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Mitch

“N ot London,” Mitch said. “Trust me, I will handle it.”

“Promise?” Rebecca asked.

“Yes,” he said, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. Then he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. “It makes me feel good that you want to kill him, but it is unnecessary. I need you to trust me. First the State Department needs to do what they need to do, then we step in.”

She nodded and picked at her food. He didn’t think she’d slept much last night. Well, he hadn’t slept much himself.

“How about we go to a family hotel that offers private pools and beach access?” Mitch suggested.

“St. Barts,” Garrison said. “We can get you a private bungalow.”

“Didn’t Adam and Melinda honeymoon there?

” Victoria asked. Cousin Adam bore a striking resemblance to Alex.

When younger, Adam did his undergrad at the University of Pennsylvania while Mitch and Alex were getting their masters at Wharton.

Mitch would run into Adam on campus and mistake him for Alex.

Adam and Melinda just had their first child, Adam Junior, or A.J.

for short. He looked enough like Alex to be his son.

“I think they did,” Rebecca said. “Melinda said it was magical.”

“You never got a honeymoon,” Victoria pointed out.

“Rebecca deserves a great honeymoon. I think she needs one,” Mitch said, looking at her. She smiled and looked at her plate. “I know I need one.”

“How many babies can say they went on their parents’ honeymoon?” Alex added.

“Is it possible to get a two-bedroom bungalow?” Mitch asked.

“There are a couple there. Let me make a few calls after lunch and see what we can do. The family plane can fly you to St. Barts, so you don’t need to worry about commercial flight reservations,” Garrison said.

“I like the idea of a private plane. I think I’m spoiled,” Mitch said to Rebecca. He liked planes that came with bedrooms.

“I like that it brought you to me,” she said.

They spent the afternoon talking as they sat in oversized furniture on the south deck in the late summer sun.

Alex set up several umbrellas so that Emily would be out of the brightness of the sun.

They watched the ocean as they contemplated the future.

It was nice, but it was also too much for Mitch, who just wanted to be alone with his wife.

At the appropriate hour, Garrison made margaritas with a blender and ingredients Rebecca admitted she didn’t know existed in her kitchen. Well, they hadn’t until her parents showed up.

Rebecca had a virgin margarita, and Mitch made sure she never left his sight.

If she was feeding the baby in the bedroom or putting her down for a nap, he was by her side.

And in these alone moments, when their baby was contently sleeping in her crib, he’d pull Rebecca into his arms and kiss her.

They still had that ever-present hunger for each other and, currently, not enough privacy to express it.

“There are too many damn people in this house,” he whispered while his margarita waited on the deck.

“I know. Mom told me they are leaving tomorrow to give us some privacy.”

“Good,” he said, “because if they weren’t here, I’d be showing you how much I missed you. I don’t know if either of us would have gotten dressed today.”

“A few hours until bedtime,” she said. “And I’m not wearing my nightgown, but we will have to be quiet.”

“Too many damn hours. I can be quiet, but you are the wild card,” he whispered, then he kissed her again, and they tiptoed out of the baby’s room.

Dinner involved steaks on the barbecue. Garrison oversaw the grill with Alex by his side, offering advice. Victoria assembled side dishes that she had known to be Mitch’s favorites: scalloped potatoes and assorted roasted vegetables.

Mitch held Emily and marveled at how perfect she was.

Alex snapped a few photos of Mitch with Emily and then with Rebecca.

Mitch fought hard to get home to his wife and his baby. What if he hadn’t made it? Mitch decided to stop thinking about it. He was home safe, and that was all that mattered.

After dinner, he saw the sadness return to Rebecca.

“What is it, darling?”

She wrapped her arms around him as she cried, “Two days ago, I thought you were dead. Now, you’re here, and sometimes I can’t believe it. I’m so tired.”

“You can believe that I’m here,” he said as he pulled her close.

“I do well for a bit, then it all hits me, you know?” Rebecca said as he dabbed at her tears.

“I know,” he said, “I think we will all make some local therapist rich trying to deal with all we have been through.”

“It is probably a good idea. I don’t want to mess up Emily.”

“You won’t,” Mitch said. “I’ve been watching you. You are an amazing mother to our little girl. It has just come so naturally to you.”

“Well, I’ve read a lot of books. There wasn’t much else to do when I was hanging out and waiting for her to be born.”

“We are very proud of you, Becca,” Victoria added. “You are a fabulous mother and a strong woman.”

“Our little girl has been through a lot, but she kept it together,” Garrison said, “She is a Stark, through and through.”

Victoria waved her hand in the air, “She might be a Stark, but don’t discount the Whitlow genes I gave her.”

“You’re right, darling. With us as her parents, how could she ever be anything but spectacular?”

“I love how they take credit for everything good in our lives,” Alex said as he took a sip of his margarita.

Mitch pulled Rebecca onto his lap, making sure she avoided the injury to his leg. It was a little uncomfortable, but he wanted to hold her, to reassure her that everything would be all right.