Sweet Rome (Sweet Home) (41 page)

“Go, Daddy!” Eli and Archie suddenly shouted from the sofa, completely ignoring our conversation, both jumping up and down excitedly, pulling our attention back to them. Our youngest boys ran to the front of the large TV, clapping and screaming as shot after shot of me playing football rolled: sprinting, passing, scoring touchdowns. We all burst out laughing when Eli, the youngest, ran full out at Archie, tackling him to the floor, screaming,
“Boom!”
and patting his chest, holding it to the sky, my—now famous—touchdown celebration.

Breaking from Mol’s hand and running at Eli playfully, I lifted him above my head, tackling him to the ground. Squealing and laughing, Eli wriggled on the floor as I tickled him and Archie then jumped on my back, wrapping his tiny arms around my neck. As I glanced up at the other two on the couch, Isaac threw down his iPad, piling on too. Even Taylor, who at first rolled her eyes at us, finally succumbed to temptation and, with a squeal, ran and jumped on top.

“Let me up, you monsters!” I shouted dramatically as I tried to throw them of my back.

“
Never!
”

“
We got you pinned, Daddy!
”

“
We brought down the Bullet!
”

We were a mass of arms and legs, giggles and screams. And then I looked up at Mol watching, laughing at us all, and then it went quiet as five sets of eyes zeroed in on her, and she quickly lost her smile.

Backing away with her palms held up, Molly warned, “Oh, no. Don’t you even think about it, I don’t have time…”

My eyebrows danced as I said, “Kids, Momma is getting away. Defense, are you with me? One, two, three, break…”

Yells of agreement echoed around the large room as the five of us launched to a chase. With a scream, Mol turned and ran toward the kitchen, beelining for the huge backyard. She’d made it onto the first patch of grass when I hit her from behind, protecting her from being hurt with my body as we tumbled to the ground, our four crazy children piling on top.

“Do you give?” I shouted as we all tickled her into submission, her body jumping and jerking on the soft grass.

“I give, I give!” She choked on hysterical laughter, unable to stand the tickles to her ribs—it was her weak spot.

“Kids, go get a pigskin. Me and Momma need to get everything ready for the party,” I ordered and, still hyper, all four of our beautiful kids ran to the game shed and out of our sight. Taylor glanced back at me and threw me a small, apologetic smile—we were good again.

Looking down at my hot and flustered wife, I pinned her arms above her head and straddled her hips. “Mmm… I’m kinda liking this position I got you in.”

Molly bucked her hips, trying in vain to throw me off, pursing her soft lips.

Shaking my head disapprovingly, I whispered, “You want it rough, baby?”

“Romeo!” she screamed again, and I cut her off by slamming my lips against hers, my tongue immediately plunging into her hot mouth. Groaning against the assault, Mol let out a reluctant whimper, and I pulled back, teasingly licking the edge of her cupid’s bow.

“Hey, Mol,” I said with a smile.

Feeling her racing heart against my chest, she answered, “Hey, you.”

“You gonna give up that lucky sweet kiss?”

Mol couldn’t contain her giggle at the use of our old pre-game ritual. “If that’s what you want.”

My face broke out in the biggest fucking smile, and I replied, “Oh, it most definitely fuckin’ is!” Releasing Molly’s trapped arms, I cupped her cheek, moving in for the softest of kisses.

But all good things never last, or should I say they get cut short by a loud-mouthed, friggin’ Texan. “Hot damn, guys! Get a fuckin’ room!”

Sighing against Molly’s lips, I withdrew my head a fraction. “Looks like our friends are here early,” I announced with mock-disappointment. A pair of black cowboy boots landed next to our heads, and Cass looked down at the two of us, grinding her hips and biting her lip. “Still fuckin’ like rabbits, I see! ‘Yeah, Rome, yeahhhhh!!!’“

“Hey, Cass,” Molly said, slumping back in frustration, ignoring Cass’s usual inappropriate jokes. I began getting to my feet, smirking at Cass and hoisting Mol off the floor as I did so.

“Hey, Molls! I’ve missed you, honey!” Cass screamed, holding out her hands and pulling Molly to her huge chest, the impact robbing her of her breath.

A hand slapped on my back, and when I turned around, Jimmy-Don was holding out his arms. “Bullet, get the hell here, boy!”

I couldn’t help but laugh as he jerked me in for a full-body hug, only withdrawing to say, “Everyone’s here, guys. The adults are already inside drinking beer.”

“Fuck, Yeah! We’re gonna get wasted!” Cass hollered and, eying me with affection, proceeded to bear hug me too.

“Where are all the kids?” I heard Molly ask, waving to Lexi, Austin, Ally, and her husband inside the house. Ally’s husband. Shit. I still struggled with who that was.

“Playing ball behind the trees. They’re all having a blast, don’t worry!” Cass said and, with a wink and a slap on my ass, walked ahead to take Jimmy-Don’s proffered arm and set off toward the house.

I walked over to my wife, hooking an arm around her neck, and laid a soft kiss on her head, whispering, “God, I fuckin’ love you, baby. We’ll be finishing what we started later.”

“I
fucking
love you too. And I can’t bloody wait,” Mol whispered back, squeezing both of her arms around my stomach, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at that proper English accent cussing.

She was so fucking cute.

Laughter from all our best friends spilled out from inside of our house, echoes of our children’s laughter carried on the summer breeze, and I held on tight to the most perfect gal in the world.

All was how it should be, how it was
meant
to be. We had happiness, we had a family, we always had each other, and as I tucked my amazing wife under the protection of my arm, I felt like the luckiest bastard in the world.

Molly Juliet Prince is, and always will be, my home.

~~The End~~

Bonus Chapter

Molly

Aged Twenty-Six

Seattle, Washington

“Molly… Molly… Wake up for me, darling… Come on now…”

I was floating weightlessly in some transient dream, but a distant voice had me slamming back to my body with a jolt, and my eyes rolled open to fix on a blurry white ceiling.

“Welcome back, Mrs. Prince.” A blond woman wearing peach scrubs was above me, coaxing me back to consciousness. I glanced around the room with heavy eyes and noted we were alone.

Where’s Romeo?

“What…?” I tried to clear my dry throat. “W-where am I?”

“Shh… drink first.” A blue beaker with a long straw met my lips. I took the offered drink and after a huge gulp of water, the liquid moistening my dry throat, I tried next to clear the thick fog from my mind.

No!

Stiffening, my hand flew to my stomach and I winced in pain. I felt like I’d been sawed wide open. Fear hit me in the chest.
Not again… This can
not
be happening again…

The nurse’s knowing blue eyes met mine, and rubbing a hand on my arm, she said, “We had to give you an emergency caesarean, due to your preeclampsia. The baby was in distress and your blood pressure was getting to a dangerous level.”

Flashes of memory came back to me. Me on bed rest for the last three months, then hazy, scattered recounts of Romeo carrying me into the hospital in his arms, frantic, terrified, desperate even, and Ally… Ally drove us here to the hospital? That’s right. Ally was staying with us here in Seattle. She’d secured a co-curating commission at the Burke Museum on The University of Washington’s campus not too long ago and was in our spare room until she left again for her regular position at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.

I forced my groggy mind to refocus… The baby…
Our baby!

I opened my mouth, about to speak in guttering panic, when the nurse smiled down at me. “It was a successful delivery, Molly. Your baby is fine, absolutely beautiful.” She lowered down farther to whisper, “And eager to meet Mommy.”

A feeling of nervous excitement burst in my chest, but a hint of fear was evident too. My emotions were off the chart, and the nurse squeezed my hand in support.

My God… I was a mammy.

Reaching out, I gripped onto the nurse’s wrist as she began to walk away. “I want to see my baby, please.
Wait!”
I jerked slightly forward. “What did we have?” My eyes scoured around every inch of the room. “And where’s my husband? Where’s my baby?”

“They’re both just outside.” Her kind face broke into a huge smile. “Your husband is one pushy man, Mrs. Prince. He’s been relentless in his questions after your well-being while we brought you around from the procedure. We had no choice but to put you under general anesthesia. Things were getting too risky to give you an epidural. Your husband hasn’t let go of your little one since, refusing to move from the family room next door until you were conscious again. He’s causing quite a stir here in the hospital. The heartthrob Seahawks QB with a newborn cradled in his arms, pining for his wife…
Whew!
That man is reducing the nurses to teenagers out there, even in his blue scrubs!”

My heart melted. Knowing my Rome, he’d be scared to death. My miscarriage six years ago had almost killed him. I imagine holding our baby in his arms while he sat there all alone was scaring him shitless. He’d been so overprotective over the past few months, terrified of the risks of my condition.

It was too much like déjà vu.

“Please let him in. I need to see him… need to see them both,” I instructed hurriedly, my voice hoarse with emotion. The nurse nodded, understanding my anxiousness, and left the room. My palms grew clammy and my breathing came fast.

I was a mommy. It had actually happened…
finally
. It had been one hell of a bad pregnancy, and as I sat here in this strange bed, I felt robbed of the full birthing experience. But we had a child. Words couldn’t express the joy that came with that knowledge. I was more than lucky.

The door to the small room suddenly burst open and Romeo hurried in wearing blue scrubs, I assumed still left on from the OR, and I agreed with the nurses; he was a heartthrob, but then again, he was always beautiful to me.

My eyes immediately fixed on the tiny bundle in his arms, then back to my husband. His eyes were tired, his dirty-blond hair sticking out in clumps from where he’d been running his hand through, no doubt in stress, and his cheeks were red raw.

He’d been crying.

As soon as our eyes locked, relief flooded Rome’s face and he released a long, pained breath. “
Molly!
” he groaned and, glancing quickly at our baby in his arms, carefully walked towards me and gripped my outstretched hand, kissing the palm, the back, and each finger before placing it on his cheek, pressing it against his skin.

“God, Mol, I thought I’d lost you… Fuck, baby, I’ve been freaking the hell out…” His words were strained and I stroked along his stubble to relax him.

“I’m fine, babe. We’re all fine. It was just a C-section. We knew it was probable. They happen thousands of times a day. I was in safe hands.”

He nodded once, then, looking slightly “fish out of water,” glanced down at our baby wrapped in a yellow blanket, the colour no indication to their gender.

“Romeo…” I whispered in awe, seeing a tiny hand reaching north, my hand reaching out too in reaction, but my stomach tightened at the movement and I flinched and hissed at the sharp stab of pain.

Rome noticed, a worried expression set on his face, and he stood slowly, bending down to my level. “How about I bring our little princess to you?” And a huge proud smile lit up his face.

Princess… I exhaled slowly, closed my eyes, and smiled. We’d had a little girl. We had a daughter.

A happy whimper escaped my mouth and relieved hot tears began streaming down my cheeks. I’d managed to carry full term despite my health problems, and I was a mommy and my Rome was a daddy.

I immediately held out my arms and Romeo gently placed our daughter against my chest, taking any weight away from my injured stomach, the bare warmth of her skin against mine. The movement disturbed our sleeping little girl, and when she squirmed, her eyes opened and straight away met mine.

Sucking in a sharp breath, I stared down at my child. Dark brown eyes… just like her daddy, chubby little rosy cheeks, and pouting pink lips with a perfect cupid’s bow. I’d read her eyes could be blue, but just like her daddy, his brown-eyed genes were apparently beyond dominant.

Time suspended. It was as though the world had fallen away and just the two of us remained. We stayed staring at each other for what felt like days; it was like she already knew who I was. Her mammy.

Lifting my left hand, my right still clutching her close, I ran a fingertip down her soft, pink cheek and cooed, “Hey, my baby girl. I’m your mammy and I love you so, so much.” I heard a contented sigh from beside me—Romeo—but I couldn’t seem to look away from my daughter to pay him any attention.

With a long yawn, our baby girl’s eyes fought the heavy pull of sleep but eventually dropped to a close, her breath evening out, and she fell asleep, the sound of her rhythmic breathing soothing me.

Water hazed my vision and two thumbs rubbed at my cheeks, wiping away the tears. As I glanced up, Romeo had sat next to us both, his arm protectively over my outstretched body, careful not to touch my C-section incision.

“She’s beautiful,” I said quietly, and Rome stroked a finger over her tiny forehead. My heart skipped a beat as I watched him show so much affection to our little girl, causing me to add, “Just like you.”

“Baby… yeah,” he said in return, his eyes briefly flitting to mine.

At his choked reaction, I looked up at him and gripped his hand. “Are you okay?”

Huffing out a controlled breath, he smiled wryly and rubbed at his eyes. “Yeah, I’m just so overwhelmed by everything. The idea of being a parent and the reality of it… I… I can’t wrap my head around it.” His bright-brown stare fixed on our sleeping daughter on my chest, clearly expressing utter shock and disbelief.