Insufferable Proximity 2 (45 page)

***

In the delivery room, Julian was staring at his son in awe. Although he was six-feet-one, he felt as if he were thirty-feet tall. He was overcome with pride and a strong sense of accomplishment. He then looked at Heaven and felt overwhelming graciousness. He pushed the loose tendrils back from her face and kissed her forehead.

“Thank you.” He was overcome with emotion and unable to express his true feelings. He had never been blessed with such an amazing gift. “There is no greater gift in the world—thank you for my son.”

“I couldn’t have made him without you,” she reminded him, and Julian’s smile widened. “Thank you, too.”

***

There was a party in hospital room 301. Everyone was there to celebrate the birth of Levi King. The guest of honor was sleeping peacefully in the nursery, while his friends and family popped bottles of champagne.

Ayden paid a hefty sum to every security guard, nurse and doctor on the floor to turn a blind eye to the festivities. Every patient was given a sizable gift card for the baby store.

“We need to make a toast!” Alice said as she began to fill the glasses.

“Do you want champagne?” Petal asked Heaven as she handed her a glass.

“No,” Julian answered as he took the glass from Petal instead.

“I have sparkling apple cider for you, darling,” Sybille said as she poured a glass for her daughter.

Ayden raised his glass high. “A toast to my first grandchild—Levi King.”

“Our amazing grandchild is already the apple of his grandparents’ eyes,” Sybille added as she held up her glass.

“To Levi!” the crowd cried simultaneously as they clicked their glasses together.

“
And
to his amazing parents,” Coco added.

“I’d like to toast my husband,” Heaven added as she raised her glass of sparkling apple cider. “This would not be possible today if not for him. I would like to officially thank him for searching half of New York City until he found me. Thank you for never giving up.”

“And I would like to toast my wife, for keeping herself alive until I found her,” he said with a grin as he kissed her lightly.

The nurse suddenly came into the hospital room with Levi. Everyone grew silent as they looked at the swaddled baby.

“I think he must know that his family is celebrating. He refuses to rest.” The nurse smiled as Levi cried.

Julian grinned. “Already stubborn like his mother.”

“You mean like his father.” Heaven smiled at him.

“Already showing signs of being a genius, like both of his parents.” Sybille smiled proudly.

“And his grandfather,” Ayden interjected.

“And his Aunt Coco,” Coco chimed in.

The nurse handed Levi to Heaven, and he immediately stopped crying.

“He just wanted his mother.” Julian smiled as he sat in the chair next to Heaven and began to whisper so that only she could hear, “I know how you feel, son; I want your mother too.”

***

The long day finally came to an end. The thick, navy-colored sky was illuminated by the bright, full moon and cast a glittery darkness across the city.

After everyone had left for the night, Julian and Heaven sat on the bed looking at their baby.

“You’re exhausted, Princess, you need to get some rest.” Julian ran his hand across her cheek.

“Not yet, I’m afraid I might miss something. This is the best moment of my life, and I want to make it last as long as I can.” She smiled at her son adoringly.

Julian smiled in response. He knew how deep her stubborn streak went. He also knew that she would stay up until she passed out from sheer exhaustion.

“Trust me, I understand, but you just gave birth to my ten-pound son. You need to rest your body.”

“Not now,” she said as she pushed the hair back from her son’s forehead. “I can’t believe how perfect he is.”

As she spoke, her face lit up with joy and pride. Julian watched his wife and his son with an incomparable pride. He knew that he was blessed. After a childhood filled with deceit and distrust, he was looking forward to spending the rest of his life in bliss.

“He’s perfect, and he looks just like his father. You know what that means,” Julian grinned slyly, “you lost the wager. You now owe me a five-day contract.”

“Not yet, it’s still too early to tell. He might look more like me in the next few months,” she argued in a soft tone so she didn’t wake the baby.

“I don’t think so, Princess.  He is my spitting image, even down to the color of his hair and his birth weight. My father said it was like seeing me as a newborn again. So when do you want to start your contract? ” he grinned wolfishly.

As if Levi realized that his parents were discussing him, he opened his eyes.

“Oh, just look at him,” Heaven sang as her heart skipped a beat.

“His eyes are going to be gray.”

“It’s too early to tell yet, Julie,” Heaven managed to bark at him in a sweet tone.

“They are already close to my color.”

“It’s a proven fact that the color of the baby’s eyes will change within the first year.”

“Not a chance. Just admit it—Levi is going to look exactly like me.”

Levi began to cry a little and Heaven kissed his forehead.

“I refuse. I think he’s hungry.”

Julian sat behind Heaven on the bed and untied her hospital gown. He slid the material off her shoulders and unfastened her bra.  He pulled down the strap and bared her breast, then watched in fascination as she began to nurse their son.

“What I would give to be able to do that all day. I would love to be permanently attached to your breast.”

She grinned. “I bet you would.”

“I told you that you would be an amazing mother.” He felt relief as he watched them. “You are going to be able to give him what I never had—a mother’s love. Because of you, he’s going to have a better appreciation and understanding of women than I did growing up. My son could not ask for a better mother.”

“And he could not ask for a better father. I want to take some time off from work. I want to spend as much time with him as possible.” She kissed her son’s forehead again.

“I like that idea.”

“Too bad I couldn’t bring him to work with me,” she joked.

“My father already mentioned adding a daycare for the building. He’s excited to start teaching Levi the family practice.

“I love that idea,” Heaven giggled in excitement. “I have another idea.”

“Dare I ask?”

“I want to start an organization for abduction victims. I want to help financially and legally. I’ve been through it and I want to reach out to others who have been through it.”

“I think that is an amazing idea.”

***

Julian sat at Heaven’s desk while Heaven stood at his side.

“We got them; they have nothing. Their closing statement was weak and amateurish,” Heaven boasted.

“We’ve already won; I’m just waiting for the jury to announce it,” Julian quipped.

“I still can’t believe they tried to use insanity as a last-minute attempt. Fools,” she stated.

“You destroyed that before they even had a chance. Good work, Mrs. King.” Julian kissed her hand.

“I couldn’t have done it without you, Mr. King. They were right—we do make a fierce team.”

“No one can beat us in that courtroom,” Julian said cockily.

Her secretary announced Levi’s arrival, and Heaven jumped for joy.

Julian smiled widely as he put the folder away. He knew that once their son arrived, Heaven would not want to be bothered with work.

Heaven headed towards the door as Nancy, their heavenly nanny, brought Levi into her office.”

“Look at my handsome boy,” Heaven gushed as she took her son. “What have you been doing today?”

“I had to pry him away from the live court shows,” the nanny chuckled.

“Of course.” Heaven shook her head; Levi preferred to watch court shows over cartoons.

“That’s my boy, a star attorney in the making,” Julian boasted.

“We’re taking an extended lunch, so I’ll call you when we’re done,” Heaven informed her.

Nancy smiled before she left. “All right. Have a good lunch, Levi.”

“Are you hungry?” Heaven asked, and Levi nodded.

“Pizza.’

“No more pizza, you just had pizza yesterday.”

“Pizza!” he repeated.

“How about wings?” Julian asked.

“No—pizza! Please!” he pleaded in such an adorable voice that she couldn’t resist.

“Fine, pizza it is. You’re stubborn just like your father.” Heaven grinned. She loved her son’s personality; he already had a few of Julian’s characteristics, as well as her own.

“Like his mother,” Julian corrected her as he walked over and took Levi.

“I’m not as stubborn as you are, Julie.” Heaven countered.

“You’re right, you’re not
as
stubborn; you’re actually
more
stubborn than I am,” he kissed her forehead, “
Princess
.”

Third Birthday

Levi King was turning three years old, and honoring his birthday, his father turned their large backyard into an amusement park, complete with merry-go-round, bumper cars and ponies.

“Be careful!” Heaven warned Julian, who was holding Levi on his lap in the bumper car. Julian and the blue car in front of him were close to a head-on collision, and Heaven could feel her anxieties begin to rise. “If he has one scratch on him, I will make you pay, Julian King!”

“Did you hear your mother?” Julian whispered to his son, who nodded eagerly.

“Yes.”

“You’d better cover that scratch, or she’s going to kick my butt,” he chuckled, and Levi giggled. “Now, hold on tight and we’ll hit them one last time before we have to get off.”

“No, I wanna ride!” Levi whined, not ready to stop yet.

“Slow down!” Heaven yelled to Julian who was ignoring her, so she turned to the blue bumper car. “Ian, you slow down then since your brother isn’t listening to me!”

Ian King had divorced his gold-digging wife. It had been a hell of a divorce, and had taken its toll on Ian, but he was happier now. Ian’s heart had also warmed up to a certain secretary, and he was happier than anyone in his family had ever seen him. Gone was the stuffy, uptight, Ian King, and in his place was a man who was refusing to take life so seriously.

“Gloria, please tell your boyfriend to slow down, because if one of them doesn’t stop I will go up there, remove my baby from the scene of the upcoming crime, jump in a bumper car and run them both over,” Heaven said in one long breath, and Gloria giggled.

Gloria knew what true happiness was for the first time in her life. She’d found a man who treated her like a real woman and not a paid escort. She had told Ian all of her dirty secrets, and to her complete surprise, he told her he didn’t care. It felt good to be with a man who loved her for her personality and not what she had to offer.

“Ian, please slow down before Heaven runs you over with a bumper car.” Gloria smiled, and Ian nodded as he slowed down.

“Scaredy-cat!” Levi yelled at his uncle, and Julian laughed hard as he stepped out of the bumper car. “One more ride!”

“No more,” Julian shook his head.

“One more ride!” Levi demanded and Julian grinned, seeing himself in his son more by the day. He reached down to pick him up and then put him up on his shoulders. Levi continued complaining as they headed toward Heaven.

“I want to ride!” Levi said as Heaven took him.

She smiled at her son. “I thought you said you wanted chocolate cake.”

“I want cake.” He nodded his little head up and down, his attention now on his huge birthday cake.

“I’ll take you back on the bumper cars after you eat,” Julian said, and Heaven shook her head.

“Why don’t you take him on the merry-go-round instead; it‘s much safer,” she suggested.

“Bumper cars!” Levi cried, obviously ready to fight to ride the bumper cars.

***

Heaven sat by Levi’s bed and read him his favorite bedtime story. She waited until he was asleep, then kissed his forehead and left his bedroom.

“Is he asleep?” Julian asked as he walked to stand behind her.

“Yes.”

“Come on.” He grabbed the baby monitor, wrapped his arm around her hips and led her to their room.

“My mom wants to go to Hawaii with us next month.”

“Good, she can watch Levi so you can give me those three days you owe me.” He grinned slyly.

“I only owe you two days, don’t forget about last week,” she objected.

“That doesn’t count.”

“Yes it does!”

“No, it doesn’t, I traded you the Kittington case for a three-day contract. I let you off
easy
. I should have asked for thirty days; you know how much I wanted that case.”