Page 88 of Amor Prohibido

Ursula picked up my baby girl shortly after to complete her newborn checks, then I sat in the nearby armchair cradling both my children in my arms for the first time; holding them, protecting them, and telling them just how much I loved them already.

JAX

“What?Again?”My hulk of a man just woke meagainfrom a deep sleep, which felt like seconds in duration.

We’d moved to a private maternity suite attached to the Special Care Baby Unit where we could stay with our babies. Since they were a few weeks premature, they needed close monitoring for the next few days, at least. They were both small but strong and were currently nestled in incubators as a precaution to provide them with extra oxygen and regulate their body temperatures.

“Sorry, sweetheart. Baby girl is hungry this time,” Jace murmured to the little pink bundle in his arms that squawked and waved a tiny, angry fist in the air.

Such a powerful sight; there was something about a huge, strong, half-naked male holding a vulnerable newborn in an utterly tender way. I didn’t think I could have loved Jace any more than I did until he broke down the moment our babies were born. It had absolutely killed me in the best way possible.

We were both exhausted, and I was sore, but when he looked from our baby’s face to mine exuding never-ending love, I wanted this moment to stretch forever. I hadn’t woken fully the last time he brought our baby boy to me, but I’d felt Jace’s presence for a long while before he finally roused me. He then sat on the bed, keeping me alert enough to ensure neither baby nor myself toppled to the ground. I’d fallen asleep immediately after Jace removed our little man from my breast.

I could hear the little guy now, rooting around and snuffling like a hedgehog a metre to my left. I hissed in a breath as our baby girl latched on and began to suck furiously.

Jace’s chuckle resonated around the quiet, shadowy room.

“What?” I muttered, not looking up.

He snickered again and leaned further toward us, watching in awe. “She’s a feisty little one, isn’t she? Reminds me of someone else.” The tired grin on his face didn’t reach dimple depth, but it was cute nonetheless.

“Lord have mercy on us all then.”

He looked over at our son. “I think he’s gonna be the chilled out one, andshe’sgonna give us a run for our money. Scares the shit out of me already, to be honest. Happy Valentine’s Day, by the way, sweetheart. You did amazing last night.”

His palm cupped my face as he kissed my cheek, lingering and brushing his lips over my skin.

“Thank you for being there for me. It couldn’t have been easy to watch.”

“It wasn’t.” He shifted to the other side of the bed, closer to our son. “I’ve been thinking, we haven’t really been set on any names so far, but Romeo seems quite fitting, doesn’t it?”

I laughed quietly, not wanting to startle the ravenous baby at my breast. “Like Romeo and Juliet? That’s a bit cliché.”

Jace looked hard into my eyes, flicking his focus between each one. “I was thinking Valentine or Valentina.”

Romeo and Valentina… Cute.

“Is this you trying to tell me that you’re really a hopeless romantic?”

“Hey, all I know is that you just gave me the most precious gifts in the world, and I want their names to reflect that.”

I fell silent in thought for a long time. Jace picked up our little girl when she finished feeding and cuddled her, inhaling her yummy newborn scent. With a final kiss to her head, he placed her into the incubator with her big brother.

I flapped a hand. “You can’t put them in together!”

“Why not? I figure they just spent eight months in close quarters, so they must be lonely being separated. It makes sense. Plus, I read that twins actually settle better when they share a cot.”

“You realise the nurse is going to go ape-shit when she sees them in there together.”

“Good thing I don’t care about that, then,” he deadpanned.

Yeah. Jace was alreadythatkind of father. His hunch was right, though; I watched in awe as our babies gravitated toward each other and nuzzled in. Romeo’s tiny fist was on his sister’s face, and Valentina was trying her best to suckle it.

A-dorable!

“Romeo and Valentina,” I whispered out loud this time. Both names were perfect in my head, and I liked the way they rolled off my tongue.

“Romeo and Valentina Malone,” Jace echoed. He squeezed my knee through the heavy hospital blankets, then reached into the incubator to stroke our babies’ little heads with his forefinger. “Perfecto.”

---