by Alice Raine
Running trembling hands across his face he pushed back his crazy mop of hair and came to the bedside where he immediately lowered himself down to drop a long, hard kiss on my lips before placing a gentle hand around the little bundle in my arms. ‘This is just so much to take in. I never thought I could feel love like I do for you Stella, and now …’ He glanced down at our son and swallowed loudly, ‘… now it’s happened twice. I don’t even know him yet, but I love him so much already.’ Running a shaky hand through his hair Nathan looked up at me with a hesitant smile, ‘Christ, I can’t believe I got this lucky.’
Tears of happiness slid down my cheeks as I nodded my agreement. ‘I love him so much my chest hurts,’ I said with a hiccup. ‘And I love you. It’s crazy, isn’t it?’ I murmured, feeling so happy and content at that moment that surely nothing could improve it. Smiling shyly Nathan turned his wide eyes on me and licked his bottom lip, ‘Can I hold him?’ he asked in such a small voice that I genuinely think he believed I might say no. Wordlessly I handed over my son to his father and immediately withdrew my last remark – the sight of Nathan holding our son and looking so excited upped my contentment and happiness to near obscene levels.
‘Have you thought of any names yet?’ he murmured, gently rocking his arms back and forth. We’d discussed names, of course we had, but not knowing the sex we’d kept it fairly general and decided to see if inspiration hit us after the birth.
‘Not really, you?’ I asked.
Looking up to meet my eyes Nathan gave a small shrug, ‘I was thought maybe William. What do you think?’
William Jackson. Smiling, I nodded, ‘I like it.’
Nathan’s face split into a huge grin. ‘That way he can be Will when he’s younger, or more formal as William if he chooses to. What do you say to that, Will?’ Nathan said, stooping his head down to lay a gentle kiss on William’s forehead. I wish I had a camera, because seeing Nathan like this was just the most amazing scene. ‘He smells nice,’ Nathan commented as his eyes continued to absorb the features of his son. It was a really simple thing to say, but it made my heart clench with love. If our little boy grew up to be even a quarter as handsome or charming as his daddy then we were in for some interesting teenage years, that was for sure.
A few minutes later there was a tentative knock on the door as Nicholas’ head poked into the room. ‘Up for a quick visit?’ Nodding, I waved them in and was thrilled to see Kenny with Nicholas and Rebecca. I couldn’t help the tears that fell as I watched in happiness as Nathan proudly introduced them all to William.
‘Your mum and dad just called, they’re on their way, Stella. You mum said to give you and the baby a huge hug,’ Becky said after the initial excitement had died down a little. ‘Any chance Aunty Rebecca can have a quick cuddle with the newbie?’
‘Of course!’ I replied immediately. Nathan gave a small frown, obviously reluctant to give up his time with William so soon, which made me smile – his possessive qualities were kicking in already – but he did eventually hand Will across to Rebecca’s outstretched arms.
I smiled as I saw Nicholas watching Rebecca affectionately for a few seconds before he Kenny and Nathan became engrossed in a conversation about the birth as Nathan recounted all the gory details in their fullest. At least his panic attack seemed forgotten now. Stepping closer to the bed so she was out of earshot of the brothers Rebecca lowered herself onto the bed, careful to support William’s head. ‘He’s so gorgeous, Stella,’ she cooed, rocking him gently.
‘He is, isn’t he?’ I replied, although I was obviously a little biased. ‘I hope he keeps the blue eyes, they’re just the same colour as Nathan’s.’ Watching her blissfully smiling face for a few seconds I grinned, ‘Something tells me you’ll want one pretty soon,’ I remarked playfully.
Rebecca’s head popped up and after she flashed a quick glance towards the boys to make sure they weren’t listening she licked her lips and leaned in close. ‘After the wedding we decided to start trying,’ she confided in me, causing me to gasp in delight. ‘Actually, between you and me, I have a bit of a funny feeling this month. My period’s late by nearly six days now. I haven’t told Nicholas yet, but I think I might surprise the hell out of him by asking him to stop off and buy a pregnancy test on the way home. Watch this space!’ she whispered with a wink.
Watch this space indeed! Nathan, Kenny, and Nicholas finished their conversation and came to join us at the bedside. The way that Nicholas slid an arm around Rebecca and affectionately leaned down to touch William’s hand told me that he’d be pretty ecstatic if Rebecca really did turn out to be pregnant. Kenny took his turn at cuddle time and turned out to be a born natural at calming William when he had a little screaming session.
After stroking Will’s head until he completely calmed, Nathan came to my side and took my hand in his, giving it a squeeze as we both gazed lovingly at our new-born son. What a random roomful of people we made, but so perfectly suited at the same time. If I cast my mind back to nearly three years ago when I’d first met Nathan in Club Twist I never would have believed that this would ever be the outcome of our contracted relationship. From everything I knew about their past it seemed almost impossible that both Nathan and Nicholas have overcome their abusive pasts and were settling into normal relationships. But here we were, all four of us and now William too. Not forgetting Kenny of course; he’d always be part of my life.
The journey both Nicholas and Nathan had taken to get to this point might have had some pretty severe bumps, jolts, and ups and downs, but they’d survived them all and pulled Rebecca and I along for the ride too. I was so very grateful that they had, because as I sat here gazing around at the people I loved most in the world I realised to my surprise that I wouldn’t change a single thing. We were all about to start new chapters in our lives – Nicholas and Rebecca as husband and wife, and Nathan and I as parents – but as my hand absently sought out the collar at my neck and fiddled with it, I smiled, knowing that our old chapter wasn’t quite finished yet either.
Thank you for reading and joining me on this amazing journey with the Jackson Brothers. If you’d like to get in contact or find out about future books please check out my website www.aliceraineauthor.com
The Untwisted Series
Alice Raine
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Published by Accent Press Ltd
ISBN 9781783757251
Copyright © Alice Raine 2015
The right of Alice Raine to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The story contained within this book is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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