As Luke reached down and placed our daughter in my arms, he kissed me. Smiling I whispered, “She’s so tiny.”
Luke chuckled. “Seven pounds two ounces.”
I held her in my arms as I looked into her big blue eyes. It was as if she was looking into my soul and knew exactly how I was feeling. I had fallen just as fast as Luke, and it appeared our daughter had as well. We continued to look into each other’s eyes as Luke ran the back of his hand down my face.
“I love you, Libby.”
Peeking up at him, I smiled. “I love you, Luke.”
Luke and I spent the next hour alone bonding with our daughter and looking at every square inch of her body. From her toes, to the tip of her head that was covered in light-brown hair.
There was a soft knock on the door. “Come on in,” Luke called out. The door opened and Luke’s parents and my parents all walked into the room. Ari and my mother both started crying. I glanced at my father and saw him wiping away a tear.
“Are you crying, Josh?” Jeff asked.
Looking at Jeff, my father chuckled and said, “Are you crying?”
Glancing at Jeff I noticed he quickly wiped a tear from his eye. “No, something got in my eye.”
“Who would like to hold her first? I asked. Ari and my mother walked up. “We had to draw straws to see and Heather won,” Ari said with a huge smile.
Looking down, my mother whispered, “She looks exactly like you, Libby.”
I lifted up the baby as my mother scooped her from my arms. The love that swept over my mother’s face caused my stomach to drop and a smile to spread across my face. I knew she held that same look when she gazed upon me and Will for the first time.
She began swaying slightly as she looked down lovingly at the baby.
Glancing up, she smiled as a tear rolled down her cheek. “What did you decide on the name?”
Luke walked up next to me and took my hand as I nodded for him to tell them. “Mireya Hope Johnson is our precious little girl’s name.”
Ari covered her mouth in an attempt to keep her sobs back. My mother smiled and whispered, “Mireya, meaning miracle.”
Luke kissed me gently on the lips and said, “She truly is a miracle. She also brought us hope when we needed it the most.”
LUKE AND I sat down on the sofa, dropped our heads back, and let out a sigh as I said, “She’s finally asleep.”
Nodding his head, Luke said, “She’s got a full belly, a clean diaper, and a comfy bed.”
I giggled and let out another sigh. “So much has happened in the last three months. We had a baby, you graduated college, and we moved into our very first house.” I turned my head to look at Luke. “No more sharing a house with four other people.”
Luke turned and wiggled his eyebrows up and down. “You can scream tonight when I make you come over and over again.”
My core clenched at the idea of Luke having his way with me. We had hardly been together. Luke refused to touch me while we stayed at my parents’ house. I was ready to scream all night while Luke had his way with me. “Do you think Mireya will sleep through the night? She only woke up once last night,” I said with hope in my voice.
Luke closed his eyes. “I sure hope so. How awesome would it be to sleep a solid six hours?”
I laughed. “Six? I’m thinking at least eight.” Grabbing my hand, Luke pulled it up to his mouth and kissed the back of it.
“I’m giving us two hours of playtime, Lib.”
“Oh,” I chuckled. “I like the sound of that.” I looked around at our little house. It was darling. We were renting Aaron and Jenny’s house that they had lived in until their daughter left for college. They had built a smaller house on the other side of their property, closer to Aaron’s daddy. The white beadboard on the walls added charm. Aaron had remodeled the house a few times over the years. The kitchen was huge and had everything we could ever dream of. The master bedroom downstairs had been added only a few years back. It included a huge master bedroom with a separate sitting area that had Mireya’s bassinet. I wasn’t ready to put her in her room yet, but Luke talked me into trying it out for tonight. We were using the guest room downstairs as her bedroom for now. No way was I having my three-month-old daughter alone upstairs.
I slowly pushed and stood. I took a few steps back and lifted my shirt over my head. Luke sat up and licked his lips. I loved how Luke admired my body like I was a goddess, especially after having the baby. I quickly learned to love my new curves.
“Do you like what you see?” I asked as I ran my finger along my cleavage and black lace bra.
Luke let out what sounded like a growl. He stood and began making his way to me.
I turned and headed to our bedroom, stripping out of my jeans as I walked along. When I made it into our room, I turned to see Luke slipping off his jeans and tossing them to the side.
“You drive me crazy with your body, Libby.”
“Good. That was my plan all along.”
I sat down on the bed and slowly scooted back as I leaned against the headboard. Luke crawled onto the bed and licked his lips before he pressed them to mine. Pushing my hands into his hair, I tugged and moaned. Luke pulled back and looked into my eyes. “When are you going to marry me?”
Smiling, I whispered, “As soon as you want.”
“Valentine’s Day.”
Shaking my head, I laughed. “That’s next weekend.”
“I know.”
I slowly ran my tongue along my bottom lip. “Where?”
Luke’s eyes lit up. “Port Aransas, under the pier on the beach.”
I felt the tears build as I thought back to that day. “Why there?”
Luke’s eyes sparkled and filled with love as they searched my face. Capturing my eyes, it was as if we were looking into each other’s souls.
“I was watching you walk away, but you stopped when I called out to you. When you looked back to me, I knew I could never give my heart to anyone else but you.”
Wrapping my arms around his neck I whispered back, “Yes, I’ll marry you next weekend.”
Leaning down, Luke brushed his lips against mine as he kissed me gently. Pulling slightly away, his eyes met mine as he whispered, “Libby, I’ll love you for the rest of my life and I’ll forever cherish the moment your love saved me.
The End.