make amends.
She gave him a patient, probing look. ‘Okay, I like Aloysius.’
What the actual...?
‘Okay,’ he said, appalled and trying not to look it. ‘Really?’ he asked, when he spotted the mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
‘No, not really... For goodness’ sake, Jack. This is supposed to be a joint enterprise. I don’t want to decide something so important on my own.’
‘Okay,’ he said carefully. But the apprehension still gripped his ribs. ‘I just don’t want to mess it up, like I did the last time.’
Katie stared at her husband and wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.
He’d been a wonderful father already. And an incredible partner over the last few months as they had navigated this stunning, life-altering and extremely scary experience together—of learning how to love each other, and how to prepare to become parents.
Not that there was really much you could do to prepare for something so momentous. She knew he was terrified of making a mistake, just like she was. She had seen how freaked out he’d been during the labour.
How much he already loved their son, though, and what an incredible father he was going to be, was plain to see. The mix of astonishment and tenderness on his face every time he held the baby with such care, talked to him in that deep, comforting and impossibly patient voice or even changed a nappy with a ridiculous amount of proficiency for a novice was both heart-meltingly sweet and stupidly sexy.
But he still had insecurities. She knew that. They both did. Insecurities which might take a lifetime to overcome. After all, neither of them had much of a blueprint for what a happy, contented, functional family life even looked like, let alone how to create it. She felt sure, though, that they would figure it out... But only if they figured it out together.
She sighed. ‘You’re not going to muck it up, Jack. Unless you let me call the baby Aloysius without an argument.’
He laughed and squeezed her shoulders. ‘Point taken.’
His gaze drifted from her face and back to their son, who was now sound asleep in her arms. He touched a finger to the baby’s downy cheek, cleared his throat and murmured. ‘You said you liked Luca... Did you mean it?’
Her heart bounced against her ribs. ‘You remembered that?’ Why was she surprised, when he had always been stupidly observant, even when she didn’t want him to be?
‘Of course,’ he said.
‘Yes, I meant it. I love the name Luca,’ she said.
He nodded. ‘Good, because so do I.’
Kissing her tenderly on the lips—as her heart felt as if it were about to burst out of her chest with love—he held her securely in his embrace then murmured to their son. ‘Hello, Luca Wolfe. Welcome to the family.’