He came closer and fell to his knees at her side, staring in stunned amazement at her lap. “When? You were sleeping peacefully when I left.”
Rosemary lifted her gaze away from their son and cupped his cheek. “Obviously in the intervening hours.”
Her husband blinked rather foolishly. “I wanted to be here.”
“Well,” Rosemary said, “this little man had other ideas. He was born very quickly. It seems I must take after my mother in that. We each were faster than the last to present ourselves. Tobias reminded me just last night that Mama barely made it to the birthing chamber before he appeared. Have I surprised you?”
“Beyond belief.” Constantine leaned in and kissed her full on the mouth. “You are the cleverest, most beautiful, most ingenious woman in the whole world.”
Rosemary nodded. “That’s more like it. Would you like to hold your son and heir?”
Her husband gulped nervously but took his son from her arms with the skill of a man used to such tasks. She leaned back against the headrest, admiring the man she’d married and the warmth of his smile. She’d chosen well the night she’d stolen him for her own pleasure. He treated her gently and allowed her the liberty she craved in most things, but most of all she just liked to be near him
He looked up. “What will you call him?”
She grinned. “I thought you might claim that privilege.”
Constantine bit his lip as he gazed upon his son. “James, of course, after your father. Peter, after mine. James Peter Hunt. Do you like it?”
Tears filled her eyes. “That was exactly what I would have chosen.”
Constantine glanced around at the sound of a giggle. “Are our daughters here?”
Rosemary nodded and crooked her fingers toward the bed. “They wanted to see your reaction to meeting their baby brother. Come out, my little darlings.”
Three pretty faces appeared from beneath the tassels of the master bed and hurried across the room. They crowded their father and new brother, their little fingers caressing James Peter Hunt’s dark head of hair gently as she’d shown them.
“He cries a lot, Papa,” Willow confessed with a sad shake of her head.
“See, he’s looking at you.” Maisy giggled. “He gets cross.”
Constantine rocked James a little until he settled again, his smile proving him utterly besotted with their son. “If that’s the case, he must have inherited a good portion of Randall blood.”
Rosemary met Constantine’s gaze over the heads of their children and her heart filled. The girl’s fascination with their new brother was simply adorable. After a moment, the girls drifted back to her side, and to her delight Willow climbed into her lap and lay against her shoulder. Rosemary brushed the girl’s hair from her eyes and cuddled her close. “What do you think of him?”
“He’s perfect.”
Rosemary touched the girl’s cheek and then Maisy’s and Poppy’s too. “You are all perfect, and all mine. Never ever forget that.”
Willow kissed her cheek and scrambled off, leaving her arms free. Poppy climbed onto her lap next and when Constantine placed James into her other arm she juggled the two together.
With luck, this wouldn’t be the end but only the beginning.
THE END