Page 76 of Knocked-up Bratva Bride
Damien grinned, leaning in to press a kiss to my temple. “He’s lucky. You’ve got a beautiful nose.”
“So, what are we calling him?”
Damien traced a finger along the baby’s tiny fist. “I was thinking…maybe Leo.”
I looked down at him. Strong little fingers. Quiet but fierce. Bright and burning.
“Leo,” I whispered. “Like the lion.”
“Yes,” Damien said. “Fierce. Brave. A little dramatic.”
“Like his father?”
“Like his mother,” he said without missing a beat. “The woman who didn’t even scream until hour seven. I’ve never been more terrified or more in awe in my life.”
“You, terrified? Impossible.” I let out a soft laugh, then leaned my head against his shoulder. “But Leo Yezhov it is.”
Before another word came out of my mouth, a flurry of energy and perfume swept into the room. My mom.
Her cheeks were damp, her smile wider than I’d seen in years. She looked vibrant, alive, and a few years younger than before the transplant. I could still see the marks of malnourishment on her collarbone, peeking out from her blouse. She was a perfect miracle wrapped in mom jeans and lip gloss. Thanks to Damien.
She came to my side and cupped my face with both hands. Her eyes were puffy, red from crying, and maybe still a little tired. But they were alive. Bright. Warm.
“Look at you,” she whispered. “Mi niña. You’re a mother now.”
That soft heart of mine didn’t stand a chance. I shook my head, voice catching. “I missed you so much.”
She blinked, confused. “I’m right here, sweetie.”
“No,” I said, swallowing hard. “I mean…during the transplant. When you were sick, and we didn’t know if you’d make it. I’d talk to you in my head all the time, like…like if I thought loud enough, maybe it would keep you here. Jasper and I—we were scared all the time, though we tried not to talk too much about it. It was so heavy.”
Mom’s eyes filled again, and she touched her chest. “Baby….”
“I needed you then,” I said, looking from her to Nana. Jasper wasn’t here yet, but I had a feeling he’d be arriving shortly. “And now you’re all here. With this tiny miracle, and my husband. I just…I don’t know what I did to deserve this moment, but I’ll never stop being thankful for it.”
My mom squealed at Leo’s cuteness.
“Oh, look at him!” she gasped, her voice already cracking. “Give him to me.”
“Mama, I just pushed him out. Can I have, like, two more minutes?” I held him a little tighter.
She laughed through her tears, sitting on the edge of the bed like she’d done it a hundred times. “Fine, fine. But I’m going to rock him to sleep every night until he’s eighteen.”
“Seventeen,” Damien said. “After that, he gets his own alarm clock and therapy.”
We all laughed. Jasper burst into the room next, holding a balloon shaped like a dinosaur, a snack tray, and a gift bag that definitely came from the hospital gift shop.
“Is he here? Is he—oh, my God, he’s so tiny! You made him?” He pointed at me like I was some kind of magician.
I nodded. “Yeah, I guess I did. He’s real.”
He leaned in to get a better look and whispered, “He smells like cheese.”
“He’s a baby, not a snack,” I muttered, rolling my eyes. “And you’ll be fourteen soon. Haven’t you ever seen a newborn baby before?”
“Uh, why should I randomly see newborn babies?”
And just like that, the room filled with voices and laughter, love and overlapping conversations. Someone turned on music—Jasper, against the hospital’s instructions, but Damien was a force in motion that glared them away.
