One Beautiful Promise (Very Irresistible Bachelors 4)

Laney: I thought you’d be here too. And now I’m sad :-(

Cole: Sis left clear instructions so not all of us would camp in her room at the same time. I’d do the same. But I can pick you up.

Laney: Yes, please.

Laney: Actually, wait. I’m going to ask Skye and Rob if they want me to stay overnight.

Cole: Let me know. I can sneak in and bring you food, find a supply closet for a... massage.

Laney: Since I’m not officially on shift, HELL YES to that too.

Cole: Why are you so corruptible?

Laney: I don’t know. Something about babies, I think. I have so much energy that I just can’t be still.

Cole: All noted.

Laney: I’ll keep you posted.

When I returned with drinks, everyone was oohing and awwing around the baby. I really wanted to do that too—even hold him, but that would definitely be intrusive.

“Rob, do you want me to stay the night?” I asked.

“No, that’s fine. I made arrangements to stay here with Skye.”

“Okay. Perfect. I’ll just stay here for a while longer, make sure everything is fine.”

I was also hoping to get some cuddling time with their son. Tess was holding him now, and the look in her eyes was just pure love.

Chapter Twenty-One

Laney

Three hours later, it was time for me to go. Skye was feeling well, and the young family definitely needed their privacy. True to his word, Cole picked me up. The second I left the hospital, I sort of crashed. I’d been high on adrenaline during the birth and while tending to Skye in the room, and now I was processing everything. I was still lost in thought when the cab pulled in front of his loft. Once we were inside the apartment, he trained his eyes on me.

“What are you thinking about, Laney?” he asked, caressing his thumb over my lower lip.

“So many things. Too many. I am not sure how to make sense of them.”

“Tell me, maybe I can help.”

“I don’t know,” I teased. “They’re about you. You might give me biased answers.”

“Of course they’ll be biased. But also one hundred percent true.”

I smiled as he led me backward through the loft until I felt the edge of the kitchen island at my back. Cole lifted me up on it right away. His gaze was beckoning me to talk.

“Everything is so intense when we’re together. So all-consuming... and different. I’m becoming different.”

“And that’s worrying you?”

“No, it’s just that I used to be terrified of certain things... like allowing myself to be happy when babies were born, to just give in to that joy. And today, it was so different. I was so immensely happy. I’m rambling. I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for, Laney. Nothing. It’s normal to be scared. You can talk to me about anything. Don’t hide any side of you from me. I want to know all of you intimately.”

My heart thundered in my chest at his words. I had so many butterflies in my stomach that I coul

d barely sit still.