Chapter 264
Alina 3 Years Later
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Here I am, completely undone by seven pounds of squishy baby.
I cradle Elena’s son in my arms, his tiny body wrapped in a pale blue blanket, his little fists opening and closing like he’s trying to find something.
One of his fingers wraps around mine and I forget how to breathe. My chest swells, my eyes sting, and I can’t stop smiling like an idiot.
God, he’s perfect.
I wiggle my finger against his tiny palm, whispering a quiet hi. He coos and it hits me like
a punch to the heart.
I want one.
No, I want five.
If they all feel this soft, smell this good, make my heart ache with love, then I want five.
I never used to think of myself as a mother. Not seriously. Not beyond that pregnancy scare that had me spiraling, unsure of the future and everything in it. But now? Now I’m sitting here, in a quiet hospital room and everything feels clear.
“He’s absolutely beautiful,” I say, looking up.
The comment was meant for Elena, but she’s out cold on the bed, snoring softly, completely knocked out from forty–eight hours of labor. A laugh slips from my lips, she would hate to know that I’ve heard her snore.
“She deserves the rest,” Noah murmurs beside me, even as he tries to hide his chuckle. He leans over and presses a kiss to her forehead, brushing a strand of hair from her damp temple. “It was a long couple of days.”
There’s so much love in his eyes that it steals my breath again.
My eyes drift across the room to Zaid.
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He’s sitting in the corner chair, his elbows on his knees, his dark eyes fixed on me like I’m some kind of vixen. His gaze is molten, hooded and hungry, wild.
I know that look.
It’s the look he gives me when he’s overwhelmed. He’s not even blinking, just watching the way I cradle that tiny baby boy like I was made to do it.
He’s been getting better with hospitals, and when Elena announced his pregnancy, he
doubled his therapy. He was determined to here for her.
But with the way he is looking at me, I have a feeling the hospital fear is the last thing on
his mind.
I know exactly what he’s thinking, because I’m thinking it too.
I look at Noah and gently pass the baby back into his arms. “Thank you for letting us visit.
We’ll come back tomorrow. With food. And hopefully you’ll be discharged soon?”
“Fingers crossed,” he says, smiling down at his son.
I stand and reach for Zaid’s hand. He doesn’t speak. Doesn’t blink. Just rises wordlessly
and follows me out.
The ride back home is quiet, but the sibtle thrum of his thumb on my thigh has me feeling so much peace.
We barely make it through the front door of our house before he’s on me, devouring me
with lips. His hands are everywhere, on me as we stumble our way up the stairs, taking off
our clothes with every step.
I kiss him back just as hungrily, losing myself in the feel of him, the taste, the heat that simmers just below the surface. As soon as he closes the door to his bedroom, he pulls
apart, his hands on my arms to keep me away/
Our chests are heaving and I’m standing in my underwear, him in his briefs.
I look at him. “Zaid?”
“I was going to wait,” he whispers, breathless. “I’ve been trying so fucking hard to wait.”
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I blink up at him, confused. “Wait for what?”
He doesn’t answer right away. Just reaches for the bookshelf, pulling down his weathered leather journal. The one that looks exactly like the one he gave me when we first moved
into this place.
I frown, eyebrows pulling together as he hands it to me.
“Page five,” he says softly.
My hands tremble just a little as I open it, flipping to the page.
It’s his list. His list of hopes and dreams, of goals for this new start of our life, almost five
years ago.
I remember writing my list on the floor.
But I look at his list and the very first line wrecks me. It tears me apart.
- Marry Alina.
My vision blurs instantly, tears burning their way to the surface. My breath catches as I
slowly lower the journal.
Zaid is in front of me, closing in, stepping closer with a ring in his hand.
“I told myself to not ask you until after your graduation.”
I raise my eyes from the ring and look into his. He pushes me until I’m up agains the wall and his hips drive into mine, the ring between us.
“I’ve waited, and I would’ve waited forever, but fuckI don’t want to anymore, I want now.
I wan us to start our life now.”
My lips part.
“I saw you hold him, Alina, and I fucking saw my future flash before my eyes. Why can’t
we start it now?”
I nod. “We can.”
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“Fuck, marry me, love. Marry me, please.”
The journal slips from my fingers and hits the floor with a soft thud. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him into me, kissing him.
“Yes. Yes, Zaid. Always, yes,” I whisper between kisses, between struggles for breath.
He kisses me back, stealing my oxygen as he blindly slides the ring on my finger. He proposed to me while we were in our underwear, and nothing could be more perfect.
“I love you,” he says into my ear. “I love you so fucking much.”
He wraps his arms around my waist and carries me to the bed. I cup his face, finding myself in his eyes.
“I love you, Zaid. I love you.”
