Page 56 of Raw Deal

The birth of their son.

Nik carefully laid down next to Chloe on the hospital bed as she held their sleeping baby boy. She counted his fingers again while Nik was content to simply watch them. The whole thing amazed him. It was nothing less than a miracle, more beautiful than anything he’d seen in his life.

This was it. This was the most perfect day of his life. Nothing could possibly be better than this.

“We still don’t have a name for this little guy,” he said just above a whisper.

She suggested, “What about Nikolas?”

“I want him to have his own name and be his own person without any Andropolis expectations hanging over his head.”

“What do you think we should name him then?”

He kissed the side of her head through her silky hair. “You named Mia without me. Where did you get her name?”

Chloe continued to stare down at their beautiful son, her eyes filled with love. “Mia was my mother’s middle name. Hey, what’s your middle name?”

“Alexandros,” he reluctantly said.

“We can name him Alex or Alec.”

Nik didn’t like either of those suggestions, but he kept his mouth shut. In the end, he would let her name their son whatever her heart desired. She’d given him two amazing children. She could ask for anything, and he would give it to her. No questions asked.

She added, “What about Xander? I like the sound of that.”

He tried it out as if answering someone asking about his children. “I have two kids. Mia and Xander.” He stroked his son’s cheek. “Hello, Xander. I’m your daddy.”

Kristina entered the room with Mia by her side. “Mia wants to see her baby brother.”

Nik climbed out of bed, careful not to disturb the other two occupants. He picked his little girl up and carried her to the bed so she could get her first look at their new addition. “This is Xander,” Nik said. “What do you think?”

Mia scrunched up her face as if contemplating the deepest mysteries of the universe. Then she nodded. “Xanda is my baby brother.”

“Xander,” Chloe corrected her daughter. Her amused gaze went to Nik. “I think it will take some practice for her to say it right.”

After a few minutes, Kristina took the little girl out of the room so they could have their privacy. It was their first day with their son, and Nik wanted to savor every second. This was it. This was the happiest day of his life.

Mia’s wedding.

Nik cleared his throat and bit back a wave of strong emotion. His daughter twirled around like she had as a child, showing off her new dress. This time it was a beautiful designer original wedding gown. She beamed at him, and his heart swelled with pride.

“Don’t be sad, Daddy. This is a happy day.”

“I am happy. For you. I just can’t believe my little girl is all grown up and getting married. Joe is a good guy, but a small part of me wants to beat his brains out for thinking he can take you away from me. Is that wrong?”

Mia smiled. “He isn’t taking me away. We’re not leaving Vegas.”

Nik forced a return smile, wanting to kick himself to letting Mia spend time in Sin City. He should have listened to her mother. If they had stayed in Brookhaven full time, Mia wouldn’t have met Joe.

“If he ever hurts you, I’ll kill him. I hope he knows that.”

Mia giggled. “Oh, Daddy, stop. I love Joey, and he loves me.”

“He’d better.”

The wedding march began, and the doors parted. Mia placed her hand in the crook of his arm. They walked down the aisle with all eyes on his beautiful daughter. He handed her off to her husband-to-be and sat next to Chloe in the first row.

Chloe clutched his arm as tears rolled down her pretty face. He handed her a tissue and placed a kiss on her forehead. Mia was the first one to leave them, but the others weren’t far behind. Xander was off to college in the fall, and Danny was about to enter his senior year in high school. Then they would only have Thomas left. It was getting close to time to go on to the next chapter of their lives. Having Chloe by his side meant he could face anything. He squeezed her hand. This was it. This was the most perfect day of his life.

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