“Nice to meet you.” He gave a clipped, polite nod, even though his eyes were completely locked on Lucas. Damon could be charming when he chose to be, but he’d always been reserved around women, as if his smart brain was too busy thinking about his next revolutionary tech idea instead of flirting.
Caroline wondered if any woman had turned his head in the past months that he’d thought she’d left him. The idea sparked a jealous heat that she didn’t want to acknowledge right now. Not when she needed to introduce him to his son.
Listening to her sister’s footsteps as she retreated up the stairs, Caroline brought Lucas over to meet his father.
“Damon, this is Lucas.” She turned her body so that her back was to her husband, giving him the best view of their sleeping child from over her shoulder.
She could feel Damon go very still behind her. Peering around to look up at him, she spotted the awe in his expression. The wonder. The feeling resonated with her. Weeks after giving birth to Lucas she still experienced that same sense of amazement every time she looked at their baby.
“He’s perfect.” Damon brushed a hand over Lucas’s downy head. “Thank you for bringing him to me. For taking a chance on trusting me again.” He made no mention of trusting her in return. “I will keep you both safe.”
“I know you will.” She just wished she felt more sure of his reasons for marrying her. He had said he didn’t even know about his grandfather, let alone the dictate that the McNeill heirs marry to inherit, when he’d proposed to her. But after all that had happened in the last months, she would need to work to recover her faith in their bond. “Do you remember why I named him Lucas?”
Damon traced the sleeping infant’s features, running his thumb along one barely-there eyebrow, his fingers along one baby-fat cheek. “We came up with names the day we decided to throw away your birth control pills, right after the wedding.”
“I know we were just sort of goofing around that night, but—” With the baby cradled against her, her shrug was awkward. “It was the only thing I had to go on for choosing a name.”
“I wasn’t joking that night.” He slid around to face her, putting his arm around her shoulder to draw her closer. “Chloe for a girl. Lucas for a boy.”
“Good. It was hard naming him on my own, when I was still so unsure of so much.” She felt some tension slip out of her shoulders that she hadn’t realized she’d been feeling.
“I would never question a decision you made for our child when you were ill, alone and had no support.” He cupped her face in his hand, his tone grave, his gaze cool and remote despite the supportive words. “I’m damned sorry I wasn’t there for you. For both of you.”
She nodded stiffly, not wanting tears to spoil a moment that should be happy.
“Thank you.” She attempted a smile to lighten the mood, but couldn’t quite manage it. Instead, she lifted Lucas higher and edged her arms closer to Damon. “Would you like to hold him while I help Victoria pack up his things?”
“Yes.” He reached for the baby, sliding one arm under Lucas while using the other to carefully cradle him. “It’s past time I got to know our son.”
Caroline lingered, unable to tear her eyes away from the sight of their baby finally nestled in his father’s arms. Heart in her throat, she could hardly speak. She bit her lip hard to collect herself.
“You look like a natural.” She tucked the blanket around Lucas’s toes, her knuckles grazing Damon’s bicep.
“Gabe had a son last spring, while you were…away.” Damon’s jaw tensed. “His girlfriend gave him full custody before breaking things off a few months afterward. I got to hold Jason a few times.” Turning his attention back to Lucas, Damon pushed the blanket away from the baby’s face. “The boys have a strong resemblance.”
“All the McNeill males do.” She had seen the photos of his half brothers Quinn, Ian and Cameron in the article her father had shown her. Their blue eyes, dark hair, and tall, athletic builds were strikingly similar to Jager, Damon and Gabe’s.
“Lucas won’t lack for cousins. Cameron just adopted his wife’s daughter, Isla.” He glanced back up at Caroline. “You’ll meet them when we go to New York.”
“How soon?” She was nervous about her father finding them. To work off some of the anxiety, she started picking up the baby items strewn around the living area. A soft rattle with a puppy face. An empty bottle. “And do you think it’s safe for Victoria to return to school?”