Page 140 of From Us, Forever

“East, stop,” Jay reprimanded, giving him a pointed look. “And you, princess, stop that. You’ll hurt your mom; she’s carrying a baby.”

Jaelyn folded her arms, tapping a finger. “Mom’s always carrying a baby, Dad. It’s all she does. It’s boring. I don’t want another sister or brother.”

I had to school my face to stifle the laughter waiting to spurt out of me. According to Jaelyn, she should’ve been the only daughter so she could have her father and me all to herself. I still had no clue from whom she inherited all that sass.

“Oh, don’t give me that attitude. You don’t get to speak to your mother like that,” Jay scolded, trying hard to keep a straight face. “You will apologize right this second, young lady.”

All the fight left her as her little lips wobbled and her eyes glittered with unshed tears. Jay was her soft spot. One harsh word from him and she would cry.

And I didn’t even have to look at his face to know how much it broke his heart to see her cry because she was his soft spot too.

East moved aside as Jaelyn crashed into me, sobbing. “I’m sorry, Mommy.”

I soothed her, wiping away her wet cheeks. “I know baby. You’re my little princess, and we love you.”

“You promise?” She hiccuped.

“Yes.” I smiled, kissing her cute button nose.

“Okay,” she mumbled, burying her face in my neck as I brushed her sandy blond hair. To say I had a mini coronary when she came out of me with a tuft of blond hair was an understatement.

I smiled to myself as my mind drifted back to the day I gave birth to her.

“Fucking hell, Jay. I’m never giving birth again. You hear me?” I screamed in his face. “I can’t do this anymore,” I cried. I thought I would get used to the pain of giving birth after two children, but I was sorely mistaken. It only hurt worse this time.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Jay whispered, pushing the sweaty strands of hair stuck to my face. “You can get through this. You’re so strong.” He held my hand. His face pinched in distress.

I sobbed as another wave of pain hit me, sending a shock through my spine. “I can’t, I’m so tired. This is all because of you.”

“That’s it, Evelyn, push, one more. Come on, you can do this.” The doctor encouraged from between my legs, and I did with all my might, but it stillwasn’t enough.

“One more hard push.”

Jay’s lips pressed to my forehead, as I squeezed his hands panting hard. “You can do this.”

I took another deep breath and pushed with everything I had at the next contraction.

And I gasped as the intense pain dulled, and within seconds, I heard a cry fill the room.

My eyes rolled back in exhaustion; Jay held me tight, whispering how proud he was. My eyes blinked open and locked on his blues, and he smiled, brushing a kiss on my lips.

The cries in the room halted the minute the doctor handed Jay the baby. His eyes watered as he gazed at her before carefully laying her on my chest, and my baby blinked at me as I held her.

“Meet our daughter.”

My eyes widened as I took in the sandy blond hair stuck to her crown. She had my nose, his lips, and my eyes, but where the fuck did the blond hair come from?

I knew my paternal lineage was questionable, but everyone else in my family were brunettes and all the Jamesons had pitch-black hair. A new wave of anxiety thundered through my heart as I swiped my gaze to Jay was grinning at our girl who blinked at him curiously.

“Jay, I swear I didn’t cheat on you.” For some weird reason, that was the first thing that popped out of my mouth.

His grin dropped as he slanted his eyes toward me. “What?” He gaped.

The nurses gave me a weird look, and embarrassment spiked in my veins as my cheeks heated.

“She has blond hair,” I whisper-shouted, shooting a frantic gaze toward him. “How is that possible? I was with you the whole time, so I have no idea how this happened.” My eyes swam over her features again, and my heart melted when her browns met mine. God, she was so beautiful. I gotlost in her for a second before snapping my gaze back to Jay, who still hadn’t answered me.

Jay’s lips twitched as if he was fighting hard not to laugh as his eyes filled with mirth.

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