Page 111 of Agony of Our Regret

“Can you get her dressed? I laid out an outfit.”

His shoulders dropped. “Yeah.”

Showering together was a lot less sexy than it had been a few weeks ago, and while I tried not to let it get to me, insecurity about my postpartum body made me want to hide from the guys.

“You’re the most beautiful woman in the world.” Noah kissed my shoulder as I brushed my wet hair after we got out.

I smiled at him in the mirror. “You have to say that.”

“No, I don’t have to say anything. It’s true. You’re incredible and stunning. So incredibly strong, and I didn’t think I could love you any more than I did, but every single day, you prove me wrong.”

“Wow.” I turned and lifted to my toes to kiss him. “I love you so much. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” His eyes darkened, but I pulled him back. “Hey, we’re moving forward, remember? No living in the past. We’re here now, creating the most beautiful life.”

Noah’s lips slowly curved into a smile. “It’s pretty amazing.”

I nodded. “It is.” The doorbell chimed, and I tensed. “I’m not ready.”

He chuckled. “I’ll stop distracting you.”

He disappeared into the closet, and I focused on putting on a little makeup and pulling my damp hair back into a braid before going in after him and dressing in another cute lounge set, one of the many miraculously stacked in my area of the closet. I had many women looking after me and making sure I felt comfortable without forcing myself into jeans, which were missing.

Content that I was at least clean, I walked through the empty bedroom and followed the sound of voices downstairs.

“There’s Mom!” Tessa cheered, and met me at the bottom of the stairs with a hug. “Oh, my sweet girl! You did so good.”

I clung onto her, unaware until this very second how much I needed her, or any of the parents, to be here. “I feel like I’m playing pretend. Like this isn’t real.”

“It will take a little while to set in.” She pulled away and grinned, studying me. “How are you feeling?”

I smiled. “Good. Really. The guys are amazing and have fallen into their roles so flawlessly. I get more rest than I did before, and I’m not as sore as I expected.”

“I’m so glad.” She led me further into the living room where Daniel, Wes, and Stanley cooed over Charlie in Mandy’s arms.

Mandy looked up at me with glassy eyes. “She’s perfect.”

I’d never tire of hearing that. “I think so too.”

Renae and Bruce were the next to arrive, but instead of immediately seeking out the baby, they came to me, each giving me a tight hug.

“You look so much better than I did after Luca!” Renae beamed.

“I think the secret is having four more sets of hands.” I nodded toward the guys. “They’ve been incredible.”

“There’s not enough of Charlie to go around.” Luca wrapped his arm around my waist. “We’re fighting over who gets to feed her or bathe her.”

“Next time, we should have multiples,” Sky suggested.

I narrowed my eyes. “No baby talk for at least five years.”

“Yeah, right,” Vince snorted.

“Then you’re carrying them,” I shot back.

“Don’t press,” Noah warned. “We’ve got to wait her out a bit.”

Gavin agreed. “We’ll bring it up again once Charlie is out of the newborn stage, and she misses it.”

“Oh, good idea.” Sky beamed.

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