Fidelity (Infidelity #5)(113)

“There once was a beautiful princess,” I went on, “with flowing hair of red and eyes of gold. She lived in a castle with shadows all around. They darkened the corridors and rooms. They’d fly all around while soldiers stood guard, but the princess wasn’t scared. She was the bravest princess of them all.

“She was so much smarter than her evil captors that she even escaped. While free from the castle’s shadows and resting in the sun, she met a man. Little did she know that the man she’d met also lived in darkness, in the blackest of night. Unready to show the world his face, he kept it hidden by a mask and cape. His disguise was work. He wrapped his days and nights with it and kept the rest of the world away.

“One day, the mean dragon with beady eyes and fiery skin lured the princess back to the castle. Knowing her kind heart, he tricked her.”

“Push, Alex,” the doctor said. “We’re almost there.”

“Keep going,” Charli said as her face grew red. “This is my favorite part.”

“Did Prince Charming save the princess?” one of the nurses asked.

“No,” I said, kissing Charli’s forehead. “Batman did. And she saved him, too.”

With my cheek near hers, we both turned toward the ringing cry of our son and watched as the doctor lifted Dominic’s little body. A fine layer of dark hair covered his head as his arms and legs flailed in time to his healthy wail.

“And the best part,” Charli said with a smile as tears rolled down her cheeks. “They all lived happily ever after.”