His lips crash against mine, a rush of adrenaline coursing through my veins.
I hate cutting the kiss short, but I’m too excited to wait another second.
“Hotstuff, did you see?” I wiggle my feet beneath the blanket before slowly moving my legs.
His face lights up. “Come on, boss,” he says as he carefully helps me out of the bed. “Let’s go meet Millie.”
Millie.
Such a perfect name, for our perfect baby girl.
Chapter 40
Miles
It’s been two days since Millie was born.
Two days of staring at her through the incubator walls instead of holding her in my arms. Two days of watching Penny force herself to stand and walk through pain just to spend every possible second near our daughter.
Fuck, I’m exhausted.
But the thought of leaving Penny and Millie here to go home and sleep feels impossible.
The doctors and nurses have been incredible. They told us Millie will probably stay here for around six weeks until her lungs get strong enough for her to breathe on her own.
Six weeks. The number keeps replaying in my head, no matter how hard I try not to think about it.
But as long as she’s here, we are too.
Penny is asleep right now, but I know she’s still in shock.
Hell, we both are.
After the anesthesia wore off, the doctor offered her a Percocet, but she insisted on only Tylenol.
When I asked her why, she looked me dead in the eyes and said,“Because I want to be alert for Millie. From what I read, Percocet can make you too groggy, and I don’t want that.”
She said it with so much determination that I didn't have it in me to argue with her.
I wanted to tell her it was okay to take the stronger meds. That it was okay to admit she was hurting.
But I didn’t say any of it.
Because I’m doing the exact same thing.
Penny’s being the badass she’s always been for our daughter, and I’m trying to hold it all in for both of them.
But fuck.
This whole thing shook me in ways I still can’t explain.
Everything we planned for the last weeks of her pregnancy got thrown out the window. The nursery. Thebaby shower Mama was secretly planning. Watching Penny waddle around while I annoyed her by kissing her belly every five minutes.
Now the only plan is to survive.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, pulling me from my thoughts.
I wipe a stray tear sliding down my cheek before inhaling deeply through my nose, forcing myself to get it together.
