She smiled at the two of them, her heart bursting with love.
Rhys began to cry again.
Sebastian gently bounced their son, but the baby wouldn’t stop fussing. “I think he’s hungry.”
“I cannot wait for Rhys to meet his baby cousins and his Auntie Bella,” she said, taking the baby from his father. Rhys began to nurse as soon as she put him to her breast.
Christian and his family as well as Alexander and his were due to arrive this afternoon, then Isabella was coming the day after that. Everyone was staying two weeks.
Sebastian was outwardly tolerant while she was outwardly ecstatic, yet she knew he was as happy as she. Slowly but surely, he and Christian were repairing the years of damage to their relationship. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but they were trying and that’s what counted.
Maybe being separated by an ocean helped when things got too tense between the brothers.
Living in England hadn’t been the easiest decision to make, no matter how much she loved Sebastian. He would have lived in Holland Springs, if she’d asked him, but she hadn’t. She wanted to be free to travel and enjoy life without the responsibilities of running a business. So he’d taken her everywhere while she could travel, and when the time had come, they’d returned to Hawkfell Hall to live in the newly renovated groundskeeper cottage situated on the opposite side of the lake, away from the hustle and bustle of The Hall, and set to making it the home of their dreams.
She was as happy and content as the baby in her arms. Kissing his sweet little head, she murmured nonsense words at him.
“Lucky,” Sebastian murmured, stroking the baby’s cheek, and then he turned his attention to her. “Are you happy here?”
He asked her that at least once a day, always worried she’d given up too much to be with him, but she hadn’t given up anything. In her mind, she’d gained the world.
“Very.” She leaned against him as he settled down beside her in the bed. “You?”
“Sitting in this very bed, in this very house, with you and our child, was number three on my new and improved Bucket List.”
New and improved Bucket List? “What was number one and two?”
Placing a knee on the side of the bed, he cupped her face and gazed into to her eyes. “Win back the woman I love and convince her to marry me.”
If she hadn’t been sitting in bed, she would have swooned. “And number four?”
Kissing the tip of her nose, he grinned. “Who needs a number four?”
“You’re really happy, then?”
“I’m beyond happy.” He kissed her forehead. “I’m ecstatic.”
She giggled.
“Gobsmacked.” He kissed her cheek.
She rolled her eyes playfully.
He kissed her lips. “Blessed.”
Her heart turned over in her chest. “We both are,” she said, and then she kissed him back with all the love and hope she felt for their future in it.