Fin wasn't sure he ever would.
Every time he let his mind wander, it went back to that safe room in Pete Larkin’s house. He kept picturing Chloe tied to that table, just as they’d found her, with Pete slamming his hammer into her body over and over again until every single bone was broken.
“I’m okay, Fin,” Chloe said, wrapping her good arm around his waist.
“Your humerus is fractured,” he corrected.
“It’ll heal, and that’s all he did to me. Nothing else. I'm fine.”
She said the words, but he heard the slight tremble in her voice. She was shaken. Which was normal, but Chloe saw it as a weakness. “It’s okay to be afraid, Chlo.”
“I was afraid I'd never see you again.” Her voice wobbled, and she turned into him, pressing her face against his chest. “I was so angry at you for the way you treated me the last few days, but I love you, Fin. Ialwaysloved you. I hate that I hurt you. I wish I could take it back.”
Mindful of her broken arm, he held her as tightly as he dared. “At the hospital when I said goodbye, I didn't mean forever. I just thought you might want some time to process everything. I knew I’d hurt you with the way I’d treated you recently. It’s justthat it was so much easier to be angry with you than it was to face the pain of losing him. I was selfish, but I won't ever do that again. From now on, you are my number one priority. Always.”
Chloe snuggled closer, her hair tickling his nose. This, he could get used to pretty quickly. How had he ever lived without her? Why had he let so much time go without doing whatever it took to get Chloe back?
Fin picked her up and carefully balanced her as he unlocked the door and carried her down into the family room, setting her on the couch. “Do you want something to eat?”
She grabbed his hands as he released her and tangled their fingers together. “I’m not hungry. I had a sandwich at the hospital, and the drugs they gave me are doing a great job at masking the pain, but they’ve kind of taken my appetite along with them.”
“Something to drink, then? Hot chocolate? Coffee? Water?” Fin wanted to fuss like a mother hen and take care of her.
“Hot chocolate, maybe,” she replied, a small amused smile on her face as he reached behind her to fluff up some pillows and prop them up behind her, then settling her against them. “You’re cute when you fuss like this.”
He made a face, no twenty-eight-year-old guy wanted to be called cute for any reason. “I’ll go make the drinks. Are you cold? Do you want me to grab …?” Fin was standing up, preparing to go to the kitchen, when his eyes fell on the stocking hanging on the mantle.
It was the one they had bought for their son last Christmas.
He remembered the day they’d bought it. Chloe had gone on a huge shopping spree, buying a dozen baby’s first Christmas decorations, little Christmas onesies, and this stocking.
“You put it out,” he said as he picked it up, his fingers tracing over the merry Christmas scene.
“I don’t want to forget him.” Chloe came to stand beside him,leaning her head against his shoulder.
“Never,” he said firmly. “We willneverforget him. He will always be a part of us. Even if we have half a dozen other kids, we won't forget about him; he’ll always be our firstborn.”
“Christopher,” Chloe murmured.
“What?”
She tilted her head up to look at him. “That’s what I wanted to name him. We hadn’t decided on a name, and then after he was gone, it was too painful to talk about, but I wanted to name him Christopher.”
Christopher.
It was perfect.
He had never had a specific name in mind for his son, and maybe this was why. Chloe had already chosen the right name.
“I love it, Chlo. It’s a beautiful name.” He leaned down and touched his lips to hers. “You should be resting. Come and sit back down and I’ll make the hot chocolate. Maybe we can watch a Christmas movie, then go to bed. I’m staying here tonight, right?”
“Oh, yeah.” A playful smile lit her face, and she wrapped her good arm around his neck and tugged him down, trailing a line of light kisses along his jaw, before nipping at his bottom lip. “Instead of hot chocolate and a movie, you want to go upstairs?”
Fin chuckled and tucked her hair behind her ear. “For sex? Chloe, we can't. You have a broken arm.”
She pouted, looking ridiculously adorably sexy. “I’m hopped up on pain pills; I feel fine. Please, Fin.”
The begging did it.