“Who cares! You’re having a baby. I’m gonna catch the bus to Auckland! I already told Coach and he was a grump, but he said okay!”
ísa laughed, knowing she wouldn’t be able to talk Catie out of that decision; her kid sister had inherited a full share of Jacqueline’s relentless will. “I’ll see you when you get here.” It was only midmorning—Catie would have plenty of time to make it safely to Auckland. “Message Sailor along the way, just in case I’m otherwise occupied.”
“Eee! I can’t wait!”
ísa wished her baby would wait. A little longer, she begged mentally. “Come on, baby,” she whispered under cover of the boys’ conversation. “Wait for Daddy.”
Their baby listened—just.
Sailor was waiting at the hospital entrance, Jake having called to tell him of the delay and which entrance they’d be heading to. Seeing her face, he didn’t ask questions, just kissed her once before scooping her up into his arms and rushing her inside. Ten minutes later, ísa squeezed his hand tight as their wriggling, squirming, pink-faced daughter made her way into the world.
Taking her indignant little body from the midwife, Sailor snuggled her. “Hello, Emmaline.”
A kiss before he placed her against ísa’s skin. ísa had read up about skin-to-skin bonding, and she’d been very clear with her birth team that, unless it was a medical emergency, she and Sailor would not be separated from their baby for the first hours of her life. She wanted Emmaline to know beyond any doubt that she was loved, was wanted, would never be shoved aside and left to fend for herself.
Emmaline would never feel the loneliness that was a marker of ísa’s childhood.
“Hello, sweet baby.” Tears rolled down her cheeks as she snuggled their angry little baby to the skin of her chest.
Sailor leaned down to kiss her, this blue-eyed man who’d helped make all her dreams come true.
“How was the meeting?” she asked some time later, after she and Emmaline were ensconced in a recovery room.
Sailor shrugged. “No idea. We started late and then Emmaline decided to arrive, so I left it in Nayna’s hands.”
ísa knew her best friend—and the CFO of Bishop Gardening’s first store—would do them proud in the negotiations, but she also knew how important this expansion opportunity was to Sailor. Despite that, he was seated beside the bed and was playing with Emmaline’s tiny hand, utter fascination in his gaze.
“I love you, Sailor Bishop,” she whispered.
He looked up after kissing one of Emmaline’s teeny fingers. “I love you more, ísalind with the moonlight skin and firelight hair.”
Emmaline chose that moment to yawn, and it was so adorable they both lost long minutes to watching her—until they were interrupted by the boys tumbling in. Alison and Joseph arrived soon afterward, together with Gabe and Danny. Catie made it around the same time as Jacqueline.
Nayna rushed in the instant the negotiations were complete, Raj with her.
Everyone wanted to look at Emmaline, wanted to celebrate.
And it was all right. ísa and Sailor had all the time in the world for the things that mattered.
* * *
Yet, love, mere love, is beautiful indeed…
~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning (Sonnets from the Portuguese)
I hope you loved CHERISH HARD! If you’d like to read Gabriel’s story, ROCK HARD is currently available everywhere. Two more Bishop-Esera brothers to go! To stay up to date with my releases and get exclusive access to deleted scenes and short stories, please join my newsletter at: www.nalinisingh.com - xoxo Nalini
Acknowledgements
THANK YOU TO EACH AND EVERY ONE of you for taking a chance on this new series from me. I hope you’ve enjoyed this cherish hard! I had a ton of fun writing each book and I’m looking forward to doing further contemporary romances. (I mean, how can I leave those rugby hunks hanging, right?!) To all the bloggers and reviewers who’ve supported this book, thank you. You’re awesome.
A special shout out to Rahaf and Leena for your wonderful feedback on the draft, and to Nephele and the TKA team for all your work. Jenn - thanks for shooting the amazing cover image! And Frauke - I love what you did to turn the image into a cover.
And last but not least, a great big thanks to all the sexy, bad boys who inspired this series!
About the Author
NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY bestselling author of the Psy-Changeling, Guild Hunter, and Rock Kiss series Nalini Singh usually writes about hot shapeshifters and dangerous angels. This time around, she decided to write about a gorgeous, charming man and the woman he’s never forgotten. If you’re seeing a theme here, you’re not wrong.
Nalini lives and works in beautiful New Zealand, and is passionate about writing. If you’d like to explore the Rock Kiss series further, or if you’d like to try out her other books, you can find lots of excerpts on her website: www.nalinisingh.com. Slave to Sensation is the first book in the Psy-Changeling series, while Angels’ Blood is the first book in the Guild Hunter series. The website also features special behind-the-scenes material from all her series.