I covered my mouth with a hand. “You can kiss me on the forehead, if you want,” I mumbled. “You’ll have to wait for a proper kiss until after I brush my own teeth.”
She grinned and did just that, kissing my forehead and then both cheeks, one after the other.
“We have a date weekend coming up,” she said. “If you can hold out until then, I’m sure we’ll be able to enjoy ourselves properly. I miss you…”
“I’m yours,” I said and pulled her into my arms. “Anytime you want me.” She laid her head on my shoulder and we enjoyed the warmth of each other’s embrace for a moment.
Of course, a snuffling sound came over the baby monitor on the bedside table.
“Duty calls,” Alexa said and winked at me. She kissed be quickly on the mouth before I could cover it again and then left the bed, sprinting to the bedroom door.
I sighed in contentment, glad that she was beginning to feel a need for us to connect once more the way we did before Leif came along.
Her libido was recovering, in other words…
I got up and had a quick shower, then after brushing my teeth and giving my stubble a bit of a shave, I got dressed and went to the nursery to see if they were there.
Alexa must have already changed Leif and taken him downstairs for a feed, so I went to the main floor. Sure enough, she sat at the kitchen island with Candace and Mara on either side of her, Leif at her breast.
“There she is,” I said and kissed her, then kissed the baldish head of my son. “My two favorite people in the entire world.”
I caught Candace’s smile at my words and turned to give her and Mara my attention. “I’m so glad you two were here with Alexa, considering what happened last night. How are you doing? Were you able to sleep afterwards?”
“Like a baby,” Candace said. “It’s amazing what having a security guard on duty will do to your sense of safety.”
“Me too,” Mara said with a nod. “Slept like the proverbial baby.”
“How was your meeting with the prospective investors?” Alexa asked, turning her attention to me.
I went to the kitchen counter and poured myself a cup of coffee. “Fine,” I said and described the evening. “I got to meet my future partners, so it was a good night all around.”
I sat down beside Candace and drank my coffee, while she and Mara took turns telling me about the previous night’s events. Alexa listened, adding in a comment or two.
“I’m glad you two were here,” I said again. “While I have full confidence in Gord and the security company to protect us, I’m sure Alexa was glad to have you both here to help her deal with it.”
“We’re glad, too,” Candace said. “Plus, we got to spend more time with Leif and experience what it’s like to have to get up in the middle of the night to feed a baby.”
“Don’t let it put you off having one yourself,” I said, but couldn’t hold back a yawn. “You get used to the interrupted sleep after several months. Or so they tell me…”
We all laughed at that.
“Sure,” Alexa said with a grin. “Tell me another one, Daddy.”
“All right, all right,” I said and grinned back. “You learn to tolerate the interrupted sleep, especially when you’re holding the little man in your arms, and he smiles up at you.”
“Aww,” Candace said and made a pouty face. “That’s just so sweet.”
“It’s true,” Alexa said. “You can be really tired, and wishing that Leif would sleep through the night, but then, I’m holding him, and he smiles and that does it. Putty in his hands.”
“I swear that a baby’s smile is evolution’s way of making us fall in love with our babies, so we keep feeding them even in the middle of the night when we’re zonked,” Mara added.
We all laughed at that, and I watched Alexa holding Leif and him struggling to keep his eyes open. He often fell asleep at the breast, and it was always funny when he’d wake up once Alexa put him on her shoulder for a burp.
Which he proceeded to do for us, his little squeak of upset at being woken making me smile all over again.
“I can do that if you want,” I offered. I grabbed a clean diaper off the countertop and placed it on my shoulder, then held my arms out. “Let me burp him. I’ve been away.”
“Okay, Daddy,” Alexa said and handed Leif over. I took him in my arms and placed him onto my shoulder. His little back arched and he complained but soon, a big burp erupted, and we all laughed at how big it was, considering his small size.
Life was good.
I felt that, even though we’d had the scare of someone trespassing on the property, things were looking up for us. Elena and Jack seemed really committed to investing in Astra-Seneca, Alexa and I were reigniting the sexual part of our relationship and Leif was a healthy happy baby.
I hoped it would stay that way.