Fusion (Explosive #5) (38 page)

I hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep the night before Ava’s arrival. Sierra had zonked out on the bed next to me as if it were any other night and not the eve of what would drastically change our lives. Every time I’d closed my eyes, I couldn’t stop thinking about what was going to come.

I was having a daughter.

Not only that, but she was going to be Sierra’s daughter. Like, gorgeous, sexy, beautiful, make-’em-fall-in-love-with-you-at-first-sight Sierra.

I finally understood what Nick had meant all those years ago. Ava wasn’t even born yet and I was already making plans. That girl wasn’t leaving her room until she was thirty. Maybe thirty-five.

So, while Sierra slept, I freaked out. I reeled it in. I freaked out some more. Then I reeled in it again, knowing that Ava was going to have the best parents and the best childhood, and the only blemish on her life would be her dirty Steelers-loving uncle.

Hey, it never got old giving Ty crap. Who fucking dey.

When the alarm was about to blare, I switched it off and got out of bed, but not before I gave a still-dead-to-the-world sleeping Sierra a kiss on the forehead. I got ready for the day as if it were any other one. By the time I was done, however, I could no longer contain my excitement. I was like a kid on Christmas morning, and I wanted my gift now.

Right fucking now.

So I Bruce-Buffered Sierra, and even though she might have glared, I knew she loved it.

The hospital trip was a breeze. With Sierra being induced, they were waiting for us with a room ready. Hell, she was only in labor for three hours before she was fully dilated.

That’s when the nerves crept in, and I had half a mind to join our families in the waiting room, but I pushed them aside because Sierra needed me—even if I was freaking out on the inside.

Sierra was panting and grunting, and her face was redder than I’d ever seen it. I tried keeping up with the breathing exercises we’d learned in Lamaze, but the energy coming from her made me think she didn’t want me around. I’d heard those stories, the laughing jokes about the crazy, witchy woman who replaced your wife in the delivery room. The one who threatens your dick, swears she’s never having sex again, and so on. I was fully prepared for that, even had a few jokes lined up for it.

But I never got the chance. That crazy, witchy woman wasn’t Sierra. Instead, she wasn’t saying a word. She wasn’t looking at me. She was so focused on what she was doing that it was like I wasn’t even there.

I wanted to be, so when the latest contraction ripped through her and she was hunched up, I let her torture my hand as I rubbed her lower back.

“Push, baby,” I coached—like a champ, I might add. I wasn’t obnoxious. I was supportive.

Or so I thought.

Her head turned so slowly and deliberately that I had a vision of it twisting all the way around Exorcist style.

Oh shit.

She was aware of my presence. Finally. Her teeth were clenched as she glared at me. I had a feeling I was about to meet crazy, witchy Sierra.

“That’s easy for you to say. You get your ass on this bed, climb into my uterus, and push her out for me,” she seethed.

Then I made a grave mistake.

I laughed.

Now, her blue eyes were wide and bulging, her mouth hanging open. This time, she reminded of Chucky, and I shuddered at the thought. That’s the one thing I couldn’t do. Creepy dolls. Nope, not for me, ever. Especially creepy ginger dolls. No soul and all that jazz.

I probably should have stopped comparing my wife to horror movie creatures in my head, but I couldn’t help it.

“Stop it, baby. You’re going to give me nightmares,” I teased.

Another grave mistake.

I needed to shut up, or I was never going to worship in Sierra’s love temple again.

Fortunately, Sierra began pushing again, and the doctor announced that she could see a head. My curiosity got the best of me, and I stretched my body so I could get a look.

I mean, it’s not every day your wife has a head coming out of her vagina, and my interest was piqued.

My final mistake.

One second, Sierra was squeezing my hand so hard I thought it was going to pop off, and the next second, I was flat on my back, blinking slowly and wondering how I’d gotten there. A nurse was grinning down at me, and I shook my head, trying to regain my sense. That’s when I heard it.

The most beautiful sound in the world.

At least, in my world at that split second.

A baby was crying.

Sure, that sound might eventually become the bane of my existence, but in that moment, it was music to my fucking ears.

I jumped to my feet and wiped my hands off on my pants, smiling brightly. “I’m good!” I said, frantically looking around the room. I probably looked ridiculous, but I’d just passed out, and now, I was experiencing some crazy kind of adrenaline rush from knowing that my kid was finally out in the world.

My kid.

That stopped me right in my tracks.

My. Kid.

My eyes raced to Sierra’s. She was grinning at me, shaking her head—clearly not experiencing quite the same rush that had rendered me speechless.

“I told you not to take a peek,” she scolded while still maintaining her grin.

I ran a hand through my hair and went to her side. She’d never been more beautiful. Her hair was damp, matted on her forehead. The circles under her eyes were dark, but her cheeks were flushed, her smile was wide, and her eyes were shining with all the love she had for me. All the love she had for our daughter.

“Your legs were spread, baby. I couldn’t
not
take a peek,” I told her, because let’s face it. It was the truth. “So much for cutting the cord.”

She giggled, shaking her head and letting it fall back against the pillow. Her tired eyes sparkled, crinkling on the edges while her mouth was turned upward in a dreamy smile.

“You did good.”

An eyebrow quirked up. “How would you know? You were on the floor before Ava was even out,” she teased.

Just as I was about to protest and stick up for my manhood, a nurse approached us from the other side.

“Okay, Mom and Dad,” she singsonged, almost sounding like a young Mary Poppins. “Say hello to little miss Ava.”

Sierra’s breath caught, and my heart leapt into my throat. All I could see was a bundle in yellow, the nurse having wrapped Ava in the blanket Sierra had insisted on. Yellow, not pink. That was my girl. We watched in silence as the nurse got closer, and I’m pretty sure neither of us was breathing. Then the nurse smiled and placed Ava in Sierra’s waiting arms.

Her eyes were wide as she stared up at her mom. Her mom’s eyes were just as wide as she stared down.

Sierra Banks, my wife, was holding Ava Banks, my daughter, for the very first time.

My wife.

My
daughter.

And that was all it took. It hit me so hard that I could’ve passed out again. But I did something else.

I cried.

I fucking cried.

Then I sat on the edge of the bed and placed my arm around Sierra’s shoulders, and when Ava’s eyes moved to me, I cried again.

I’D NEVER FORGET HOW
it felt when Ava was placed in my arms. You hear all those clichés. Your heart is now living outside your body, you finally found your purpose in life, or whatever else the greeting cards say. I always thought that’s what they were. Clichés. But then I experienced it and knew that it was all so true.

Gazing down at Ava’s pink little face, her innocent eyes watching me, I was in awe. As my eyes were transfixed on my little girl, the magnitude of the moment rendered me speechless. I couldn’t believe that this beautiful, tiny human being was a product of our love. When Jeremy sat on the bed next to me and looked at his daughter for the first time, bursts of pride exploded in my heart.

Two days old and Ava Banks was already the most loved kid in the world. Visits from Mom, Dad, Mr. and Mrs. Banks, Jenna, Chris, Ty, and Lexi had all overwhelmed and exhausted me, but in the best possible way. As tired as I was, I couldn’t help but beam from the incredible amount of love and support Jeremy and I had and, in turn, Ava would have.

But it was right at that specific moment that I knew Ava was one lucky little girl. I’d just gotten out of the bathroom, having freshened up for our impending release. Jeremy was sitting in the rocking chair, holding our tiny bundle of joy in his arms. His expression was a mixture of pure love and awe. While he was speaking in hushed whispers to our daughter, she was staring up at him with rapt attention. His forefinger stroked her soft baby skin, and when he leaned down to place a kiss on her tiny fingertips, I fell deeper in love with him. If I’d have had my phone, the picture I could’ve snapped would’ve been perfect for a greeting card.

“Who knew dads were so sexy?” I asked, breaking the silence.

His head lifted, his eyes meeting mine. “She’s so tiny,” he whispered.

I crossed the room, placed my hand on his shoulder, and peered down at them. “She looks good on you.”

“Just like her momma,” he teased, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

As if on cue, a nurse popped her head into the room. “Okay, Banks family. Ready to go home?”

After two days in the hospital, I was more than ready to get home and settled in as a new family of three. Jeremy and I’d spent weeks preparing the nursery. Not to mention two nights of not sleeping with Jeremy was two nights too many.

She went about her duties, giving us instructions and tips for the future. Jeremy listened intently, taking note of things here and there, and it was so damn cute how serious he looked.

Until we got to the sex part.

“Now, to be on the safe side, the doctor recommends at least six weeks until you engage in intercourse with penetration,” she said matter-of-factly.

I grinned and poked him in the side. “Hear that, Jeremy? Six. Long. Weeks,” I said, dragging out each word for emphasis.

“Six weeks?” he asked, incredulous.

“Doctor’s orders,” I replied.

Jeremy’s lips curved into a playful smile, and I could only imagine what he was thinking. His glance flicked between the nurse and me.

“Maybe,” he said with a shrug. “But what’d your dentist say?”

I woke with a start.