Page 51 of Love Like Ours

Sophia felt stupid, but she rushed forward to help Avery stand.

“Thanks, I’m good.” She steadied herself. “It’s funny, I thought I’d be more nervous.”

“It’s not over yet,” Lucas joked as he helped his wife stroll across the room.

“Walking helps with the pain,” she told Sophia as she rolled her shoulders.

“I don’t know how you’re standing. I slice my finger open and I’m going home for a sick day,” Sophia said.

Avery smiled. “My mother has prepared me for what I’m about to go through better than any class or video we watched. I’m in good hands here.”

“Good.” Sophia sat in the chair and watched for a while. When Avery’s parents, Lane and Abby, returned, she slipped out to sit in the waiting area with Avery’s brother Wyatt and his wife Hannah, who had shown up almost half an hour after she’d gotten there.

They caught up for a while, and she found out that their young daughters, Ivy and Sienna, were at Hannah’s parents’ place.

She enjoyed catching up with them. They were a couple she’d quickly gotten comfortable around. Wyatt had taken over O’Neil’s Grocery in Pride before she and her mother had moved into town, and she knew him from the store. Hannah was the reason she and her mother had moved to Hidden Cove in the first place. She worked in the construction office selling homes for Todd Jordan, Parker’s father-in-law, who was the owner of the development.

Almost four hours after she’d arrived, the waiting room was filled with Pride’s townspeople. The noise was so loud that it was difficult to hear just one conversation. However, every bit of noise stopped when her brother walked out, grinning ear to ear.

“I have a boy!” he said with a whoop.

Cheers erupted.

Sophia rushed over and hugged him. “You’re a dad,” she said as he spun her around.

After shaking hands with almost everyone in the room, he turned to her. “Want to come back and meet your nephew?”

“Yes,” she said eagerly.

Avery was propped up in bed, looking exhausted but radiant. In her arms was a tiny bundle wrapped in a blue blanket. “Meet Lucas Marcus Rodriguez the fourth. The Marcus is after his grandfather.” She smiled at her. “We’ll call him Luke for short,” she said softly.

She walked over and looked down at the little bundle wrapped in the soft green blanket that she’d gifted them at the baby shower.

“Hey, buddy,” she murmured, her voice soft with emotion. Her breath caught when she got her first look at her nephew. Luke’s tiny face was scrunched up, and a tuft of bright red hair peeked out from beneath his little cap, which matched the blanket.

“Whoa,” she said, her eyes going wide. “He’s got his mama’s hair.”

Lucas laughed, glancing at Avery. “You’re not gonna believe this, but the first thought I had when I saw him was, ‘Where did my genes go?’”

Sophia snorted. “Right? He’s all Avery. You’re just the assistant in this operation.”

Avery rolled her eyes but grinned. “Don’t listen to them, Luke. You’ve got your dad’s nose.”

Sophia leaned closer, inspecting the baby’s features. “Hmm. Jury’s still out on that. But that hair? Total showstopper. He’s gonna be a heartbreaker.”

Lucas groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. “Don’t start with that already. He’s like ten minutes old.”

Sophia grinned, reaching out to gently touch Luke’s tiny hand. “I’m just saying, he’s got star power. Aunt Sophia knows these things.”

After that, everyone shuffled in and out of the room for the next half hour, getting a quick look at the star of the day. When the last visitor left, Sophia decided it was time to head out herself. She wasn’t supposed to work that evening but, knowing that Lucas wouldn’t be, she headed to the restaurant to make sure everything went smoothly.

Besides, she had to show off the two dozen pictures she’d taken of her new nephew to everyone.

Shortly after the dinner rush, she was sitting at the bar nursing a margarita for celebration when Palmer strolled in. She had sent him the good news along with several pictures of her holding Luke.

Seeing her at the bar, he strolled over and, without hesitation, kissed her right there in front of all her coworkers.

She registered a few catcalls and whistles before Palmer leaned back.