Series: The Laws of Opposite Attract Series by Vi Keeland
Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 105253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
“About everything.” I shook my head. “I thought being a father would feel unnatural to me, but from the second I held him in my arms, it felt right. I nearly forgot to give him to you when he came out. I know it’s only been a day, but I feel like I’ve known him forever. Like, I can’t imagine a time when he wasn’t here. Like I was born to be his dad.”
She smiled up at me, her eyes glistening. “You know, we should probably come up with a name at some point.”
“You mean we can’t call him Baby Dawson forever?”
We’d been so sure our baby would be a girl that we hadn’t thought about boy names.
“What about Devin?” I suggested. “Spelled D-E-V-I-N. But pronounced like Devyn.”
Devyn nodded as she looked down at our son. “Devin Dawson. That has a nice ring to it.” She lifted him and placed a soft kiss on his forehead. “It would be an honor to share a name with him.”
“We have a deal, then.” I hesitated a moment. “I’d like his middle name to be Ryan, if that’s okay. It’s sort of a tradition the guys already started.”
Not a day went by when I didn’t feel Ryan’s spirit, and it had seemed stronger since my son was born.
“Of course,” Devyn said. “I expected that. Whether it was a boy or a girl, that’s one thing I was sure of, that we would honor Ryan in some way.”
“Thank you.”
There was a knock at the door.
“Come in!” I said.
Holden and Lala entered the room, followed by Billie and Colby.
“Where are the babies?” I asked. No one seemed to have brought any children.
“Colby’s mom is watching everyone so we can meet our new nephew in peace,” Billie said.
They surrounded us and took turns meeting baby Devin one by one.
“He’s so precious!” Lala whispered.
“Dude, you’re the GOAT,” Holden said as he smacked me on the back. “Delivering your own baby? I thought I was the most handy of the bunch. But that shit is a whole different level of talent. You take the prize, man.”
“Ryan is certainly orchestrating some crazy shit from up there.” I chuckled. “You’d be surprised what you can do when you have no choice, though.”
“I’m so pumped for us to be raising our kids together,” Billie said.
“Brayden better get on that,” Colby added. “He’s the only one left.”
“Speaking of Brayden, I have an interesting story for you…” I said.
Holden’s eyes lit up. “What?”
But this didn’t seem like the right time. “I’ll tell you guys later,” I promised.
“Where are Heath and Hannah?” Billie asked.
“Owen took them home last night, but Vera’s borrowing her friend’s car and dropping them off in a bit,” Devyn said.
“She’s not coming up to meet her grandchild?” Lala asked.
Devyn looked over at me, then explained, “I told her I preferred she meet the baby after we leave the hospital.”
I was proud of Devyn for setting boundaries and putting her mental health first. Vera always managed to upset her, and we needed to enjoy this in peace, without any unwanted distractions.
After our friends left, Devyn and I had a few-minute window before her brother and sister were set to arrive.
“I have a surprise for you,” I said.
“Oh?” She smiled.
I reached over to a bag I’d brought back with me after I’d gone to our house to grab some of Devyn’s things earlier. Inside was a box that had been on ice.
“I got you a pie on my way back this afternoon.”
“Yum!” She beamed. “I could definitely go for a piece.”
“I couldn’t mark our son’s birth without his mama’s favorite dessert.”
The last Key lime pie I’d given Devyn had happened to have a ring box hidden inside. I’d proposed to her one night when she was about six months pregnant. It might not have been the most elaborate proposal, but it was very us—a little messy, but still perfect in the end. We couldn’t wait to plan our wedding once things settled down.
Devyn took a plastic fork from me and reached over to her bedside table to dig into the pie, being careful not to get any on our sleeping baby.
After a bite, she looked at me and said, “Is it just me or does this taste especially good?”
“Everything tastes better when you’re happy,” I told her with my mouth full.
“I really am—happier than I’ve been in my life, Owen. And surprisingly calm about all of this. I don’t doubt myself as a mother anymore.”
“I love hearing that.” I smiled. “But what changed?”
She licked whipped cream from the corner of her mouth. “You believe in me. And that helped me believe in myself.”
I bent to kiss her lips before leaning down and placing another on my son’s cheek.
The door opened, and in walked Heath and Hannah.
“Hey, guys.” I grinned.
“How’s my baby nephew doing?” Heath asked.