22. Mack

Chapter 22

Mack

"We need to name him." Isabelle traces her fingertip along our sleeping baby's soft, round cheek, and my heart threatens to tear itself out of my chest and wrap around the two of them.

"Whatever you want," I manage to say gruffly.

She looks up in surprise. While she was pregnant, I'd wanted to be an active part of every decision, and had built a database of names to consider.

Now?

After holding her as she brought our baby boy into this world?

I'm not worthy. She did the hard work, she should name him.

"Then we can call him Mack Jr," she teases.

That had been at the top of my never list for names. I want a dozen kids, and the idea of naming the first one after myself and then not the others…it's not for me.

Besides, Mack isn't my given name. It's the name I chose for myself as a businessman. Back when I never imagined having a family, when I thought they'd be nothing but a distraction.

Oh, how wrong I was.

I will build empires with this woman, for those children. For her, too, and for myself, because it's a gift to me as well to be this full of love.

"Come on, Mack," Isabelle says softly, her eyes glowing. "Pull out the final report I made for you on this. After all, a detailed report is how we made him. Might as well bring it full circle."

I pull out my phone and remind us both of the top three names we'd considered, after weighing all the factors.

She says each of them out loud, and he opens his eyes to Tower.

"Oh," she gasps with wonder.

"Is that your name, son?" I take him from Isabelle, rocking him in my hands. He's so small, it's hard to believe he's real. "Tower Emerson?"

He squirms and yells, and then falls back asleep.

"I think that's a yes," she whispers.

I hold her gaze, and the certainty of the moment feels deep and profound and perfect.

"You should nap, too," I finally say, as firmly as I can for a man so deeply infatuated with his wife it's ridiculous. She doesn't argue, so my firm meter is still working.

Tower and I tuck her in, and I give her a soft kiss. Her lips are sweeter than ever. All I want to do is love this woman and the son she gave me, with everything I am, for the rest of my life.

Then I take my son for a walk around the maternity floor. On the other side of the ward is a common room with a large window that looks east toward downtown. The sun is just about to rise, and the Emerson Industries building stands proud against the lightening sky.

"That's where you're going to grow up," I say to Tower, who stays sleeping. "You're going to have the run of the place. I'll always have time for you, I promise. And if you have any dreams, if you ever want to start your own business, I'm going to be your first investor. Your biggest cheerleader. Because I'm your dad, and that's my job."

It's already hard to impress my kid. He doesn't care. He's full of his mama's milk and fast asleep.

I don't stop talking to him, though. "Before today, the greatest day of my life was your mother coming to my office tower for an interview. I took one look at her and I knew she was the one I'd been waiting for my whole life. And now she's given me you, and today is the start of a whole new adventure. I hope one day you grow up and find a love like hers."

Bright golden rays shoot up across the sky as the sun cracks the horizon. In an instant, we go from dawn to daylight.

That's what it felt like when I walked off that elevator and saw Isabelle for the first time. It felt like finally seeing the sun rise in the sky.

We stand there until the room starts to get busy, and then I wander back to Isabelle. She's asleep, too.

There's a great sense of pride in being able to stand guard for her like this, to hold our child while she rests.

In my pocket, my phone vibrates.

I don't check it.

The business can wait. The whole damn world can just…wait.

Tower fusses finally, and Isabelle's eyes blink open. "Is he hungry again?"

"I think so." I cross to her hospital bed and she takes him, stripping him out of his swaddling blanket.

He reaches for her breast and latches on, his instincts strong.

She exhales in a rush and looks up at me. "I didn't know it would be like this," she whispers.

I move closer, curling around them both. "What is it like?"

She smiles softly. "It's…wonderful."

"Good." I kiss her temple, then her cheek, nuzzling her as she feeds our baby.

"When can we go home?"

"I'll find out." But I don't move. I'm not ready to let her go just yet.

She nestles into my arms, and we talk about a shopping list we can send Mrs. Millbank, easy snacking foods that sound good to Isabelle now that she's a nursing mom. I tell her about taking Tower to the other side of the building to look out at downtown, and she giggles, reminding me he can only see a few inches in front of his face at this point.

"It was mostly for me," I admit, my voice catching. "I want him to know from day one that I'm going to be there for him."

"He knows." Her voice catches, too. "He knows. We both do."

"I love you, little one. I love you so much. I thought I loved you the maximum amount humanly possible over the last nine months, but last night blew that out of the water."

She smiles. "Maybe we shouldn't have any more kids, then. Wouldn't want to put strain on your heart."

"Bite your tongue. Every child we have will only exponentially grow my love for you."

"That's a lot of love," she whispers. Her eyes glisten, but she's still smiling.

"It's what you deserve. The whole world, Isabelle. I promise you that."

"I love you." She lifts her face for a kiss, and I give it her.

Infinite kisses and infinite love for the only woman who could ever have unlocked this in me.

My wife.

My love.