She looked up at her husband, and felt a spark of the desire she’d been almost too tired to feel lately when her eyes moved over the handsome lines of his face. It had been way too long since they’d made love. But it wasn’t like the old days in the office, when they could sneak off for a little time together. You couldn’t sneak away from fussy babies. And that brought her right back to the worries that had been spinning in her head since she found out she was pregnant.
Plus, why did she have to refer to it as the old days? It wasn’t that long ago! It just felt like decades had passed.
She blinked, forcing back emotional tears that seemed to have no problem sprouting since having the babies. Emotions seemed to be part of the package that came with kids. “I guess I’m just afraid that I’m going to turn out like my mother. So… distant. And harsh. I don’t want my kids to grow up with that. I want them to be happy.”
“You’re not going to be anything like your mother,” Alex said, as patiently and gently as he’d said it all the other times.
She loved him for not getting frustrated with her insecurities. Loved him for being so understanding. Her eyes pricked with tears. He was such a good man. She blinked them back.
“You couldn’t be like your mother,” he went on. “You’re too good, Jamie. And way too sweet. Our children have the best mother anyone could ask for, and they’re going to be happy. I promise.”
She tipped her head against his shoulder, nodding. He was right. They had a good family. They were going to be okay together. It was hard now, but it would be worth it. She was sure of it.
Jamie was even more sure of it by the time they’d gotten the babies fed and laid down for a nap. They sat down on the couch, and Jamie curled up against Alex’s side as he turned the TV to something that she didn’t really care about watching. She wasn’t sure he cared either. It was just white noise. His arm wrapped around her and held her close.
For a few minutes they were silent like that, just sitting together. The television droned on about something inconsequential. Her eyelids dropped lower. Maybe sleeping for just a little bit wouldn’t be a bad plan. It was warm here, in Alex’s arms. The twins were tucked happily into bed. She let her eyes fall shut.
“You know when I suggest a nanny I’m not saying you’re a bad mother, right?” Alex asked.
Jamie lifted her head, dragging her eyes open. “What? No. I know. I just don’t want someone else to be the person they look up to. I want to raise them ourselves. They’re ours.”
“It wouldn’t be someone else raising them, Jamie. It would just be a little bit of time every day. I know you said you don’t want a nap, but you’re exhausted. I can tell. And, to be honest, I… Well, I miss having you around the office. And I miss your help with the company. No one else can do quite what you do, Jamie.”
“They should start sleeping more at night soon. Then I won’t be so tired during the day. I can work through their naps, or set them up with some toys in the same room. We can make it work.”
“At what risk?” Alex asked. “I’m not going to have you working yourself to the bone.”
Jamie sat up, pulling out of Alex’s embrace. “I don’t need a nanny. It will be fine.”
Alex sighed, but he didn’t press the point any further. Jamie let herself sink back against the support of his shoulder.
Everything would be fine.
She could handle it. Really.
Chapter 2
Mark woke to the warmth of a body wrapped around his own. Camille was still sleeping, her head resting on his chest and her arm thrown across his stomach. He contemplated letting his eyes fall shut again and rejoining her. The room had that lazy sort of Saturday morning feeling that made a day in bed sound just about perfect.
Camille stirred in his arms, and curled closer. Her eyelashes fluttered. “Morning,” she murmured, tipping her head back to look up at him.
He ran a hand down the smooth curve of her spine, and smiled down at her. “Hell of a good one,” he answered.
She laughed, low and soft. “Yeah, you could say that. A night like last night usually makes for a morning worth waking up to.”
That was certainly the truth. Even just thinking about it had him wanting more. Camille wrapped closer around him like she knew what he was thinking, her thigh brushing against his cock.
“I hope you had as good a time as I did,” she went on, her voice the kind of purr that was specifically designed to make a man hard in 0.2 seconds. “Because I had a really good time.”
“Hell, yes.”
And unless he was really mistaken, he was about to have another.
“So I was thinking,” Camille said, fingers trailing up his chest. “We have the whole afternoon to spend in bed…”
“Is that a question or an invitation?” Mark asked. His fingers curled around her wrist, thumb stroking over the arch of bone under thin skin.
She looked up at him from under her lashes, lips curling into a smile. “Both? Eith