Page 16 of Castaway Heat

Three months later…

A fter hours upon hours of labor with one point where he wasn’t sure he’d survive the pain, Shiloh finally held their baby girl in his arms. She was utterly perfect—and Shiloh couldn’t help but stare at the most precious thing he’d ever laid eyes on.

Ronin cuddled close in the oversized hospital bed the birthing center offered, as protective as ever.

He was practically under Shiloh, looking over one shoulder at their little girl.

Shiloh caressed her soft cheek as she nursed heartily, almost humming with every suckle.

The door cracked open. Charlie and Preston Drake peeked in.

“Are grandparents allowed in yet?” Charlie whispered.

“Maybe after she’s done nursing,” Ronin said, frowning.

“Let them come in,” Shiloh whispered. “It’s their first grandchild.”

Ronin’s frown deepened. “Shiloh says to come in, so I guess you can.”

Ronin’s parents slipped inside, their smiles growing as they took in the sight of the new little family. Charlie dropped a bag of what appeared to be more baby gifts to add to the mountain they’d already given and scooted closer to the bed to have his first good look.

“Can I call first dibs once she’s done nursing?” Charlie whispered, lightly stroking the little bit of raven black hair on top of their daughter’s head.

Shiloh smiled. “The second she’s done.” He rested his head back on Ronin’s shoulder. “I’m very ready for a nap, and I hear grandparents make pretty good babysitters.”

“We dooo,” Charlie said. “You can rest easy. We’ll take care of her.” He leaned in again, tears shining in his eyes. “Have you chosen a name?”

“Iliana Adi,” Shiloh said.

“That’s lovely ,” Charlie said. He looked over his shoulder. “Did you hear that, Preston? Iliana Adi.”

Preston smiled, eyeing the baby. “As pretty as she is.”

“Iliana is the name of the cyclone that landed us on that island,” Ronin told them. “Adi is Fijian. A title, not a name. One of the native tribes there call their female chieftains Adi.”

“Since she was conceived in Fiji and the island provided so much and kept us all alive—it only felt right to honor them in her name,” Shiloh said.

“And powerful, too,” Charlie said. “That’s important. Preston chose Ronin’s name for that reason. In Japan—where he was conceived—a ronin is a powerful warrior with no master.”

“I don’t need to know any more about that topic,” Ronin said. “Please.”

“I love how children can be when they know full well how the donuts get made,” Charlie said. “I can’t wait for this one to grow up and be disgusted learning what you two did to make her.”

A faint knock sounded at the door, and suddenly three more bodies filled the room. Sage, Riley, and Eirin crowded the bed, oohing and ahhing over little Illiana.

“Has anyone seen my parents?” Shiloh asked Riley as quietly as possible. Hopefully no one else overheard him, but they all knew his history with his parents.

Riley shook his head. “They asked me to text them when I had news. I did that almost two hours ago and haven’t heard back.” He winced. “Do you want me to call them?”

Shiloh shook his head before whispering, “I won’t beg for their attention.”

He leaned back against Ronin and let out a long, slow breath.

His parents had come to his and Ronin’s quickie, family-only wedding—which they considered a renewing of their vows not a wedding.

The state didn’t agree. They were funny about having an officiant and witnesses and things like that, so it had to be done again to make it legal.

His parents hadn’t stayed long, though, mostly because the pair of them were barely able to sit in the same room together for more than ten minutes without fighting.

Sage grunted and lifted his phone before storming out of the room.

“What was that about?” Shiloh asked.

“Who knows?” Eirin said.

As soon as Iliana finished her meal, grandpapa took over for burping duty and then plenty of cuddles. Shiloh drifted off, exhausted, knowing they’d all look over his daughter well. When he awoke later, his papa sat in the chair beside him, cradling Iliana. No one else was in the room.

“Hey, sweetheart,” his papa said. He smiled wryly. “Sorry I didn’t come sooner. I should’ve been here, and your friend Sage set me right.”

“Sage?”

“Yep, he called and gave me a swift kick in the ass that I needed… and rightfully figured out I was avoiding coming because I didn’t want to see your father.

” He shook his head. “It wasn’t fair to you…

” he glanced down, smiling. “Or Iliana.” He lifted his gaze to Shiloh.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you. Sage told me to come right down and when I’m ready to go, he’s going to call your father and tell him to come.

That way, we don’t have to cross paths, there’s no drama, and we can stop avoiding you in our desire to avoid one another. ”

“I shouldn’t have to schedule my parents’ visits around one another,” Shiloh snapped.

His papa winced.

“Can’t the two of you just… learn to be civil? For her sake? You’re grown adults. Act like it.”

His papa frowned and fought back tears. “Hate is on the opposite side of the coin from love, Shiloh. We both struggle because there’s still a little bit of love there—and neither of us want it to be.

We’ve tried and tried to work through it, for your sake…

but it always devolves into something ugly.

Every time. I wish it was different for us, but it just is. ”

“If that’s all you can do, that’s all you can do,” Shiloh said. “But I refuse to play arbitrator between you anymore. If you need to schedule visits, then you two have to do it yourselves. I’m not going to be tugged in two different directions. Neither is Iliana. Got it?”

His papa nodded. “I do.” He checked his watch. “You were zonked out there for a while. I hate to leave so soon, but I’ve had a good long visit with your daughter and your father deserves his chance.”

That was the first kind thing he’d ever heard either of his parents say toward the other since before the divorce. Maybe there was a chance for them, yet. He wouldn’t get his hopes up, but maybe.

His papa handed Iliana over before leaning in and kissing Shiloh’s forehead. “She’s beautiful, honey. I love you so much. Both of you.”

“I love you, too,” Shiloh murmured.

Ronin returned to the room as soon as his papa was gone. “Are you okay?”

“I am,” Shiloh said. Surprisingly okay considering. “My parents are flawed people. They love me in their way, I guess—but they never should’ve become parents. That’s not my fault, and I refuse to let it continue to weigh me down.”

Ronin crossed the room and climbed onto the bed to hold him close. “You’re amazing. Have I told you that lately?”

“Yes but tell me again. I need to hear it right now.”

Ronin kissed his forehead. “You, Mr. Shiloh Anderson-Drake are absolutely, positively the most incredible, amazing man I’ve ever known, and I’m proud to call you my mate, my husband, and the papa to our child.

” He patted his pocket. “By the way, you handed me your wedding ring because your fingers were swollen. Do you want it back?”

Shiloh glanced at his hands. “Sure… they look better.”

Ronin pulled it from his pocket and slid it on Shiloh’s finger.

“Ro, that’s not my ri—” he pulled his hand closer. “It’s the vine. But gold.” Panic set in. “It’s not underneath, is it?”

“No, it’s not gold-plated vine. This is a completely new ring. We rushed our quickie wedding, so I didn’t have enough time to have this made. That’s why I’ve had to endure stink eye from Riley for that basic ring I slipped on your finger at the ceremony.”

“He’s given you his seal of approval.”

“Now, yes. But things were still a little iffy when we renewed our vows.” He smiled. “I had a goldsmith recreate the vine ring in every detail. It looks almost identical.” He took Shiloh’s hand in his. “I know it’s now your third wedding band, but I hope you like it.”

Tears burned the backs of Shiloh’s eyes. “It’s one of the sweetest things you’ve ever done for me and considering how long that list already is, that’s saying a lot.”

Ronin leaned in for a kiss. “I love you, Shy.”

Shiloh rested his head against his alpha’s chest, staring at the graceful twisted golden symbol of Ronin’s love resting on his finger.

There were no diamonds. No gems. But it was already his most valuable possession.

“I love you, Ronin. I love that we’re now a family.

You’ve given me so much. More than I probably deserve. ”

“You deserve everything … and then some,” Ronin whispered. He lifted Shiloh’s hand to his lips and kissed the ring.

Illiana let out a wail before she started rooting against Shiloh’s chest.

“Someone’s hungry,” Shiloh murmured before moving her to the other arm and lifting his hospital gown out of the way for her to latch on.

Ronin caressed her soft hair as she nursed. Shiloh saw the love in his eyes when he looked at his daughter, and it was a beautiful sight to behold.

“I just realized that you’ve only held her once. Right after she was born.”

“They had to take her to weigh her and then when they brought her back, they told you to nurse immediately. Then Papa called dibs… and my dad… your friends… your papa… now she’s hungry again. I’ll get another chance soon. For now, I’m perfectly happy watching her in your arms.”

“That’s why you didn’t want your parents to come in,” Shiloh said. “I’m sorry. You should’ve told me. I would’ve understood.”

“It’s okay. I’ll have a lifetime of chances to hold her.”

“I’m calling dibs on your behalf. Once she’s done, she’s all yours, Daddy.”

Ronin snorted with laughter. “Daddy. I can’t believe I’m someone’s daddy… and you’re someone’s papa. It’s surreal.”

“It is,” Shiloh said, caressing her arm. “She smells so good, too. I’d been told babies smell amazing, and it’s no lie.”

“Just wait until she poops the first time,” Ronin said. “We’ll see how good she smells after that.” He kissed her head. “Isn’t that right, Princess?”

“I have a feeling she’s going to be spoiled rotten and become a total daddy’s girl. Isn’t she?”

Ronin grinned. “That is my diabolical plan. You caught me.”

“Can we go with spoiled minus the rotten part?” Shiloh asked.

“I can see, but they kind of go hand-in-hand, Shy.”

“Spoiling Light, then?”

Ronin chuckled. “I’ll do my best to not make her an entitled little brat. Note that that isn’t a promise. Just me saying I’ll try my best. If she’s a pouter, I’m done for.”

“Sheesh,” Shiloh said. “I’m going to have to watch you two like a hawk.”

“Probably.” Ronin pressed a kiss to Shiloh’s lips. “But you know the spoiling doesn’t stop at my daughter. I can’t spoil her and not my mate.”

Shiloh ran his thumb over the inner band of his new ring, grinning. His third wedding band. Would there be a fourth down the road? “You already spoil me.”

“And I never plan to stop.”