Page 161 of The One I Hate
I look up to Simon, whose face is lighting up with wonder. Excitement. Fear. All rolled into one handsome package.
“Yes. Please.”
He carefully maneuvers away from me to go cut the cord. I do my best to watch, but I’m so tired it’s hard to keep my eyes open. I do see the nurses take her to go clean her up before she’s brought back to me.
“Do we have a name yet?”
Simon and I look at each other, then back to our daughter. She’s stopped crying, and I can’t stop staring at her. Her little nose. Her little lips. Her eyes are closed, but I just know already she has the most beautiful eyes in the world.
How could she not, with Simon as her daddy?
“Lainey,” I say, putting the first of what will be a thousand kisses to her forehead. “Lainey Elizabeth Banks.”
Simon and I share a look of love before our stares turn back to our daughter. “We made a baby.”
I’m not looking at him, but I’m pretty sure he’s crying. “We made a baby. Hey, Lainey. Welcome to the world.”
My entire life, I’ve waited for the other shoe to drop. For the sky to fall.
But not anymore.
Because there isn’t a thing that could happen to ruin this moment—this life—I’ve been blessed with.
And it’s all because of the man I used to hate.
Epilogue
Simon
“Are we really doing this?”
I look to Charlie, who’s nursing our daughter, giving me the look I know all too well.
The one that screams I’m ridiculous and she doesn’t know why she’s with me.
“How else are we supposed to introduce our child to our friends and family?”
“Through a social media post. Or having people over in small quantities.”
I shake my head. “That’s boring as hell.”
“I think you meant ‘normal.’”
I let out a huff as I kneel down in front of my two favorite girls. “Since when are we normal?”
I kiss Charlie on the forehead before leaning down to kiss Baby Bug. Yes, I know she has a name. But I don’t know if I’ll ever stop calling her Baby Bug. It’s even more fitting than it was before. This girl is going to be the spitting image of her mom. Right now her hair is light. Her eyes are a darker blue. And I can already tell their smiles are going to be identical.
I’m already screwed.
“Can you take her?” Charlie asks as she covers herself up. “Our girl is milk drunk.”
“Gladly,” I say, grabbing a burp cloth as Charlie gets up. “We got this, Mommy. You go get ready for the big party.”
Charlie shakes her head and throws in an eye roll with a smile before heading toward our bedroom. Which gives me a minute to hold my daughter, something that is still mind boggling to me in the week since we brought her home.
“So today’s a big day,” I tell her as I start to rock. “You’re going to meet all your aunties and uncles. And your cousins. And your grandma and grandpa, who have been dying to meet you. So many people who love you. And believe me, they are chomping at the bit to finally hold you.”
And that’s an understatement. Because Lainey made her entrance into the world a little early, there were a few things to keep an eye on. Nothing serious, but we wanted to play it safe. With that, we asked everyone to hold off on visiting in the hospital, and at home, until we were settled in.
