Julia and Clay Plus One (2 page)

Quickly, the nurse
placed the baby in her mother’s arms, and Julia simply looked
radiant as she gazed upon the seven-pound, blue-eyed, beautiful baby
girl who already had a few small wisps of auburn hair from her
mother. She was the most perfect human being he’d ever seen.

Instantly, Clay was
head over heels and wrapped around her little finger. He knew then
he’d do anything for her. Amazing, how he’d gone from not even
knowing this perfect little person a few minutes ago, to being madly,
unconditionally, and unequivocally in love with his sweet daughter.

* * *

Baby
Nichols. Sweet princess. Cutest little girl in the world.

They were all true, but
yet none of those would suit the precious bundle of joy that Clay and
Julia brought home from the hospital, nameless. Charlotte simply
didn’t seem right anymore to Julia, while Hayley didn’t seem to
suit this darling baby for Clay.

The first day home,
Julia settled in on the couch, nursing the baby, as they once more
debated names. Her hair was swept up in a ponytail, and she was
make-up free as she had been since the baby was born. She was feeling
better though, and all things being equal, she had a relatively easy
birth and was grateful for that. She’d left Danya a $50 for the
extra work mopping up behind the bar.

After another hour of
tossing out names and getting nowhere, the buzzer to their apartment
beeped.

“That’s my
brother,” Clay said. Brent had texted a little over an hour ago
that his flight had landed. Clay’s brother was damn eager to meet
his new niece, he’d said.

A minute later, Clay
opened the door to Brent, who gave the new dad a heart congratulatory
hug. Julia walked gingerly down the steps, the sleeping baby in her
arms, saying hello as she joined the men in the kitchen. Brent’s
eyes widened as he took in the sight in Julia’s arms.

“My niece,” he said
softly, a lovely smile spreading across his face. “She is
beautiful.”

“She is pretty much
the definition of perfect,” Clay said in agreement.

“Want to hold her?”
Julia asked.

“Hell yeah,” Brent
said. Carefully, he reached for the baby, then wrapped his arms
around her, and made cooing sounds. Julia’s heart melted over how
he handled her little girl.

The three of them made
their way to the balcony, enjoying the evening air of the warm May
night in Manhattan. Clay brought drinks for his brother and himself,
and an orange juice for Julia.

“Let’s talk names,”
Brent said, taking a seat on the outdoor lounge chair, the baby still
in his arms. “My understanding is you two still haven’t come up
with one. What were you doing for nine months?”

Julia raised her
eyebrows playfully at Clay. He shot her a naughty look. They had been
doing a lot those nine months — working, playing, fucking. It was a
perfect life they had. “This and that,” Julia said evasively.

“Give me some of your
options, and let uncle Brent help you arrive at a name for this
beautiful child,” Brent said, dropping a kiss on the sleeping
baby’s forehead.

They shared some of the
names they’d toyed with, and Brent nodded with each one, letting
them register. “Those are nice, but none are working for you both,
correct?”

Julia and Clay nodded.

Brent turned his focus
to Julia. “Give me some family names of yours. Grandmother, aunt,
whoever.”

She scrunched her
forehead, recalling the names of her grandmothers. “Margaret and
Carlene are my grandmas. My mom is Jennifer, but I don’t really
think our girl is a Jennifer. You think she’s a Carlene?” Julia
asked quizzically.

“Carlene? You just
said Carlene?”

“I did.”

Brent turned to Clay,
who’d taken a swallow of his whiskey. “Seriously? You didn’t
pick up on this?”

Clay furrowed his brow.
“Pick up on what?”

“Our grandfather.
Dad’s dad.”

“Our grandfather’s
name is Lyle,” Clay said pointedly. “As in,
Lyle,
Lyle Crocodile.
I don’t think I’m going to name my
daughter Lyle.”

Brent rolled his eyes.
“You forgot what Lyle is short for,” Brent said, then paused,
presumably for dramatic effect. “
Carlyle,”
he said, letting the name waft through the air with import. He tilted
his head to one side, then the other. “Carlyle. Carlene. You two
catching my drift?”

Something clicked in
Julia’s head, and she could hear the start of the name that sounded
perfect for her little girl.

Brent finished the
thought. “I’m feeling like this little girl is a Carly.”

Julia met Clay’s
eyes, and at the same time both of them said, “I love that name.”

* * *

Later that night, Clay tucked Carly
Nichols into her crib, brushing a soft kiss to her forehead. He was
the luckiest man in the world. He had everything he ever wanted and
then some.

THE
END

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