Page 119 of Denim & Diamonds

And for the first time today, I knew Ineededto call Brock. This couldn’t wait any longer.

When I got back to the villa, I FaceTimed him from the privacy of the gorgeous guest bedroom I’d been staying in.

My heart pounded as I waited for him to answer.

When my beautiful man popped up on the screen, the sight nearly knocked the wind out of me.

Because he wasn’t alone. He was holding a baby swaddled in a blanket.

CHAPTER 29

February

I swallowed a lump in my throat while tears welled in my eyes. “Oh my God. He’s here…”

Brock looked down at his baby with awe on his face. It made my heart squeeze.

“He is. And the poor little guy looks like his old man.”

I swiped wetness from my cheeks. “What a lucky little boy. Can you hold him up a bit, or position the phone so I can get a better look at him?”

“Sure.” Brock adjusted the baby in his arms and turned the camera so I could see his sweet face. Daddy hadn’t been kidding when he said the two of them looked alike. The not-so-little boy had beautiful tan skin and green eyes. He had his dad’s thick, dark brows and straight nose, too.

“He really is your mini-me. He’s absolutely gorgeous, Brock. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.” He shifted the phone back to his face, but I could still see the baby staring up at him. “I’msorry I hadn’t called yet. It’s been a whirlwind two days, and this is the first time I’m sitting down.”

“When was he born?”

“About two hours ago. Nine pounds, eight ounces.”

“Wow. Only two hours ago? And my, that’s a big baby. Do you want me to let you go? I just wanted to see how things were going since I hadn’t heard from you.”

Brock yawned. “No. This is exactly what I needed—to hear your voice.”

“Was it a long labor?”

He nodded. “Twenty hours.”

“Is Nina okay? With her placenta previa and all?”

“She is. Tired, I’m sure. But the issue resolved itself at the very last minute. I flew out yesterday morning, and when I got off the plane, I had a message waiting from Nina telling me her water had broken and labor had started. They thought they were going to have to do a C-section, but when they did a sonogram, the positioning had changed.”

“Oh, that’s great.”

He shook his head. “I understand now why women were made to give birth.”

“Oh?”

“Because men couldn’t handle that shit. Labor is damn awful.”

“Were you…in the delivery room with Nina?”

“Yeah. She did better than me.”

Was I jealous? Maybe a little. Though it was less about him being with another woman and more that he’d experienced such a monumental, beautiful thing with someone else. It made me sad that it wasn’tmewho’d gone through that with him. But that was my problem, so I put onmy best happy face.

“I’m so relieved everything worked out. Did you pick out a name yet?”

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