Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 95307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
“You want to hold her?” she asks.
I nod. I’m scared to death I’m going to break her. She’s so damn tiny, but at the same time, I’ve been waiting months to hold her in my arms. My baby girl. My palms are sweaty, and my hands are shaking. If Winnie notices, she doesn’t mention it. She lifts her arms, and I scoop mine underneath, taking Sophia from her. “Hey, baby girl,” I choke out. “I’m your daddy.”
I lift her head to place another soft kiss there. Never in a million years did I think I could love anyone the way I love Winnie. This tiny little pink bundle, who has her little fist wrapped around my pinky, also has my heart in the palm of her hands, just like her momma. “You’re beautiful,” I whisper to her. “Not dating until you’re thirty,” I say, causing everyone in the room to crack up laughing. Lifting my head, I see Winnie smiling, her eyes shimmering with tears. “I told you this already,” I remind her.
“That you did,” she agrees.
“Congratulations, you guys,” Gabby says, wiping her eyes.
“Hey, Soph,” I say to my daughter. “You ready to meet your Aunt Gabby?” I stand tall, and carefully pass her over the bed to Gabby.
“Hey, sweet girl. I’m your Aunt Gabby,” she introduces herself. “You have a beautiful name for a beautiful little girl,” she murmurs. “What’s her middle name? Have you all decided?” she asks, not taking her eyes off my daughter.
Winnie looks up at me, and I nod. We talked about it a few days ago. It was my suggestion, and she loved it. “We have,” I tell her.
“Well, are you going to tell me?” She finally looks up.
“I mean, do you really want to know?” I tease.
“Your Daddy and your Uncle Chase, they like to tease me. I’m glad you’re a girl. We need more women to drown them out,” she tells my sleeping daughter. “Gwenny?”
Winnie chuckles through her smile. “Her name is Sophia Gabrielle Drake.”
I watch Gabby as she processes what Winnie just said. “What?” she asks, her voice almost inaudible.
“We’d like for you to be her godmother. If something were to ever happen to us, we want to know she’s loved and well cared for.”
“Of course she is,” Gabby says, and bites down on her bottom lip.
The nursing team have finished up and tell us they’ll be back in a few so that Winnie can feed Sophia. Funny, I didn’t even really register that they were still in the room with us. As they filter out, there’s a knock at the door.
“Can I come in?” Chase asks.
“No,” Gabby says, as Winnie and I both say yes.
“Hey,” he says softly, stopping to stand next to Gabby. “You did good, Gwen.” He smiles.
“Hello?” I say, as if I’m offended.
“Come on, Drake, you and I both know that beauty comes from your wife,” he jokes.
“You want to hold her?” Winnie asks him.
“She’s pretty small. Maybe I should wait.”
“Sit down,” Gabby instructs. For the first time ever, I watch as he does what she tells him without giving her any lip. Once he’s seated, Gabby transfers Sophia to his arms. “Make sure you’re supporting her head.” Gabby stands beside him, her hand on his shoulder, watching with a grin tilting her lips.
“Hey, Soph, I’m your Uncle Chase. Daddy and I already talked about it and no dating until you’re thirty,” he tells her. Gabby smacks his shoulder playfully, and it doesn’t faze him.
“Hey, Chase,” Winnie says to get his attention.
I watch as he struggles to pull his gaze from my daughter to address my wife. “Yeah?”
“I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”
“Shoot,” he says, eyes questioning.
Winnie looks up at me and I nod. “We were hoping you’ll be her godfather.”
I watch my best friend as he swallows hard. He opens his mouth to speak but closes it and swallows again. “What?” he asks quietly.
“If something were to happen to us, we want to know she’s loved and well taken care of. That means you,” I tell him. “And you,” I say, nodding at Gabby.
Chase looks up at Gabby, and something I can’t explain passes between them. “I don’t know what to say, man. This is— I’m honored.”
“Say yes,” Winnie prompts.
“Yes.” He lifts my daughter and bends his head to whisper in her ear. We can’t hear what he says, but from the look on Gabby’s face, the emotional side of my best friend, the one he tries so hard to hide, is showing. Gabby’s eyes well with tears.
“All right, Momma. Time to eat,” a nurse says, barging into the room.
“We’re going to give you some time,” Gabby says.
Chase stands and carefully passes Sophia to Winnie, who’s sitting up in bed. I know she’s exhausted. We’ve both been up since two this morning, but it never shows. She’s all smiles as she takes our baby girl into her arms.