“Just the three of us? There weren’t a few more little ones?”
“Maybe the rest were inside the house.” I laugh.
“All in good time, baby girl. Your dream is going to come true, but there will definitely be more kids.”
“How many more, Daddy?”
“I don’t know but as many as you’re capable and willing to give me. I mean, it sure is nice making them, isn’t it?”
“Yes, making them is very nice, but aren’t you going to be happier once I lose this baby weight and look like I did before?”
“Lori, you’re the sexiest woman alive. It doesn’t matter if you’re nine months pregnant or not. No one is more beautiful than you. Seeing you now, holding my baby, makes me want you just as much as I did the first time I saw you.”
“Thank you, Daddy. That makes me feel good.”
“Good. Now, it’s starting to cool off out here. Let’s get you two inside, and I’ll make us some dinner.”
He takes the baby from my arms and helps me inside. I sit on the sofa and watch Lucas sleep in his little bassinet while Luke prepares and plates our dinner.
He returns to the living room and sets a plate on the coffee table in front of me. He’s made steak and baked potatoes with a garden salad. There’s no way he just threw this together. He must have been preparing it while I was asleep. He takes such good care of me.
He comes back with his own plate and sits down beside me. “I thought we could afford to be a little informal on your first night home. Do you mind eating on the couch?”
“How could I mind? I can’t sit this close to you in the dining room,” I reply. “It might have only been two nights, but I hated being in the hospital. I’m so glad we’re home.’
“Yeah, that little leather sofa wasn’t made for a guy my size to sleep on.”
“You could have come home to sleep. You didn’t need to stay with us. I would have understood.”
“Are you kidding me? Do you think I could have gotten a wink of sleep if I did that? I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
He takes my plate, cuts my steak into bite-sized pieces, and hands me my fork. “Eat up little girl. You’re going to need your strength.”
“For what?”
“Well, first, to take care of that little bundle. And when you’re ready, I plan to make up for all this lost time in the bedroom.”
“That’s going to be a few weeks, Daddy.”
“I know. That’s why you better start getting ready now.” He puts his arm around me and kisses me. “The more the merrier, baby.”
It’s getting late, and we bring the baby up to our room with us. With nighttime feedings, it’s too soon to put him in the nursery by himself. I'm terrified I won’t hear him wake up in the night.
Luke watches me undress in the mirror and steps up behind me. He puts his arms around my waist and stares at our reflection. The look on his face kills any insecurities I might have had about my weight.
“You’re like a doll,” he says and bites my earlobe lightly.
I put on my nightshirt and climb into bed while he undresses and joins me. I rest my head on his bare chest and listen to the sound of his heartbeat. He strokes my hair and says, “Good night, sweetheart. I love you.”
“Good night, Daddy. I love you too.”
No one could have convinced me that my life would turn out this way.
It’s crazy how something as terrible as the situation with Michael DiMiglio could lead me to the man of my dreams and a better life than I could have imagined.
This house, our kids, everything feels like a gift to me, but especially this man. My strong, handsome Daddy made all of those other things possible for me.
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
