Page 50 of Baby Bombshell for the Boss

He couldn’t ignore his feelings for Ivy any longer.

They pulled up in front of the hospital. He handed the car keys to the valet and ushered Ivy into the building. They were immediately surrounded by nurses, who helped Ivy into a wheelchair and ferried her off.

For a moment, Elliot just stood there, not sure what he was supposed to be doing. Should he follow? Was he supposed to wait in the waiting room? Where did he belong?

Then a nurse smiled at him. “Come on, Dad,” she said. “You’re part of this too.”

Dad.

In all the time he’d spent preparing to become a father, Elliot had never thought about the word dad. But there it was. As of today, he was going to be someone’s dad. The realization floored him.

He let the nurse lead him into the hospital room where Ivy had been set up. She smiled at the sight of him. “We’ve got this,” she said quietly, and he knew that it was true.

“I’ll send for your bag,” he told her, pulling out his phone to send a text. He drew up a chair beside her bed. It looked like this was going to be a long night, but Elliot was ready for it — and ready for everything that was going to follow.

He finally felt prepared to be a father. All that remained now was to settle his relationship with Ivy. He wanted to be so much more to her than he currently was, and all he could do was hope with every fiber of his being that she would want the same thing.

CHAPTER 23

ELLIOT

Elliot sat beside Ivy’s hospital bed, watching as she slept, amazed at everything the past few hours had brought.

Her labor had been quick, if not easy. They had gotten to the hospital just in time — the nurses had joked that one more red light would have prevented them from being here for the baby’s birth, and while it hadn’t literally been that close, it had certainly felt like it. Their son had made his debut shockingly quickly, and Ivy had stayed awake long enough to announce the name she’d chosen for him — Jake — and give him his first meal before succumbing to exhaustion.

The nurse tapped gently on the door and wheeled the bassinet into the room. “Thought you might like to have him with you,” she said, keeping her voice low so as not to disturb Ivy. “Get a little bonding in.”

“He doesn’t have to be in the nursery?”

“No, he’s all right for now. He can spend some time with Dad.” She smiled gently. “Look, he’s awake. And not even crying! If you need any help, press the call button and someone will come see to you, but I think you’ve got it for now.”

She smiled at him again and left.

Elliot didn’t know quite what to do. He was already head over heels in love, but how was he going to manage such a tiny human? He didn’t know the first thing about babies. With all the preparation he had done for this moment, why hadn’t he done a bit more reading? Why hadn’t he attended classes? Right now it felt as if there was nothing in the world, no amount of work, that could have made him feel ready to face the challenge ahead of him. This little baby deserved the best of everything in the world — so much more that Elliot would be able to give him. He could be the world’s best father, and it would still be less than little Jake deserved from him.

He reached into the bassinet and pulled his son into his arms, grateful for the fact that Jake was awake so he could do this without disturbing him. He cradled him gently, filled with anxiety — what if he wasn’t doing this right?

“You two make quite a picture,” Ivy murmured.

He looked up at her. “I didn’t know you were awake,” he said. “How long have you been up?”

“I just woke up to this perfect sight,” she said. “Best thing I’ve ever seen.”

“How are you feeling? Any pain? Do you want me to get the nurse?”

“No,” she beamed. “I’m great. Never been better in my life.”

He nodded. “Do you want him?”

“You hold on to him. It looks like you two are having a good time.” She reached back to adjust one of her pillows. Elliot rose to his feet quickly so that he could do it for her.

She grinned. “You’re always trying to take care of me.”

“I haven’t done the world’s best job of that, actually,” he said softly. “I want to do better, Ivy.”

“I don’t think we should worry too much about the past right now,” she said. “What’s done is done, right?”

“No,” he said. “That’s not good enough. I don’t want to dwell on the past, you’re right, but I do want to focus on the future. I think we can still set things right between us. We can still move forward. Have the kind of life we hoped we would when we started this journey.”

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