Page 40 of The Billionaire’s Paradise (My Billionaire #4)

The breeze stirred the leaves above us, dappling sunlight across the grass in soft, sleepy shapes.

We sat under the tree behind the hospital.

It wasn’t a fancy tree, or even pretty.

Just a big old thing with giant roots and branches that reached out like it wanted to hold us.

Leilani sat curled against the trunk, a blanket around her shoulders. Cal leaned back beside her, legs stretched out. And I sat close, cross-legged on the grass, the baby sleeping quietly in my arms.

Our daughter.

She was so still.

So tiny.

So heartbreakingly precious, wrapped in swaddling and fast asleep, her little brow furrowed like she was already pondering the mysteries of the universe… or maybe just trying to remember how she got here.

Nobody spoke for a while.

We just… were.

Eventually Leilani said, “I think she knows. ”

Cal looked over. “Knows what?”

“That she’s loved. That we’re here. That this world—at least for now—is holding her gently.”

I looked down at her beautiful face. Her mouth twitched. One crinkly little hand curled and uncurled around my enormous finger.

“She’s magic,” I said softly.

“She’s a miracle,” Cal whispered.

Leilani smiled and nodded, her voice steady. “She needs a name.”

Cal and I exchanged a look.

We’d talked about it.

And now that she was here in the world, we knew.

“Pualani,” I said.

Leilani’s eyes glistened. She smiled, wide and sure. “Heavenly flower. Yes. It’s perfect. Yes!”

I looked down at her again—her lashes, her cheeks, the tiny rise and fall of her chest.

“Pualani,” I whispered. “Hi, baby girl. That’s you.”

Suddenly it seemed like a name she’d been carrying long before she arrived.

“She’s going to bloom,” Leilani said. “I can feel it. She’s going to grow wild and strong and gentle. She’s going to know where she came from. And where she’s going.”

I nodded. “I think she already does.”

Cal leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “Welcome to the world, Pualani. We’ve all been waiting for you.”