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In a previously unheard of turn of events, Evan was awake when Gaia crept back into bed at five past six, cradling a quietly feeding Clover against her chest, and he gave her a sleepy grin. Her body was still fizzing after yesterday, when they'd had a solid three hours alone at home while Zara had been out and Evan had stayed true to his word. His fingers had grazed every inch of her skin, kissing every part of her while he took nothing in return except her sweet sigh in his ear and her hands raking through his hair as she held gripped him close to her.
When Zara had arrived home at half past six, ready to hand her siblings over to someone else for bedtime duty, she had expected to find her parents preparing dinner. Instead, she had returned to them sharing a deep, foamy bath while Gaia sipped tea and Evan held a glass of wine, his toes teasing his wife beneath the bubbles with a cheeky grin on his lips. They'd ended up having an early night, both flat out by ten o'clock after an exhausting afternoon, and even though she was waking with the birds, Gaia felt refreshed and ready for the day as she held Clover to her breast.
"Hey," Evan croaked, and he cleared his throat with a laugh before he tried again. "Morning, Gee." He pulled himself up, the duvet slipping down to his waist, and Gaia couldn't help but glance down before she met his eye, knowing he was naked beneath the covers. A shiver rolled through her and she smiled, pursing her lips when he leant in for a quick morning kiss. He always kissed her in the morning, regardless of whether either of them had brushed their teeth, and she had grown to anticipate his lips on hers when they woke.
"Hey," she said, a lazy grin on her lips. "How'd you sleep?"
"Incredibly," he said, his hand going to Clover's head, stroking her fine hair. While Alfie took after his father, already beginning to look like him with his cheeky grin and curly locks, Clover was starting to show signs of growing up to look like her mother with the same hazel eyes and silky hair. Evan smiled down at his second daughter, for whom he struggled to comprehend his love, and he lifted his eyes to his wife. "How about you?"
"Best night I've had in a while," she said with a laugh. "We should do that more often."
"You know I'd love to," Evan said, stifling a yawn into his elbow as he stretched the night out of him and pushed off the duvet, slipping out of bed and wandering to their en suite bathroom. Gaia couldn't tear her eyes from his taut behind as he crossed the room and she ached to hold him, to lie with him and give back to him even a fraction of what he had done for her yesterday. He knew she was watching and he wiggled his hips at her before he looked over his shoulder, winking at her, and if she'd been standing she would have gone weak at the knees.
He didn't close the door and she gazed at his side profile as he stood at the sink to brush his teeth, her eyes glossing over his body. His bruises had virtually disappeared now, the cast the only sign that anything had happened two weeks ago. More than that, now: seventeen days had passed since the accident, time flying as she watched and waited on his recovery, and he was already doing so much better.
