Nothing Left to Lose (98 page)

She burst out
laughing then immediately stopped and gasped. “Not again, not yet.
I need a break!” she moaned, sucking on the gas as the little
contraction monitor on the side started scribbling on the paper
like crazy.

“Okay, one last
push, Anna. Come on, you can do it,” the doctor instructed.

I grabbed her
hand and made sure she couldn’t grip my hair again as she took a
deep breath and pushed, squeezing her eyes shut. Her whole torso
rose off the bed from the effort.

“Come on, Baby
Girl, you can do it. Come on, push, Anna,” I encouraged. After what
seemed like forever, she let out a piercing scream and then slumped
back down on the bed, panting for breath.

“You did it,
Anna. It’s a little boy,” the doctor announced.

I heard a baby
cry and I felt my heart stop.
Holy shit, I’m a dad!
I
couldn’t breathe. We had a baby. I looked back at Anna to see that
she was smiling at me tenderly, her eyes glistening with tears. A
sense of gratitude washed over me, making my whole body tingle.
She’d made me a dad. This was honestly the best day of my life; the
way Anna was looking at me made my heart ache.

“You were
right,” she laughed quietly.

I bent my head
and kissed her on the lips. Her hand went to the back of my head,
holding my mouth to hers for a couple of seconds. When I pulled
away, I grinned. I was happier than I had ever been in my life. I
had the most incredible girl, and now we had a little baby boy.

“Thank you,” I
said gratefully.

“You’re
welcome, Pretty Boy,” she laughed. I pulled back, and she looked at
the doctor, who was wrapping the baby up in a blanket. “Is he
alright?” Anna asked worriedly, moving up on the bed.

“He’s perfect.
Ten fingers and ten toes,” the doctor replied, walking over with a
little bundle in her arms. She held him out to Anna, who took him
immediately, looking down at him.

“Oh God, he’s
so beautiful,” she murmured, pulling the blanket back to get a
better look. A tear rolled down her face as she looked at him
lovingly. I moved forward and leant over the bed so I could see.
She shifted the baby in her arms, tilting him towards me. He was
amazing, a perfect, little, scrunched up, dirty-looking baby with a
mass of brown hair. His eyes were closed, and he was crying quietly
as Anna rocked him gently. He looked just like his momma –
incredible, and the most beautiful thing in the world.

“He looks just
like you, Anna.” I hesitantly reached out a hand to touch him. As
my fingertip touched his face, I felt my heart speed up. He was so
soft. His skin was flawless and creamy-looking, even though he was
covered in mess and blood. “Hi, little guy. I’m your daddy.”

“Want to hold
him?” Anna asked smiling, still crying happy tears.

Oh crap, I
have no idea how to do that.
“Um, yeah okay,” I nodded, looking
down at him. How was I supposed to take him? What was I supposed to
do if he cried?

Anna laughed
quietly. “Stop stressing, Ashton. Hold your arm out and I’ll pass
him to you.”

I sat on the
edge of her bed and cradled my arms, wincing and feeling sick with
worry. She shifted him in her hands and placed him so his head was
in the crook of my arm. I tensed my back and stayed completely
still. He weighed hardly anything at all.

“Relax,
Ashton.” Anna laughed and rubbed her hand on my leg reassuringly.
The little baby in my arms was so special that I felt emotion
bubbling up inside me. I was lost for words. I couldn’t take my
eyes from him as his eyes fluttered open and then closed again. “My
two boys,” Anna breathed.

I smiled and
looked away from the perfect bundle in my arms, to his perfect
momma. “I love you, Anna, so much,” I promised.

She smiled at
me tenderly as she stroked the baby’s face with the back of one
finger. “I love you too. I’m so sorry I shouted at you,” she said,
looking at me apologetically.

I laughed and
shook my head. “Would you slap me if I told you it was kind of a
turn-on?” I asked, grinning.

“If you weren’t
holding my son right now, then hell yeah, I’d slap you,” she
answered, shaking her head disapprovingly but laughing at the same
time. “Seriously though, he was
so
worth all of that pain.
So if you want to make babies with me again anytime soon, I’m up
for that.”

I laughed. “I’m
always up for that, you know me.”

“I know,
pervert. Maybe after I’ve had some sleep,” she joked. “So, what
should we call him?” She settled back against the pillows, her hand
still stroking his cheek.

I looked down
at the little baby in my arms. A name sprang to mind instantly.
“How about Cameron?”

“That was your
dad’s name,” she said quietly. I nodded, looking up at her to see
if she liked it. We hadn’t discussed names much; just a couple that
we both agreed on, like Will and Kaden, but he didn’t look like
either of those. “Cameron Ashton Taylor,” she cooed as a wide smile
crept onto her lips. “I love it. It’s perfect.” She bent her head
and kissed his forehead softly.

“Ashton?” I
repeated. We hadn’t talked about a middle name.

She nodded.
“Well yeah, he needs to have his daddy’s name, silly.”

After we’d both
had plenty of cuddles, the doctor took him back, weighing him,
checking him over and cleaning him up a little. Once he was decked
out in a tiny, little white baby grow, he was placed back into his
proud mommy’s arms. My heart ached at the sight of them together. I
couldn’t keep the ecstatic grin off my face.

“I’d better get
some photos and make the announcement,” I suggested, pulling out my
cell phone. Anna chuckled, adjusting my son so that I could get a
few good pictures. After sending them to Nate, Rosie and Anna’s
parents, I settled down onto the bed next to her, still in slight
disbelief that I was now a father.

“Your mom’s
gonna be so mad that she’s not going to be first one through the
door to visit,” I stated, shaking my head and imagining the panic
on Melissa’s face when she heard the news that her only child had
given birth to her first grandchild. They were currently in England
so Tom and Melissa would have to wait a couple of days before they
could meet the new Taylor family addition. She wouldn’t be happy
about that at all. She was ridiculously eager to be a
grandmother.

“I know. She’ll
freak. She’d already ordered me to cross my legs before she went,”
Anna chuckled. “Nate will be psyched that he gets to be the first
to meet him though.” She stroked her finger across Cameron’s cheek,
smiling down at him. “Are you going to ask him today about being
Godfather?”

“Yeah,” I
nodded. Nate was going to flip out when I asked him; he’d been on
countdown to Anna’s due date too, just like I was. He was already
referring to himself as ‘Cool Uncle Nate’. Anna and I had talked
about Godparents before the baby was born and were planning on
asking Nate and Rosie because they were our closest friends. We
lived in LA so we saw Nate all the time; he practically lived round
our place. Rosie lived a couple of hours drive away, but we still
kept in contact and saw her whenever we could. She and Anna spoke
on the phone for hours on end at least once a week. On the up side,
Rosie was moving to LA soon too for a new job, so that would make
seeing her even easier. Anna couldn’t wait to see more of her best
friend.

I sighed
contentedly and wrapped my arms around the love of my life, dipping
my head and planting a soft, lingering kiss on her temple. “I love
you, baby momma,” I whispered, holding her tightly. She smiled and
pressed her face into my chest. My cheeks were starting to hurt
where I hadn’t stopped smiling. I’d known her for a total of five
and a half years now, yet she still managed to take my breath away
everyday. I hoped I never took her for granted because I was the
luckiest guy in the world to have her love me like she did. Every
day I thanked my lucky stars that I’d met her and that I had the
chance to make her happy again.

Sounds of
cooing came from Cameron’s direction, so I looked down at him,
cradled protectively in her arms. I was awed by him and his tiny
frame. It was hard to believe that this little boy was something
that mine and Anna’s love had made. He was less than an hour old,
yet I loved him so very much already. I knew I would give my life
for him in an instant, the same as I would for Anna.

Reaching out, I
picked up his little hand, just marvelling over his tiny
fingernails. “Thanks for keeping up your end of the bargain and not
hurting your mom too much when you came out. I promise to keep up
my end of the bargain and be the best dad in the world,” I murmured
quietly. Anna chuckled, chewing on her bottom lip. I smiled at her
before bending and kissing the tips of Cameron’s fingers. “It’s
you, me, and your momma now. Us Taylor boys have to watch out for
your momma. She’s just incredible, and you are one lucky little
baby to have her.”

When I looked
up to Anna, I saw that she had tears in her eyes. I sighed and
shook my head in disbelief. After all this time, I still had no
idea how I managed to get a girl like her to fall in love with me.
Nothing had ever felt so precious to me. My little family. I
stroked her hair away from her face before bending in and pressing
my lips to hers softly. This girl and this baby were my world, and
the only things I needed out of life. I just hoped I could somehow
make them as happy as they both made me.

Did you enjoy
meeting Ashton’s best friend, Nate Peters, in Nothing Left to Lose?
Would you like to hear more from him?

Nate Peters is
living the playboy life. He has great friends, a great job, no
responsibilities, no girlfriend, and he
loves
it. Nate,
being incredibly skilled with a pick-up line, has never failed to
get a girl in his life… until one day he meets Rosie York. Rosie is
completely uninterested in him. Being unable to stand a dented ego,
Nate makes it his mission to win her over. Not used to putting in
much effort, Nate is surprisingly enjoying the chase of this
off-limits little brunette. Maybe he has finally met his match… But
Rosie has a few surprises of her own which will make it remarkably
more difficult for him to get close to her.

A Romance /
Humour that will make you laugh, cry and scream in frustration.

The Boy Who
Sneaks in My Bedroom Window

Always You

Free
Falling

Enjoying the
Chase –
coming Spring 2014

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