Princess's Secret Baby(84)

                Excuse me! he thought to himself.

                Her nose looked better than perfect to James.

                He loved how her fingers closed around his and he thought of                     all the ski slopes he had hurled himself down with barely a thought and his very                     reckless ways should surely have him drenched in horror. But when he watched her                     little fingers close around his, James knew that they had led him to this, to a                     place where he got to properly feel.

                He looked at the flowers that had started to arrive and loathed                     most of them.

                James, unlike Leila, read cards.

                Why was there a question mark immersed in exclamation marks in                     some of their congratulation cards? Why was the rest of the world holding their                     breath for James to mess up the best thing that had ever happened in his                     life?

                Inexplicable was the love that had walked into The Harrington                     all those months ago and he no longer needed to explain or excuse that night to                     others.

                Their baby didn’t have a name yet and James hoped to God that                     Leila didn’t still want to name her Jasmine.

                ‘You’re a good girl,’ James said to his daughter, who opened                     blue eyes to him.

                And Leila smiled as she woke, for she knew what he was                     thinking. Leila had seen the face he had pulled when she’d suggested naming her                     Jasmine. And she smiled, too, that on the day she had been born he told their                     baby how good she was, how loved she was.

                He made Leila feel like that every day too.

                ‘Can I hold her?’ Leila asked.

                ‘Nope, you’ve had enough goes,’ James said. ‘It’s my turn. You                     go back to sleep.’ Leila smiled as he carried on talking. ‘I’ve managed to put                     my parents off till tomorrow,’ James said. ‘Your brother and Sophie are coming                     in tonight, and they both can’t wait to meet her.’

                Brother and sister were speaking again. James had spoken with                     Zayn and had found out that yes, there was a very good reason that Sophie had                     revealed James’s name to the press and gently he had told Leila why.