The Secret Prince (15 page)

“Really?”

“Really. He says you're doing just fine. You do feel strong enough, don't you? We can insist you stay another day if you like.”

“Oh no,” she said quickly. “I want to go home.”

“Good, the nursery supervisor says we have to take Dan Junior before he breaks through the bassinette.”

She laughed, delighted with her two men. “He's kicking out the end of it?”

“He's a pretty big boy with a lot of energy. No wonder you had a tough time with him.” His smile dimmed slightly. “Elly, I know at one time I went on about having a lot of kids. But I never want to come this close to losing you again. This is it for us. I've decided that three is plenty. And you already know I was happy to call two a family.”

She touched the side of his face, shaved smooth for the first time in days. “I know, my love. I know. But the doctor says that what happened the other day wasn't related to my heart at all.”

Dan squinted at her. “He's sure? What was it then?”

“The symptoms of an anxiety attack are almost identical to those of a coronary seizure. I guess when I saw that my hands and face were swelling up like my mother's had just before her heart attack, I believed the worst. My breathing all but shut down. I couldn't get enough oxygen, and that made me dizzy and, finally, I
lost consciousness. Once I came out of it with the help of a mild tranquilizer, I could deliver the baby normally.”

“All the same, you scared the hell out of me.”

She stretched up to kiss him softly on the cheek. “Doc says it's possible I might never have another episode like that again, but if I do, there are simple medications I can take to control the symptoms, so that things don't get out of hand.”

“That's wonderful.”

“I think so, especially since I've been thinking I might want another baby.”

He studied her with amazement for a long minute, then drew her into his arms. “Only if we get one hundred percent clearance from the experts. Even then, I think I'd move you into a room here from six months on, just to be on the safe side.”

She laughed at him. “You fuss over me too much. I feel stronger than I've ever felt.”

“Good thing too,” a voice called from the doorway over a sudden explosive wail. “Because this little tiger is ready for a five-course meal and, if you don't provide it, there will be heaven to pay!”

Dan and Elly turned to see their son kicking up a storm in the arms of a petite nursery attendant. Elly laughed at the woman's amused expression. “I hear DJ is giving all of you fits down in the nursery.”

“He's a joy,” the woman said, smiling down at the baby as she handed him over to his father. “It's just that he gets ornery when he's hungry.”

“Just like his daddy,” Elly said, her heart melting as she watched the expression on Dan's face soften with love for his son as he cradled the tiny bundle in his strong arms.

“I never get ornery,” he protested mildly, his attention fixed totally on the squirming, squalling baby. “Never,” he whispered in the baby's tiny ear, then kissed the soft red fuzz on top of his little head.

DJ stopped crying and looked up into the man's face. Elly's heart soared at the picture they made together—father and son. Her husband and her son. Life was perfect.

The nurse smiled as she turned to leave. “I'll be back for him in twenty minutes.”

“May we keep him here in the room with us?” Elly asked.

“You're sure you feel strong enough, Mrs. Eastwood?”

“For him, yes. Please?”

“Sure. I'll let them know in the nursery.”

“You don't have to do this,” Dan said. “You should get your rest while you can. We'll be leaving for home in a few hours.”

“I want to,” Elly said. “I've been waiting all my life for this, and I didn't even know it. Now that I have both of you here with me, I'm not letting either of you out of my sight.”

“Bad news,” he said, watching as Elly parted the bodice of her gown to prepare to nurse the baby, “one of us has to go to work and the other will eventually need to go to school.”

She sighed. “Party pooper.”

As Dan bent down to place his son in Elly's arms then watched him hungrily seek out her nipple, his heart swelled with love and gratitude. He hadn't stopped thanking whatever invisible force had allowed him to keep Elly and see his son born healthy. He
expected it would be a long time before he was able to accept their presence in his life as routine.

Sitting on the bed beside them, he curled his arm around Elly's shoulders and kissed her lightly on the brow. She was beautiful, she was his, and she'd given him the most precious gift any woman could give a man. He wanted to hand her the world, but the Haven would have to do. That and all the love he could give her, both in his heart and in the bed they would again share as soon as she felt ready.

“I love you, Elly,” he whispered, nearly overcome with emotion.

“And I, you,” she said, turning her soft hazel eyes up to gaze at him happily.

Then he kissed her on the lips and she returned his kiss with an energy that made him suspect it wouldn't be long before she invited him to join her in the passion they'd discovered halfway around the world, in a magical place called Elbia.