Page 205 of Beyond the Badge: Nox

She attempted to clear the thick from her throat. “Doing that didn’t hurt anyone, Nox. If it helped, then that’s all that matters. It’s obvious that when you give someone your heart, you do it completely.”

His fingertips skimmed over her cheek. “And now it belongs to you.”

Holy shit.“You felt the need to share that with her.”

“Yes. But now, I want to share everything with you.”

She considered that statement along with the three simple words in the last text he sent.

I love her.

Simple but also not. The concept of love might be considered simple, but real relationships were complex.

“Nox…”

He finally tipped his face down to her, his eyes soft. “Hmm?”

She slid the pad of her thumb over his bottom lip and the corners of her mouth curled slightly. “I love you, too.”

ChapterForty-Six

It was his fault.He was the reason his baby girl was buried without a name.

Nox remembered the conversation perfectly. In fact, he’d never forget it.

At the end of every day, he and Jackie would lie in bed together and when she’d press his hand to her extended belly, her expression would turn soft, and she’d smile at him.

“We made her.”

“Yeah,” he turned toward her, rubbing her very firm stomach, “we did.”

“I love her, but I can’t wait until she’s no longer riding my bladder. Until she no longer kicks my ribs. And until you can help take some of the burden off me.”

He pulled up her nightgown to bare her stomach and pressed his mouth to her tight skin. “She’ll be here soon. I can’t wait to hold her.”

“We need to pick a name.”

This was something they constantly disagreed over. Jackie wanted to choose one so they could call her that from the start, while he wanted to wait. “Not until we see her. I want her name to come from the heart.”

“But I have a long list. Will you at least consider some of the names on it?”

“Jackie, we’ll know who she is once she’s in our arms. There’s no rush. I wanted the baby’s sex to be a surprise and you strong-armed me into finding that out early. Let me have this, at least.”

Jackie’s fingers dragged gently through his hair. “Fine. We’ll compromise.”

“Right, a compromise,” he agreed.

Liyah originally didn’t want to help him pick a name for his daughter. But in the end, she gave him some great suggestions, leaving it to him to decide on the final choice. On her list was one name that stood out above the rest.

Amara.

Latin for “everlasting.” It was perfect because his unborn angel would last forever in his heart.

He had her name engraved on the headstone under Jackie’s. And for some reason, being able to see it and trace the letters with his fingers made him feel more at peace.

With snow falling around him and Liyah, and with the boys waiting in the warm SUV, she gripped his hand tightly as they stood together in front of the grave after decorating the plot with a Christmas wreath.

Earlier, Devyn had joined them when they did the same at Mark’s grave.

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