Linc quickly replies, letting me know that he’ll be here soon. He moved to Nashville after graduation. It was bittersweet. He was finally going to live his dream but it meant seeing and talking to him less. He came by the day before he left to tell me good-bye. It broke my heart all over again. We never spoke of what happened the day of my wedding.
I swept it under the rug along with all the dirty feelings I continue to hide.
He promised he’d be back when the baby was born, giving me another reason to look forward to that day.
I’m ashamed at how many times I’ve fantasized about the kiss we shared. Even standing in front of Dean, exchanging our vows, it was all I could think about. Sometimes I wish he hadn’t told me how he felt. It only added to the deep longing in my heart.
A longing for something I can never have.
Looking down at my daughter, I know I made the right choice. My feelings for Linc are irrelevant, because all that matters now is her happiness.
The knock at the door startles me, pulling me from my deep thoughts. “You decent in here?” Linc shields his eyes with his hand as he enters the room.
“Yes, goofball. Come in.” I laugh.
Lowering his hand, he walks over to the side of the bed. “There’s my girls.” He’s holding a bouquet of pink calla lilies with a big smile on his face.
God, I’ve missed him.
My hands tingle to touch him, to make sure he’s really here. It’s been six long months since I’ve seen his face. The longest we’ve ever gone without seeing each other since the day we met and he already looks so different.
Older.
There’s a scruff lining his jaw and his hair is longer but it suits him.
He leans down, pressing a kiss to my forehead, lingering there. I close my eyes against the deep ache in my chest. “Sorry I couldn’t get here sooner. I had a gig last night, and I couldn’t back out.”
“It’s fine. I’m glad you’re here now.”
He looks down at Caroline cradled in my arms and his eyes light up in wonderment. “She’s so tiny.”
“Yeah well…she’s not. She weighed in at eight pounds twelve ounces.”
“Holy shit.”
We laugh and it’s still so comfortable.
Easy.
I’ve been so afraid things would be awkward between us but I’m relieved to discover they’re not.
“Do you want to hold her?” I ask.
“Is it safe?”
“She not a bomb, Linc. Of course it’s safe.”
“I…I’ve never held a baby before. I don’t wanna hurt her.”
“You can’t hurt her. There”—I nod to the chair next to the bed—“sit down first.”
He places the flowers on the table next to the bed and takes a seat, scooting the chair closer. Once she’s safely in his arms, I relax against the pillows, gazing at two very important pieces of my heart.
“I can’t believe you gave birth to a human,” he says.
“I know…it’s so weird.”
“How’re you feelin’?”
