"That was the first word we taught her," I say proudly. "And it's become her favorite." I stroke her hair. "Hasn't it, sweetie? Kiss?"
"Kiss!" she says again, then laughs and laughs. "Baba! Kiss!"
"Anything for my girl," Damien says, then rubs his nose against hers, buzzes her cheeks with his eyelashes, then gives her a kiss.
"Kiss," I say, laughing, and he pulls me close and gives me a kiss of my own as our friends applaud, and a warm, comfortable glow washes over me.
It's been more than eight months since we started the process, and I can't believe that we've finally reached the end--or, really, the beginning. It's a whole new chapter in our life together, and I take Damien's hand as our little family follows the crowd into the hangar.
"Don't worry," Syl says, sliding in beside me. "We know you're exhausted. This will be a short party. We just couldn't wait."
"It's fine," I tell her, happy to show Lara off, especially since she's warmed to the crowd and is smiling and giggling, safe in Damien's arms. "I'm not that tired, anyway," I admit. That's one of the perks of traveling in your own jet. An actual bed in an actual bedroom--and on this trip, even a crib for the baby.
Damien takes her through the crowd in the hangar, and though she mostly clings to him, a few of our friends get anointed with Lara's affection, including Evelyn, who takes her with gusto, lifting her high and making the kind of silly faces I never thought I'd see on my friend. And when Frank leans down and starts making animal noises for her, I have to turn away so that I don't completely lose it.
Ronnie wants to hold her, but we settle for putting her on a blanket and letting Ronnie and Jeffery babysit their cousin until their attention wears out.
As for the party, it goes on longer than anyone intended, but I can hardly complain, especially since our princess is having such a good time.
"Up!" she demands to Cass at one point, and when Cass complies, she points to the diamond stud in Cass's nose and says something that I assume means "shiny."
"She's wonderful," Ollie says, coming to sit by me as Cass brings her over and puts her on a blanket spread out in front of the sofa I've claimed. "Just like her mother," he adds.
"She's smart and fearless," I counter. "Just like her dad."
He chuckles. "That, too," he says, then puts an arm around me as we both look down at my daughter. "I'm glad I was in town tonight. You did good. You and Damien."
I smile and watch the room, then smile even broader when Damien comes to sit across from us, pausing to shake Ollie's hand before he drops, exhausted, into his chair.
Sofia comes up with a smile for Damien, but it's me she looks at when she asks, "May I hold her?"
I hesitate.
"I'll give her back," Sofia says blandly.
"Crap," I say. "I'm sorry. Of course, you can. I--"
She laughs. "It's okay. Really. And I'm going back to London tomorrow. But I had to be here for this, so I flew in this morning."
She bends down and scoops up Lara, who doesn't fuss, even though her eyes are starting to droop. "I wanted to meet her and see Damien in the role of daddy. I figure he'll do better than all his role models," she says, with a wry look in his direction.
"I damn well better," he says, raising a bottle of water in a mock toast.
"Do you want to stay longer?" I ask her. "It's okay," I add, meeting Damien's eyes. I'm still not one-hundred percent on the Sofia-train, but I also know I won't get there without spending more time together. And I know it's important to Damien that Sofia be a part of Lara's life.
She hesitates, her eyes glistening as she flashes a watery smile. "No. But thank you. I have sessions scheduled with the headshrinker--I don't want to miss them." She kisses Lara's head. "I'll be back, though. We'll ease into it slowly, okay?"
"Yeah," I say, meaning it. "That's totally okay."
Sofia puts the baby back down, and then she and Ollie both step away to mingle some more.
As soon as Ollie leaves, Damien moves to sit beside me. "Well, I'm exhausted," he says as he reaches down to pick up Lara. "Come here, little girl. You wore your daddy out."
He leans back in the seat, Lara pressed against his chest, sucking her thumb.
"You can't possibly be tired, Mr. Stark," I tease.
"Believe me, I can."
"Mmm. Well, that presents a problem."
"Oh, really?" I see the fire ignite in his eyes. "Do you have something energetic to suggest when we get home?"
"Always," I say with a grin. "But I was thinking more in terms of the children. I mean if one wears you out, how are you going to manage two?"
Very slowly, he turns to me. "Say that again."
I take his hand, and gently press his palm over the secret I've been keeping. "Doctor Tyler says I'm out of the danger zone. I--I didn't want to say anything until, well, until we were sure everything is okay."
"And you're sure now?" The hope in his voice is almost palpable.
I nod. "I saw him right before we left for China. My statistical chance of something going wrong now is the same as any other woman."
"But we weren't trying."
"We weren't trying the first time, either," I remind him. "I'm a walking billboard for failed birth control."
"You're pregnant," he says slowly, a tender awe lighting his face. "You're really pregnant."
I laugh, delighted by his reaction. "Lara's going to be a big sister," I say, unable to stop smiling.
He pulls me close, his eyes dancing. "Kiss!" Lara orders. "Kiss!"
"You know what?" Damien says. "I think I will."
And with our little girl between us, he kisses me long and hard.
"Is it a boy or a girl?" he asks, when he gently pulls away.
"One or the other," I say, snuggling against him as I fight a smile. "Either way, it's wonderful."
Sometimes, it feels so damn good to be bad . . .
Turn the page for an enticing excerpt from
Wicked Grind
The new novel from J. Kenner, set in the seductive Stark world.
Coming soon from
Chapter 1
He was surrounded by naked women, and he was bored out of his mind.
Wyatt Royce forced himself not to frown as he lowered his camera and took a step back, his critical eye raking over the four women who stood in front of him in absolutely nothing but their birthday suits.
Gorgeous women. Confident women. With luscious curves, smooth skin, bright eyes, and the kind of strong, supple muscles that left no doubt that each and every one of them could wrap their legs around a man and hold him tight.
In other words, each one had an erotic allure. A glow. A certain je ne sais quoi that turned heads and left men hard.
None of them, however, had it.
"Wyatt? You ready, man?"
Jon Paul's voice pulled Wyatt from his frustrated thoughts, and he nodded at his lighting director. "Sorry. Just thinking."
JP turned his back to the girls before flashing a wolfish grin and lowering his voice. "I'll bet you were."