The bright springtime sun woke Tally earlier than she would have liked. She rolled over. Dust motes floated in the air, catching the sunlight through a crack in the curtains. They resembled a thousand stars twinkling in the sky.

Her body was sore, as though she’d had a seriously heavy session at the gym, and every muscle ached. But none of that mattered because she had a daughter.

Love she never thought she’d be capable of filled her heart as it expanded to make room for the new addition in her life. When she’d fallen in love with Cash, she’d assumed nothing would ever top that. How wrong she’d been. And yet with the arrival of their baby, her love for him had grown too.

She pushed herself upright. It felt strange to be alone after spending forty-eight hours surrounded by people. Cash had reluctantly gone back home the night before to get some sleep but only after she’d bullied him by saying he’d be no bloody use to her if he didn’t rest up.

She swung her feet over the side of the bed and thrust them into her slippers. She shrugged into her dressing gown and padded out of her room, the need to see her daughter pressing her forward even as her body asked for more rest. She’d have to express some milk soon. Despite the fact Darcey was being fed through a tube, Tally still had a job to do.

The NICU was quiet with only Shelley inside, tending to the four babies who needed extra care. Tally paused outside the door, her eyes fixed on her daughter. She was so beautiful, perfect in every way, and even though she was a preemie, the doctors said she was doing fantastically well and they expected to be able to remove her breathing tube sometime that day.

“Precious, aren’t they?”

Tally jumped. She’d been joined by a woman in her fifties with dark hair pinned up in a neat bun.

“Sorry,” Tally said. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Which one is yours?”

Tally pointed. “The one at the front, on the right-hand side.”

“Ah, a girl. She’s beautiful.”

“Yes,” Tally said. “She is.”

“And you, are you doing okay?”

“I’m fine.” She laughed. “A little stiff and sore, but that’s to be expected.” Tally tilted her head to one side. “Are you here visiting someone?”

The woman nodded. “My granddaughter.”

Tally glanced at the babies. Two boys and two girls. Tally’s gaze fell on the cot opposite Darcey’s. “She’s a little cutie.”

“I’m Meredith, by the way,” the woman said, holding out her hand.

“Tally.”

“Have they said when your little one will be able to go home?”

“Not yet. I’m expecting a few weeks, though.” Tally made a move towards the door. “Are you coming in?”

Meredith shook her head. “No, I have to be somewhere. I’ll pop back later.”

“Well, it was nice to meet you. Maybe we’ll bump into each other again.”

“That would be lovely.” Meredith turned around to leave and then spoke over her shoulder. “Take care of yourself, Tally.”

“You too.” Tally pushed open the door to NICU. She was anxious to touch Darcey. Without the feel of the baby’s soft skin beneath her fingers, she no longer felt whole.

“Morning,” Shelley said as she grabbed a chair and placed it in front of Darcey’s cot. “How are you feeling?”

Tally sank into the chair and opened the round door that separated her from her daughter. She relaxed the minute her hand touched Darcey’s skin. “Knackered. Euphoric.”

Shelley laughed. “Pretty normal, then. You okay to get some feed ready?”

Tally grinned. “Sure am. Can I do it?”

“Absolutely.”

Shelley helped her connect the pump. If anyone had told her she’d be doing this a week ago, she’d have laughed in their face. But it felt completely normal. A means to an end to give her daughter the best nutrition possible.

Shelley showed her how to add the milk to the feeding tube, and although she was desperate to feed her baby via natural means, at the moment this was the best she had. As she injected her milk into the feeding tube, protective instinct flooded through her. God, she loved this kid. More than anyone else alive, including Cash. She would do anything to protect her baby. She’d kill for her. Die for her.

“You started without me?”

She glanced around in time to see Cash walk in. “I woke early and couldn’t wait to see her. You look much better.”

He grinned, the smile she loved, and bent down to kiss her cheek. “Amazing what eight hours of sleep will do for a man.”

“I missed you,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder when he pulled up a seat.

“Did you sleep okay?”

“Too good. I want to be able to say I was awake all night because I couldn’t sleep without you beside me, but I’d be lying. Dead to the world until I woke this morning.”

“We’d better make the most of that. When this little one comes home, times are going to change.”

“Can’t wait,” she said.

Cash curled his fingers around hers. “I wanted to talk to you about that.”

Tally frowned. “What, her coming home?”

“Yeah. I don’t want you exhausted all the time. What do you think about getting a nanny?”

Tally stiffened. “I’m not sure about that.”

Cash casually rested his hand on her inner thigh. “Think about it. No need to make a decision right now.”

A nanny… she’d never even considered it. Darcey was her baby. She didn’t want some stranger doing all the things she should be doing. Feeding, changing, getting up in the middle of the night, looking after her when she was sick. That was what she’d signed up for. What she wanted.

“Stop stressing,” Cash said, correctly reading her inner turmoil. “I don’t mean full-time. Just someone to take the load when you need a break, and give us some alone time.”

“What about asking Anna to come across for a little while?”

“I did think about that, but she looks after her grandkids on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

Tally wrinkled her nose. “Of course. I’d forgotten.”

“Don’t worry about it for now. It’ll be a while before she’s ready to come home. We can see how it goes.”

Tally handed the empty vial to Shelley and opened the incubator, touching Darcey’s warm little body with the back of her hand.

“I never did thank you for agreeing to move to London. I know how much you miss home.”

Cash shook his head. “No, you were right. Our place in Ireland is great, but it’s too remote. We can always go back for weekends, and when she’s older, maybe then we can think about moving back permanently.”

His phone buzzed with an incoming call, earning him a sharp glance from Shelley. “It’s Mum,” he said, standing up. “I’ll take it outside.”

He closed the door with a quiet click, and Tally watched as he sauntered down the corridor. He still had the best arse she’d ever seen.

“Looking forward to her coming off the ventilator later?” Shelley said.

Tally dragged her attention back into the room. “Can’t wait. Does that mean I’ll be able to hold her?”

“It does.”

A thrill of excitement ran through her, and goose bumps sprang up on her arms, making the hairs stand on end. “I can’t believe she’s well enough to come off it today.”

“Yeah. She’s a tough one.”

“Takes after her dad,” Tally said. “He’s made of strong stuff.”

“He’s passed it on to his daughter, then.”

“How long do you think she’ll have to stay?”

Shelley shrugged. “Difficult to say. But if she carries on doing as well as she has the last twenty-four hours, I would say she’ll be ready to go home in a few weeks once she’s put some weight on.”

“Mum’s here,” Cash said, sticking his head around the door. “I’ll go and get her.”

“Great,” Tally said, smiling broadly. She couldn’t wait to show off her daughter.

“Do you get on well with your mother-in-law then?” Shelley asked.

“Extremely,” Tally said, even though the title of mother-in-law wasn’t quite accurate yet. “She’s like the mother I never had.”

Shelley gave her a sympathetic look. “Oh, I’m sorry, sweetie.”

Tally shook her head. “Don’t be. My mum walked out on me and my dad when I was four. And now I’ve got Darcey, I understand that decision even less. I can’t imagine ever being able to leave her.”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Shelley murmured.

A tap on the window alerted her, and she turned her head. Rachael couldn’t have been smiling any wider. Her smile was so wide that her cheeks had to be aching. Tally waved while Cash ushered his mother into the room.

“Oh my goodness.” Rachael squeezed some hand gel into her palms and rubbed them together. “She’s so beautiful.”

“Here,” Cash said, pulling up a chair so his mother could sit.

Rachael hugged Tally warmly. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here, darling. Are you okay?”

“Don’t worry. It didn’t exactly go according to plan.”

“But look at her,” Rachael said. “May I?”

“Go ahead,” Tally said, unfastening one of the two round plastic coverings that allowed access inside the incubator.

Rachael touched Darcey’s foot. “She looks so much like you, Cash.”

“So everyone keeps saying. Poor kid.”

Rachael gave him an admonishing look. “You were a beautiful baby, and you’re beautiful now.”

“You got that right.” Tally looked up at him.

Cash kissed the top of her head. “How about we leave Grandma with Darcey and I take you for some breakfast.”

She felt a momentary stab of panic. Surely it was too soon to leave her?

“Please,” Rachael said eagerly. “It would give me time to get to know my granddaughter.”

Cash folded his fingers around Tally’s hand and tugged her to her feet. “Come on, babe.”

“A coffee would be good,” Tally admitted, and as if the universe was plotting against her, her stomach rumbled. “And a bacon sandwich,” she added with a grin.

She must have glanced over her shoulder five times between leaving the NICU and disappearing through the door at the end of the corridor. She didn’t miss Cash rolling his eyes. Maybe it was different for guys, but her anxiety levels increased every time she was away from her daughter.

“Relax.” Cash squeezed her hand. “I know it’s difficult. It is for me too.”

“Is it?” she said, a note of hysteria leaking into her tone.

“Yes,” he said reassuringly. “But you have to calm down.”

“Oh God,” she groaned. “I’m going to be one of those mothers, aren’t I? I’ll be acting all weird and neurotic every time my precious offspring is out of sight.”

Cash laughed. “Give yourself a break. She’s only a day old, and we weren’t exactly expecting her yet.” He put his arm around her shoulder and kissed her temple. “I get it.”

She leaned into him, hoping his strength would bolster her. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“You’ll never have to find out.”

By the time Cash had put a steaming cup of coffee and a bacon sandwich in front of her, Tally realised how right he’d been to make her take a break. With some food inside her stomach and a good slug of caffeine, her earlier panic subsided.

“I hate it when you’re right,” she said, tearing off another chunk of sandwich. “This is really good.”

“Life would be easier if you did exactly what I said, without argument,” Cash teased.

“Dream on,” she said.

He grinned. “Gotta have goals.”

“Speaking of which,” Tally said, giving him a firm, no-nonsense stare, “when are you getting back on tour?” A dart of sadness swept through her as she realised they’d had this conversation several times over the course of their relationship.

Cash teased his beard with his fingertips. “I don’t know. A while. With Darcey coming early, and Kinga… my head’s not in it.”

Tally groaned. “I feel awful.”

“Why?”

“Because yet again, I’m keeping you from doing what you love.”

Cash clasped her hand, a mischievous expression on his face. “Yes, you are. Six weeks, the doctor said when I asked him.”

Tally frowned, and then she clapped a hand over her mouth. “You didn’t.”

“Oh yes, I did,” he said, looking rather pleased with himself. “Still, I’m sure there’s other stuff we can try.” He winked.

“I can’t believe you spoke to the doctor about when we could have sex.” She giggled. “You have no shame.”

“Sweetness, I don’t think it’s a secret we have sex. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have Darcey, and besides, it’s going to be fucking difficult keeping my hands off you, so I wanted to know the boundaries.”

“Even with my jiggly bits.” She wobbled her flabby post-pregnancy belly, which still looked as if she had a baby inside.

Cash scowled, his light mood dissipating like a puff of air. “Don’t, Natalia. Just fucking don’t, or I am seriously going to lose my temper.”

“Oh, come on, Cash. Not exactly attractive, is it?”

His scowl deepened. “I am not having this fucking conversation,” he hissed. “But it’s good to know you think I’m so shallow that my absolute idolisation of you is purely skin-deep.”

He launched himself to his feet, causing the chair he’d been sitting in to scrape loudly against the floor. Several heads turned their way as Cash stormed out of the hospital canteen, his back rigid, fists clenched by his side.

Tally sighed. They’d been having such fun. Why did she have to go and ruin it with her hang-ups? She recalled a conversation she’d had with her dad when she was thirteen. She was way more developed than most of her friends at school, and she’d taken to wearing huge jumpers to cover her breasts, which had become a fascination for boys and girls alike. When her dad tackled her about her radical change in clothing, she told him she was saving up to have them cut off. He’d laughed and ruffled her hair and told her not to worry about it, that her friends were jealous because she was growing up faster than they were. She’d always struggled with her desire to be stick thin. Unfortunately, she had a body frame that would never bend to that shape. She knew how much Cash hated it when she was hard on herself, but she couldn’t seem to stop picking the thread.

She rose from the chair and followed him outside. He hadn’t gone far. He was resting his palms against a floor-to-ceiling window, his shoulders hunched as he stared down into the hospital gardens. He flinched when her hand landed on his back, and she did her best not to follow suit.

“Sorry, ace.”

He hesitated and then turned his gaze on hers. “I hate it when you do that.”

“I know.”

“Then why?”

She chewed her lip. Simple question. Difficult to answer. “I don’t know. I’ve always been the same. I saw a photo of my mother once, in a shoebox in my dad’s wardrobe.” She grinned at the memory. “I was snooping for Christmas presents. She had exactly the body shape I would have loved. Tall, thin, great legs. I’ve always thought one of the reasons she left is that I must have been such a disappointment to her.”

Cash’s eyes softened, and he held out his arms. She went to him willingly, tucking her head under his chin. He kissed the top of her head.

“Baby, you were four when your mother left. Whatever the reason, I doubt it was because she looked into the future and saw you might not quite fit into size-eight jeans. If I can say anything to reassure you, it’s this: I love your curves. I adore every single thing about your body.” He withdrew slightly, allowing their eyes to meet. “And your ‘jiggly bits,’ as you so eloquently put it, are what allowed our daughter to be born. Are you saying you’d change that?”

Tally shook her head vigorously. “Absolutely not.”

“Then stop, okay? If you seriously want to get fitter, when your body has had time to recover, we’ll do it together. But know this. I. Don’t. Care.”

She tilted her face up, and he took her cue, his mouth covering hers for too brief a moment. When he pulled back, she mourned the loss of contact.

“I could kiss you all day,” Cash said. “But I figure it might be time to feed the baby.”

“What makes you say that?” Tally said with a frown.

Cash glanced down, a cheeky grin gracing his face. “Because, sweetness, you’re leaking on me.”