An Unexpected Christmas Baby (The Daycare Chronicles 2)

Diamond Rose. Had he fed the baby?

Listening, she heard a little sigh and then even breathing coming through the monitor.

It was a good sound.

A very good sound.

There were other good things, too. Like the arm looped over her side, holding her close. The...ohhh...pressed up against her.

It was growing.

In his sleep, or had she woken him?

She wanted him awake.

Turning her head slowly, she kissed his chin. Or what she thought was his chin. He moved and caught her lips with his.

He must’ve said something because she was back in a trance again. Letting him take her away, to a different place this time.

A much happier place.

With an incredible ending.

But when they lay together, exhausted and complete, she didn’t feel as though anything was over.

“Marry me,” he whispered in her ear.

“I want to, Flint, so badly, but I can’t do that to you or Diamond. That little girl deserves to have a mother who can hug her all the time and let her know how much she’s loved. Kids need to be hugged.”

“She needs you,” he said. And when she shook her head, he asked, “You want me to tell you how I know?”

She nodded.

“When it comes to Diamond, you’ve got a mother’s instinct. That’s what makes mothers special. It’s not something you buy. Or even learn. It’s something you have that makes a kid feel okay even when things aren’t okay. It’s what my mother had.”

“I don’t have that.” He was romanticizing now.

So not like him.

“When you came into my office that day, I couldn’t do it for her. I didn’t know what she needed. You did and you didn’t hesitate. She quieted immediately. That was no mistake, Tamara. Surely you’ve been around crying babies in the past few years, but you’ve never walked over to pick one up and quiet him or her.”

Yeah, but...

“Anytime I talked about Diamond, you seemed to know instantly what she needed. What I needed to do.”

Well, that had just been common sense.

“And in court, I was going to lose her...we were going to lose her. And you swooped in and saved us. Not just by being there, but when she started to cry...she needed a mother to seal the deal and you became one. You are one. She looked at you, laid her head down and closed her eyes.”

“I—”

He put a finger to her lips. “I don’t have all the answers yet,” he told her. “I don’t have any more at all right now. I might not ever have them. But I know that you’re meant for us, Tamara, and we’re meant for you. It’s all up to you now.”

He knew what he was getting into and wanted to take it on. Take her on. Maybe even needed to. He’d never even told her he loved her. She imagined that didn’t come easily to a man like Flint. But he’d showed her. In a million different ways.

Mallory had told her to let herself be happy.

No one could do it for her.