The moment he’s in her arms, he roots instinctively. She guides him to her nipple with practiced ease.
I lean against the dresser and watch.
Her shoulders relax as soon as he latches. His little hands curl into her shirt, grabbing tiny fistfuls of cotton. I hear him swallowing, chuckling to myself at how greedy he is. He’s almost growling.
“You look like a pro,” I say softly.
She glances at me with a tired smile. “I’m getting the hang of it.”
Then she does something she never does. She looks down at Arlo, and when she does, her expression changes. Her face softens in a way I don’t often see with her. She looks…unguarded.
“He looks just like you,” she says, almost in a whisper.
“Nah. He has your nose and lips.”
She tilts her head thoughtfully. “Maybe he’s the best of both of us.”
“I think so.”
She starts crying. I rush over, my eyes searching for the source of the problem. That’s always my first instinct—find the problem and solve it.
“What’s wrong?”
She sniffs, running her fingers over his little curls. “I think I love him.”
That lands heavy on me. I swallow the lump in my throat to ask, “How do you know?”
She keeps her gaze fixed on Arlo as she answers. “Because now I feel the same way about him that I do about you.”
I raise an eyebrow. “What way is that?”
Her eyes meet mine. “Like I would kill for him,” she says calmly. “Like I would die for him.”
“Got it.” I let out a small laugh before I can stop myself.
“What?”
“Nah, just…the way you love. It’s like your love language is death.”
She snorts softly. “Shut up, Ace.”
“I’m fucking with you.” I sit next to her, wiping a tear from beneath her eye with my thumb. “I love the way you love me. If you love him as much as you love me, he’s gonna be a very lucky little boy.”
She shifts slightly and winces. “Did you know your son tore my coochie from end to end?”
“I saw Dr. Bernard stitching you up. It was hard to look at.”
“Yeah, well, it’s harder to feel it.”
“I’m sorry.”
“My push present better be fucking amazing.”
“It is,” I say. “I hired a cleaning lady, a chef, and a night nurse for when I go back to work.”
She stares at me. “That’s all?”
“Damn. Nah, something else is coming.”
