EPILOGUE
‘OH, LOOK how tiny she is.’ Bobby glanced up excitedly at Liam as they stood side by side looking down into the tiny hospital crib. ‘Isn’t Hannah beautiful?’
Liam glanced at Laura as she lay in the hospital bed, the two of them sharing a smile of complete love as Bobby enthused about his hours-old baby sister, Hannah Mary.
‘Gorgeous. But not as beautiful as your mother,’ Liam answered Bobby huskily, raising Laura’s hand up to his mouth as he kissed the softness of her skin. ‘Thank you,’ he mouthed silently.
‘When can we take her home, Mummy?’ Bobby pressed excitedly.
Laura smiled at her beloved son, so pleased that he had taken this new addition to their family so well.
She and Liam had been married for a year now—a year of complete happiness, but also of necessary adjustments for all of them. Bobby most of all. He had had to learn to share his mother with ‘Uncle Liam’. Now he had to share her with a baby sister too…
‘Tomorrow, probably,’ she answered sleepily. The labour with Hannah had been much shorter than with Bobby, but very tiring.
Liam had been with her this time, every day of her pregnancy, all through the hours of labour. As she had no doubts he would be with her every day for the rest of her life.
During Laura’s maternity leave Perry was in charge of Shipley Publishing. Liam’s book had been published three months ago, had been at the top of the bestseller list for two of those, and was looking likely to remain there for some time.
Laura knew she had never been so happy, knowing herself completely loved, and completely in love with Liam in return. And now they had a daughter as well as a son.
Liam had told her at the outset of their marriage that he thought Bobby should continue to think of him as ‘Uncle Liam’, in the hope that one day Bobby would decide to call him Daddy, simply because he wanted to. Telling Bobby the whole truth about his birth, they had decided together, could wait until he was older.
‘Can I hold her?’ Bobby asked softly. ‘Can I, Mummy?’
Laura smiled. ‘If you sit in this chair next to the bed I’m sure Dad—er, Uncle Liam will pick her up and give her to you.’ She blushed slightly at the slip she had just made.
But it was how she always thought of Liam now. He had become Bobby’s father, loved him, played with him, scolded him slightly if it were necessary, listened to him. Everything a father should do. And she knew if Robert could see them all now that he would be happy that Bobby and Laura had someone who loved them both so deeply.
‘Will you, Daddy?’ Bobby looked up almost shyly at Liam. ‘Please?’
Laura watched as Liam swallowed the lump in his throat, her own eyes swimming with tears. It was the first time Bobby had called him Daddy…
But as she watched Bobby cuddling Hannah, Liam bending solicitously over both of them, Laura knew it wouldn’t be the last time.
They were a real family now.
Complete.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-7092-7
LIAM’S SECRET SON
First North American Publication 2004.
Copyright © 2001 by Carole Mortimer.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
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