15. Lilac

Mommy Dearest

"How many times are you going to count his toes?"

Anya can barely smile due to exhaustion, but her heart is full to bursting as she awakes to see her husband hold their tiny son, Andrei. Dimitri looks down at her until the pale lilac sheets of the hospital bed and grins.

"I just wanted to make sure he didn't lose any in the nursery."

"Let me see him," Anya whispers.

Dimitri settles gently on the edge of the bed. Anya grabs a tiny hand and presses a soft kiss to tiny fingers. "He's beautiful, isn't he?"

"Yeah. He has your eyes, you know."

"And your mouth," Anya replies, eyes sparkling.

Dimitri smiles and leans down to press a soft kiss to Anya's lips. Anya feels the familiar electricity shoot down her spine to parts of her that would be off limits for the next six weeks.

She gently pulls away from him, her smile devilish. "You should stop that," she says, glancing down at the sleeping infant in Dimitri's arms. "That's how we got that one."