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“How are you feeling?” I whisper.
“Tired,” she mumbles. “But happy.”
I press my lips to her hairline. It’s damp with sweat, and her face is still red from the exertion, and I’m seriously in awe of the fact that she hasn’t fallen back to sleep yet.
“We still need to come up with a name for the little guy,” I say.
Eve giggles, tapping our son on the nose. He coos and yawns, little arms wiggling around.
“Now that he’s here,” she starts, “he doesn’t really strike me as a Max.”
“Yeah. Edward doesn’t really suit him either. I guess it’s back to the drawing board.”
She nibbles her bottom lip, appearing deep in thought. I savor the moment of silence, and listen to the cute noises the baby makes as he peers up at us.
“What about Jacob?” she asks.
“Jacob?”
“Yeah. What do you think?”
I break out into a wide smile before kissing her tenderly on the lips. I look to our son and chuckle. “What do you think? Do you like Jacob for a name?”
The boy grips my finger, and in that moment, the world around us seems to fade into nothing. I momentarily forget where we are. It’s just the three of us. Everything I could ever want is right here by my side. I feel warm and fuzzy all over, perfectly content to just be.
I can’t believe I almost returned to New York. To think that I wanted so badly to go back to my hectic job, my life of meaningless sex, to the collection of motorcycles and cars I never drove around. It all seems so ridiculous now.
This, right here, is my world.
“Jacob’s perfect,” I whisper.
Eve smiles at our boy. “Hello, Jacob.”
There’s something about the way Eve looks at him that makes my heart swoon. There’s a tenderness there, an unconditional love that soothes me. It quiets any and all worries I might have had. Eve’s more than the mother of my child. She’s more than the love of my life.
She’s the one.
“I love you,” I tell her.
“I love you too.”
“I should probably call our parents. Let them know they’ve got a grandson.”
“Can we stay like this for a little bit? Just a little while longer?”
I smile and nod, carefully putting my arm around the both of them. I suddenly have a feeling that if Eve and Jacob ever gang up on me in the future to get what they want, I’ll be a total goner. How could I ever say no to them?
“Of course,” I say drowsily. “Anything for you.”
She and the baby fall asleep shortly after. I watch them as their chests slowly rise and fall, monitoring their health. I’m tired, too, but I’d rather watch the most precious people in the world to me snoring than do anything else.
My mind wanders as I guard them. If someone had told me ten years ago that I’d get to be with my first love and be the father of her child, I likely wouldn’t have known what to do.
I wonder what my brother would say. If Jacob were still around, I wonder what kind of uncle he’d be. My brother was always larger than life, the class clown, the protective elder sibling. If he were alive today, I’d bet my life’s savings that he’d be the crazy uncle that’s always the life of all his nephew’s birthday parties.
If he were alive today, I wonder if he’d be proud of me.
I definitely think so.
Chapter Thirty
Eve
We stayed the night at the hospital because the doctors there wanted to keep me and Jacob under observation. Since he was born prematurely, they were concerned about the state of his heart and lung development. Overall, the baby appears to incredibly strong, so there isn’t any cause for concern. Nate and I leave early the next morning, moving as a family.
When we pull into the driveway, I see two cars already parked along the curb. There’s a fancy polished silver Lexus, and a familiar dark green Honda Civic that’s dinged up near the back.
“They’re throwing a party, aren’t they?” I muse.
“I told them you’ll probably want to sleep, but I can’t argue with your mother. She’s very insistent when she wants to be.”
“Yeah, she is.”
We park and get out of the car, leaving our bags in the trunk. There’s no real hurry to unpack. Nate places a protective arm around me as we climb up the front steps together. Little Jacob’s fallen fast asleep, the ride home serving to lull him into a deep slumber.
He’s only a day old, but I feel like I’ve known him forever. Jacob’s not much of a crier. He’s wonderfully agreeable and calm. He’ll whimper on occasion when he’s hungry or needs help burping, but he’s very quiet overall.
Such a good boy.
Nate opens the door for me and immediately brings a finger to his lips, silently signaling to our parents to stay quiet. Pops and A-Ma wave their hands in the air, whispering their cheers. Delilah’s here, too, looking far more moved than I’ve ever seen her before. We all step inside and take a seat in the living room, parents hovering over me to get a glimpse of their newborn grandson.
