“We have to come up with something. I grew up hating my name, but now that I’m older, I love that I was named after my dad. I love being the oldest son and the one who got to carry on the tradition. I want the same for this guy, even if he’s not my oldest son.”

“You have no idea what it does to me when you talk about Thomas that way.”

“How else would I talk about him? He is my son. He’s been my son since the day I met the two of you.”

She bit her lip and shook her head.

“What?”

“I should be used to it by now.”

His brows knitted with confusion. “Used to what?”

“You and the amazing way you love us. Almost two years married, and you’re still taking my breath away.”

He put his arms around her. “You do the same to me. Every damned day.”

She slipped her arms around his waist and held on tight to him.

“Let’s get you in bed.”

Determined to fight through the powerful exhaustion so she could spend some more time with her husband, Maddie changed into one of the silky nightgowns he loved, brushed her hair and teeth and got into bed with him.

“Come here,” he said, reaching for her.

She curled up to him and relaxed into his embrace. “I can’t remember what it was like to sleep alone.”

“Neither can I, but I suspect it was kind of boring and lonely.”

“Compared to this, anything else would be.”

“Mmm, so true.” He rubbed her back in small circles. “Go to sleep, honey.”

“You don’t want to…”

“Not tonight. You need the sleep more than you need me.”

“That is never true.”

“Shh. Go to sleep. We’ve got millions of nights when we can do all sorts of naughty things.”

“Like what? Tell me about them.”

“Well, first…”

Maddie fell asleep to the familiar, comforting sound of his voice.

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

“A bride should not ever, ever, ever do dishes on her wedding night,” Seamus declared as he came into the house after seeing off the last of their guests. He shut the door, locked it, turned off the outside lights and then leaned against the door.

Tomorrow, they would face a frightful mess in the yard, and Carolina had decided to try to make a dent on the equally frightful mess in the kitchen sink, but apparently her new husband wasn’t having it.

Husband… She hadn’t had one of those in more than thirty years. How odd it was to use that word again so long after her dear husband Pete had been killed in an accident. Carolina dried her hands on a dishtowel and turned to him. “Where did you hear of this rule?”