‘So you approve, then?’
As he glanced up again Lottie saw that his eyes were shining with emotion, and when she saw his slight shake of the head and deep swallow she knew he was struggling to find the words.
‘I can still hardly believe it. That he is really ours, Lottie, yours and mine.’
‘Well, you’d better believe it. Especially when he is screaming his head off at three in the morning. And Valentine looks more like you, just for the record. That certainly isn’t my hair!’
Rafael protectively smoothed his hand over his son’s shock of dark hair, then watched as it sprang back to upright. ‘Listen to your mamma, being rude about your hair. You and I both know you are perfect in every way.’
‘He really is...’ Lottie sighed with exhausted pleasure and laid her head back on the pillow. ‘We did good, didn’t we?’
‘We did more than good.’
Sitting on the edge of the bed with the baby in his arms, he leant forward to kiss Lottie tenderly on the lips.
‘We did assolutamente magnifico. And this is just the start, Lottie—the start of a wonderful life together: you, me and our son. A proper family at last. Now and for ever.