“She’s perfect,” Katy whispered.
I looked up with a grin.
“She is, Mommy.”
Katy’s smile was wide and beautiful. “We have to name her, Richard.”
“I know. None of the ones I liked suit her now that she’s here, and I can see her sweet face.” I ran my finger down a plump little cheek. “Are you sure you don’t want to name her after Penny?”
My wife grimaced as she pulled herself up into a sitting position. “No. She didn’t like her name.”
“Was there a name she did like?”
Katy pursed her lips, the expression much like our daughter’s. “She liked her middle name, Grace. I like it, too,” she added.
“Grace,” I repeated, liking how that sounded. I looked down at my daughter. “Grace VanRyan.”
“Anne is Laura’s middle name,” Katy offered. “Grace Anne VanRyan.”
It was right. The names went well together, and they honored two women we both loved. “I love it. Laura will be thrilled, and Penny would have been so happy and proud.”
Lowering my head, I kissed my baby girl. “Hello, Gracie.”
“I thought you didn’t like nicknames.”
Standing, I slid Gracie into Katy’s arms. “I thought a lot of stupid things. She looks like a Gracie.” I nuzzled Katy’s cheek and brushed the hair back from her face. “You, sweetheart, are supposed to be asleep.”
“You should go home and get some sleep yourself.”
“Nope. I paid a lot of money for this private room. I’ll go home when you do.”
“So stubborn.”
I chuckled and took Gracie back. Katy had her long enough. “Yep. So you go to sleep. I’ll just sit here with Gracie and tell her all about her crazy, adopted family and her perfect, wonderful mommy.”
“What about her wonderful daddy?”
Hearing that word made me blink. Then I blinked again.
Daddy. A title I never thought would belong to me. A swell of sentiment made my throat thick. I reached out and grasped Katy’s hand, needing her touch.
“I’ll be the best daddy I can be.”
“I know you will be. You’re already the best husband.”
Leaning down, I captured her mouth with mine, feeling a thousand emotions. Ones only Katy, and now Gracie, could make me feel. Feelings I didn’t know existed—happiness and elation so poignant it made my chest ache. Contentment and peace that permeated my life simply from their presence. I had found a group of people I considered my family now, but Katy and Gracie belonged to me. They were my world, and I knew I was theirs. “Thank you, my Katy. For my daughter. For you.”
She cupped my cheek. “Are you all right, Richard?”
I swallowed, turning my head, kissing her palm. I knew if I told her, she would understand. She always understood me. “It’s just all . . .”
“Overwhelming? Scary?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll handle it together.”
She was right. We handled everything together now. My wife was my rock. Still, I was worried.
I leaned closer. “I don’t want to fuck her up.”
She arched an eyebrow. We’d already had the “stop swearing so much” conversation—many times.
“Sorry. Mess her up the way my parents did me.”
“You won’t. I won’t let you.” She grinned mischievously. “Jenna and Laura would kick your ass, too.”
I arched my eyebrow, pretending to cover Gracie’s ears. “Now who’s swearing?”
“Ass is different.”
“I’ll remind you of that when she shouts it out in daycare.” I huffed. “Unless she’s telling some boy to keep his hands to himself. Then she can use the word ass as much as she wants.”
Katy rolled her eyes. “Let’s get her eating solid food and walking before we start thinking about boys and dating, okay?”
“Good idea. Walking I can handle. She can’t date until she’s thirty.”
“Good luck with that, Daddy.”
I sat down, cooing at Gracie who was watching us, her wide, blue eyes blinking and drowsy. “You’re Daddy’s girl, right? No icky boys for you.”
Katy muttered a mild curse, making me chuckle.
“I think Mommy is a little grumpy.” I pressed a kiss to Gracie’s forehead. “I think someone wore her out today.”
“You wear me out.”
“I like wearing you out.”
“I’m aware—hence the baby you’re holding.”
I smirked, settling Gracie into the crook of my arm. She fit perfectly there. I reclined in my seat, staring at my wife. The rounder she grew while carrying Gracie, the sexier I had found her, and the more I wanted her. The new curves and the way her body responded had been like aphrodisiacs to me—not that I needed much incentive when it came to Katy. Whereas she thought she was fat, I found her sexy and alluring. I proved it to her—many times.
Katy smiled lovingly at me, her voice gentle.
“You’re going to hold her all night, aren’t you?”
“Probably.”
“I guess it puts your theory of not loving a child to rest.”
I frowned, looking down at Gracie. How I could have ever believed such a ridiculous idea now seemed so foreign to me. So wrong. I had fallen in love with her before I ever saw her on that ultrasound screen all those months ago. Then the first time I held her, I was encompassed with a love I never dreamed existed. As usual, Katy had been right.