Page 2 of Bound by Love
“How?” she asked, looking at him in wonder.
Sir placed his hand on her stomach, shaking his head. “I have no idea.”
Tears pricked Brie’s eyes. She imagined the terror he must have felt with everyone screaming around him just before the plane smashed into the ground.
“And now, I have been given the miracle of a second chance.” Sir smiled, gazing down at her round belly. “I’m going to get to meet our little girl.”
Brie looked at him with a mixture of gratitude and heartache. She’d been so close to losing him…
“I love you, Sir.”
He cradled her cheek. “I love you, too.”
Tears filled her eyes when she confessed, “Today would be even more perfect if we could tell Rytsar the news. It’s killing me inside.”
She saw the same level of pain reflected in Sir’s eyes. “It is the only thing that tarnishes this moment for me. The overwhelming helplessness of not knowing if he’s alive…it eats at me like a cancer.”
Brie nodded, her bottom lip trembling.
“But our duty as parents is to separate those feelings from the miracle that is our child.” Sir laid his hand on her stomach again. “I am a lucky man…”
Brie gazed into his eyes as he grasped the back of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. She couldn’t help grinning the moment their lips touched, and the perfect name suddenly flashed in her mind.
“Do my kisses amuse you?” he asked teasingly.
“I know what her name is, Sir,” Brie announced, and she whispered it in his ear.
Sir leaned back against the pillow, nodding his approval. “I agree. Thatisher name.”
Brie felt chills of providence coursing through her when he kissed her again. The name not only reflected the two of them, but it also honored Rytsar’s devotion to their baby.
When Sir pulled away, she tried unsuccessfully to keep the tears from falling. Sir reached up and wiped them away. “Heiscoming back, babygirl. And when he does, Durov will appreciate the name we have chosen for her.”
Brie forced a smile, taking strength from his assurance. She imagined the moment when Rytsar finally met their child face-to-face. It would be so beautiful…
Shechoseto believe it would happen, and to honor that belief, she asked Sir, “I think you should be the one to make the formal introduction between them when she is born.”
“Certainly, if that is what you wish.”
Brie felt the baby kick, and glanced down at her stomach, mesmerized by the wonder of the tiny human growing inside her. Truly, motherhood was a miracle—this ability to create a life born of love.
Time for Whoopee
Brie forced a nervous smile as Maxim sped them to the hospital. Trying to distract herself from her mounting worries, she said to everyone in the vehicle, “I sure hope they were right about our baby being a girl, or our little boy is going be dressed in a lot of pink lace.”
“Moye solntseis not a boy,” Rytsar insisted.
Sir chuckled, patting her hand. “No need to worry about that now.”
“You’re right.” Brie sighed, looking out the window. She was feeling unsettled and mumbled aloud, “But I feel like I forgot something…”
“Do not fret,” Rytsar advised from the front seat. “Whatever it is, my men can get it for you.”
She nodded, but the nagging feeling wouldn’t go away, so she went back to staring out the car window to hide her unease. When she saw an orange tabby running across the street, it suddenly came to her.
“Master Anderson!”
“What about him?” Sir asked.
