“I love you, too.”
Lucas kisses me and then gets off, holding out his hand for me to take so he can pull me up. My arms go around his neck, and we kiss again.
“Get dressed, my love. The sun is about to set.”
“We could always go out tomorrow.”
“As tempting as it is to stay home, I do think it’s important we get out of the house.”
“I know,” I agree, so fucking thankful Lucas has really made sure we take care of our mental health after becoming parents. Everything we knew changed, assigning us new roles and responsibilities on top of the ones we already had. I was at risk for becoming a total hermit before, burying myself in demon research. Now that we have a baby, I’m even more likely never to leave my house again—unless it’s to kick demon ass, that is.
I put on one of my favorite black dresses I haven’t worn since last summer. The material is stretchy and forgiving. I’ve healed, but my body isn’t quite back to where it was before I got pregnant. I thought it would upset me and I’d look in the mirror wishing I was in the same shape as I was previously, but it hasn’t, and Lucas’s support and admiration of what my body was capable of doing gives me so much confidence.
“You look beautiful,” Lucas tells me when I come out of my closet holding a pair of black heels. He’s dressed in dark jeans and a dark top, looking good himself. “And your tits are fucking fantastic.”
“I’m glad you think so,” I say as he pulls me close. We kiss once more, and I go into the bathroom to put on a bit of makeup while Lucas packs up the diaper bag. Eliza changed Juliet out of her pale yellow onesie and into a little pink dress with a frilly diaper cover, and an oversized headband bow.
It’s very Eliza, but my baby looks so damn cute in anything.
“Don’t stay out too late,” Eliza tells us, looking anxious for a moment. “It’s not good to mess up her routine, you know.”
“It’s just dinner,” Lucas reminds her and picks up Juliet in her car seat. I decide to bring Binx at the last minute, casting a cloaking spell on him so he can come into the restaurant with us unnoticed. We get to Maria’s before Abby and Phil. Juliet is asleep in her car seat, looking so comfortable and content, we leave her in, snapping the car seat into a highchair at our table.
My coven knows I had a baby, and we inevitably run into a few witches and warlocks I know only as acquaintances. Being nosy, they come over to say hi just so they can look at our baby. I’m not sure if they’re aware exactly how my vampire husband was able to knock me up, and I’m not about to go into detail.
“Cal-wee!” Penny calls, running on her little stumpy legs to the table. Abby and Phil are behind her, looking a little exasperated.
“Hey, kiddo!” I greet her, opening my arms for her to run into. She flings herself into my lap, and I stand, hugging my niece and then setting her back down so I can give Abby a hug too.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Abby exclaims, looking me up and down. She laughs and embraces me, and then steps back and looks me up and down again. “You do not look like you had a baby two weeks ago.”
I laugh, feeling a little weird that so many people keep pointing this out to me. “Now that I’m not housing humanity inside me, I’m back to my old quick-healing, Nephilim self.”
Abby shakes her head, and it dawns on me that she’s not as impressed with my looks but in my health overall since she’s a doctor. “Wow. You look great, but how do you feel?”
“Pretty good.” We both take our seats at the table. Phil shakes Lucas’s hand, welcoming him to the dad club for the third time. They came over the day after Juliet was born and then again last week to bring me dinner. “I had my two-week post-birth appointment today, and the midwife said I look like I’m six or seven weeks out instead of two.”
Abby’s eyes widen. “So you can have sex already?”
“Oh, we did last night.” I raise my eyebrows and quickly look at Lucas. “And again this afternoon.”
“You’re a brave woman,” Abby says seriously, and I laugh.
“I was nervous,” I admit. “And the first time did feel a little different, but I did very much enjoy it.” I reach across the table and take Lucas’s hand. “He was very gentle.”
“Only at first.” Lucas grins, and heat rushes through me.
“How’s everything else?” Abby picks up Penny so she can look at her cousin.