He pulled back and sat beside her, putting a hand over her belly. The baby kicked. It was a girl. But they were keeping it a secret from Ajax. She put her hand over her husband’s and they looked at each other, a wealth of emotion flowing between them.
They’d already been tested by grief when Sophy had lost their second baby at about four months to a miscarriage, almost a year ago now. But that experience had only made their bond even stronger.
Ajax’s voice suddenly piped up with an imperious, ‘Mama, come here! I want to show you something.’
Sophy smiled wryly at Apollo and moved into the water, swimming lazily over to her son, the way her husband had taught her.
Apollo looked at his wife and son playing and his heart was so full he didn’t know how it didn’t burst. But it didn’t. It just grew and expanded every day. And in another month or so it would expand a lot more.
And what he’d found, thanks to his love for his wife and his family, was that it was always infinitely better to make love the goal. And not self-protection. Because the thought of not experiencing this beauty and love and joy... Well, that was more terrifying than anything.