Page 82 of Private Tutoring
I slid my finger into the baby’s grasp. The crying stopped, and Matthew chuckled. “You hear that, Harmony? I think baby girl has found her favorite Dad.”
Rose winked at me, scooped our baby up, and handed her to me. “Go on, Dad.”
I tucked her into the crook of my arm and faced Harmony and the rest of our family. The cold, dead heart had learned how to beat again, and looking down at my precious baby girl, a well of love so powerful it eclipsed anything else I’d ever experienced and stole the sight of everything except the baby in my arms. “She’s perfect.”
“Course she is.” Roberto laughed. “Smile for the picture.”
I didn’t bother raising my head as I ran the pad of my thumb across the tiny forehead and cheek. “You have no idea how much you are loved, sweet girl.” My voice cracked.
Matthew patted my shoulder, and Roberto took another photo.
“I wouldn’t have made it through without you two. Thank you.” I kept my head down, but both men heard me.
Roberto thumped me on the shoulder, being careful not to jostle me too much. “It’s what we do, man. We’re a family.”
We walked toward Harmony as a unit, because that was exactly what we were. Family. Harmony was part of that, and we’d promised to spend the rest of our lives loving her beyond the best of our ability. It wasn’t enough to let our love remain the same. It stretched and grew as we learned about each other. And that was never going to stop.
EXTENDED EPILOGUE: HARMONY
Two years after my debut performance inLes Misérableson Matthew’s college stage, I was closing out a Broadway performance to a sold-out auditorium. Broadway. Even after I finished the last song and took a bow with my cast partners, the shock of it all buzzed through my veins. I’d made it. Thanks to love and support from Roberto, Stephen, and Matthew, I’d signed the contract and joined Broadway after being offered a major singing role.
I straightened from the bow, pressed both hands to my mouth, and raised them over my head. Feathers fluttered around my face, the breeze from the overhead fans that helped keep my stage makeup from melting off cooled my skin. I wiggled my fingers and smiled when the crowd surged to their feet with a roar of clapping hands.
The curtain closed, and I turned to congratulate my fellow cast members. We exchanged hugs, tears, and laughter for several minutes before I turned and headed toward the dressing rooms in the back. I had a room of my own, one with a gold plaque attached to the door and my name in bold letters. Three familiar silhouettes stood in the corner. A fourth broke awayfrom Stephen, a smile and babbling laughter on her chubby cheeks.
“Mama.” Our baby girl squealed and fisted her hands in hergimmemotion.
I held out my arms, laughing when she threw herself into my embrace. “Hi, sweet girl. How’s my Sophia?”
“Pretty.” She patted my cheeks, not the least bit disturbed by the full face of makeup that transformed me into my character.
I bent my head so the feathers tickled her cheeks. “You’re pretty. I can guess who dressed you tonight.” I lifted her over my head, drawing out another round of giggles. She wore a shiny pink tutu with silver tights and a silver bow in her hair. A sequined jacket covered her shoulders, and the tiny pink boots Roberto had bought her last month covered her feet.
“Seemed appropriate.” Mischief shone in Roberto’s eyes. “She wants to be a ballerina.”
“Course she does.” I tweaked Sophia’s nose. She’d been enamored with all things singing and dancing since she was born.
If one of them wasn’t singing her to sleep or dancing with her to calm her uneasy belly, they were playing old records on Matthew’s turntable. I’d asked them what happened if she outgrew the performer stage and decided she wanted to be a lawyer or a teacher.
The response had been immediate. If it made her happy, they had no reason to interfere.
Stephen held out a bouquet of roses, each one a different color. He’d made it his thing since my first performance. After every night on stage, I received a bouquet of roses. I already had five scattered around the penthouse, but I loved every single one of them.
I took them in my free hand and waved them at Sophia. “Thank you.”
Roberto rocked on his heels and grinned. “I didn’t bring chocolate tonight.” He leaned forward and whispered, “I left it at home. In our room.”
Sophia climbed over my arms to reach for Matthew, who took her with a wink. “You are dessert tonight.”
That slow unspooling heat turned into a sweltering tornado. “What are we doing around here, then? Let’s go home.”
My enthusiasm sent us outside and into Stephen’s SUV within seconds.
“We’ll put Sophia to bed while you shower.” Matthew and I sat in the back with Sophia in her car seat between us. She’d drifted off to sleep before the first mile passed.
I rested my hand on Matthew’s shoulder. “Thank you.”
I couldn’t think of a time when I’d been happier than right now with my family all around me. Mom wasn’t with us tonight, but she would visit this weekend. Between all of us, we’d worked it out so that she could visit often, and Matthew had even looked into helping her move to New York. Once she learned about the news I was going to share tonight, she might take him up on the offer.
