“Of course I’ll protect him. I told your mother we need a family meeting first thing tomorrow to decide how to end this.”
He nods takes my hand. “And we will. And the nightmares will stop. If they don’t, when you’re done nursing, then we talk to the doc and get meds. They make pills for sleep.”
“I don’t want them.” He pulls my hips tighter against his and grins wickedly.
“Then I have other plans that can commence immediately. Distraction is a good form of therapy.”
“Distraction?” My voice is high when I say it, not following his meaning until he gently slides the pads of his fingers up the side of my bare hip, over my waist, and up to my swollen breasts. “Oh.” My face burns instantly.
Sean laughs so loud it fills the room. “You’re blushing? How are you blushing?”
Shrugging, I slap him off and bury my face in the baby’s chubby cheeks. The baby quickly grabs my hair and pulls me closer. Sean pries his little fingers free and turns my face toward him. “I love that you are still you. After everything.”
“I love that you are still you, after everything, too.”
His forehead wrinkles and he looks confused. “You think I haven’t changed?”
Smiling softly, I meet his gaze and confess, “I think the scrap of soul I saw from the start, that tiny piece of you, that hasn’t changed, no. But you let it breathe again and brought it out for me to play with.” I wink at him. “I’m proud of you. That had to be terrifying.”
“You have no idea how much I love you.” His eyes drink me in, moving over every inch of my face, holding my gaze, and then dipping to the baby and back up to me.
“Likewise.” We stay there for the rest of the afternoon, playing with the baby and holding each other, in the pools and on the couches as the late afternoon sun turns golden through the panes of glass overhead.
Chapter 10
After another sleepless night of walking our new babies across the plush carpet, I was dead on my feet. But we still had the issue of dealing with the threat. When I brought it up with Constance, she told me she’d take care of it. I didn’t want her to. Not that I was ungrateful for her help with everything in the past, but I needed to know who this was, why they were doing this, and stop them by my own hand. That’s how this breakfast came to be. I didn’t tell her I was the one summoning everyone to the table. Including Mr. Ferro.
Daybreak finally came. Sean emerges from the shower, body slick with water, before toweling off. His hair is tousled and he has that five o’clock shadow first thing in the morning. His blue eyes are bright like he’s had plenty of sleep, although I know he’s had little. He didn’t want a nanny either. The only rest we got came from the Grannies. Which tends to be early in the day. Instead of passing out after the shift change, we dressed the little ones in adorable outfits and brought them down to the huge living room in the main part of the mansion. Constance reworked areas that weren’t affected by the blast, some she updated, some she kept identical. This room leads into the dining area and it’s very similar to how it had been. Wingback chairs, couches, card tables of carved mahogany and opulence dripping off every fixture in the space.
I hold our baby girl on my hip. Sean cradles the sleeping baby boy in his arms. Face tilted down, Sean watches his sleeping son. “We really need to name him.”
“And his sister?”
“We can call her Sissy.”
I pull her away as if she’s in mortal danger and cover her ears as if he spewed evil. “No, we can’t! That’s not happening. It’d be like calling a cat kitty.”
“Kitty is a cute name. Kathryne.”
I glare at him. “I see we are going to have words about this later. You’re going to shorten everything, aren’t you?”
Sean smirks up at me, dark hair falling forward into his eyes. He frees his hand and pushes it back. “Maybe.” He changes the topic after glancing around the room. “I assume we are early?”
“Yeah, about that. We’re actually late. I wanted a second to warn you who’s in there.”
A wall juts up and covers his face, masking all emotion. “What did you do?”
“Clan meeting. I’m not sitting by and waiting.”
“Who?”
Crap. He’s speaking in one-word sentences. “Every Ferro who would come.”
Sean shifts the baby in his arms and rubs his temples with his thumb and forefinger. “Avery, I thought we were keeping this between us?”
“I did. And I added all the help we could get. Your Aunt Lizzie is here, your uncle declined. Your mother, mine, and your brothers, plus their wives. And then,” I grimace, “your father.”
Sean inhales deeply after hearing the final addition to the breakfast group. “Avery…”
“Sean, our son was threatened. Handling things alone last time got everyone else in trouble anyway. Vic Jr. kidnapped your mother and mine. No one is immune and they shouldn’t be caught off guard thinking all our enemies are gone when they’re not. Was I that wrong?” I’m sincerely asking him, and I tilt my head to the side to connect gazes and see what he thinks.
It’s hard to tell because that wall is still up. “No.”
Shit. He’s mad. “Well, let’s go show off the babies. That’s why they think they’re here. Then, we’ll tell them the rest of it.”
“You didn’t tell them?” Sean sounds truly shocked and then laughs. “So they think they’re at a baby breakfast?”
I nod. “I told them we’d announce the names.”
Sean laughs out loud. “I didn’t realize we decided. Besides Jack and Sissy.”
I slap his arm. “Stop that. And we talked about a few names. Remember?”
“And couldn’t decide firmly on any of them.”
“Well, how about this.” I turn toward him. “How about I offer the name and you can veto it?”
Sean shakes his head. “Nope, this is it. You know all the names, the family names, and all the ones we talked about. I trust you to pick the perfect names for our children. I won’t veto you.” He leans in and kisses my cheek.
“Really?” Relief floods me. I didn’t realize the weight on my shoulders for taking so long to agree on names.
“Yes. Wholeheartedly. You carried them. You love me. You love them. It will all be as it should.” He kisses my forehead.
I’m bubbling with giddiness. Grateful for his trust and his affection. I tease, “You so cray-cray, Sean Ferro.”
“That word went out of style right after you said it. You need a different catchphrase, Mrs. Ferro.”