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The sound of a distressed infant's wail jerked Isabella from a restless sleep. She sat up and fought her way out of bed before groggily trudging to the nursery. When she got there she blinked up at the already-present Justin who was cradling his crying daughter tenderly in his arms.
He was wearing only a pair of boxers and held the tiny baby up against his strong, naked chest. He was crooning gently to her and Isabella was transfixed by the sweet picture they presented.
He looked up suddenly and saw her standing in the doorway. His hair was messy and standing up in different directions.
"Hey," he smiled over at her. "I was hoping you'd sleep through this. You looked exhausted earlier. I don't think she's hungry. Just cranky, I think her wet nappy woke her up. I changed her and she's all dry and comfy now but she hasn't worked the bad mood out of her system yet," Isabella walked over to them and peered over one bulging bicep into Lily's scrunched up little face and smiled in amusement.
"Very cranky," she leaned over to drop a kiss on the baby's damp forehead and felt Justin tense when her cheek brushed against his chest in the process. They both paused awkwardly before Isabella cleared her throat and stepped back. She dropped into the padded rocking chair and tucked her feet up beneath her and watched as Justin continued to pace and gently talking to the crying baby.
He eventually sank down into the second rocking chair beside Isabella's, while continuing to soothe the baby. Lily's wailing eventually decreased down to a few sad sniffles before she dropped back to sleep. Isabella looked over and smiled when she realised that Justin had fallen asleep too. Lily was firmly anchored to his chest and held in place with a broad hand on her tiny back.
She looked from the man to the infant and smiled at the similarities between them. Lily had his mouth and something about the set of her brow was one hundred per cent Justin. Isabella got up quietly and went over to pick the baby up. Justin's brow furrowed when she tried to move his hand and instead tightened his grip slightly.
"Justin," she whispered. "Let me put her to bed." His eyes fluttered open and he smiled when he saw her leaning over him.
"Isabella," he murmured and in that unguarded moment, Isabella saw a depth of emotion in his liquid brown eyes that she couldn't quite fathom. She blinked and in that split second he came fully awake and his eyes shifted back to neutral and slightly distant. Isabella wasn't sure if she'd imagined the intensity of the emotion or not. He relinquished his hold on Lily and ducked his head to drop a loving kiss on top of her downy soft brown hair.
Isabella was aware of him getting up and following her to the crib. He stood directly behind her and watched over her shoulder as she put the infant to bed. Isabella was intensely aware of him and of the fact that all that stood between them and total nudity was her nightgown and his boxers.
