Chapter Forty One
Laynie
FOURTEEN WEEKS LATER
“All right, we’re almost there, Laynie. You’re doing amazing,” the doctor says behind the blue curtain.
Grayson’s strong hand grips mine tighter, his eyes full of anticipation as mine flare with trepidation. The blue colour of his scrubs enhances his irises that stare at me in adoration. I can’t see anything but him, and it’s kind of killing me because I want to know what’s going on.
“You can’t feel anything, can you?” he asks for the fourth time in a hushed tone.
My heart stutters. I shake my head, my throat burning as I cling to him. My lifeline.
“No, but I think my heart might implode. I just want to see it already,” I squeeze out.
“And you will,” he promises me, kissing my fingers like he always does when I’m feeling anxious. It’s so soft and buttery, but it does something to my chest.
“I can’t wait,” My head hurts, my toes wriggling as the curtain obstructs my view. I can hear the clanging of metal, machines beeping, and the medical staff talking among themselves, but my eyes don’t move from his.
Another loud command comes through, “Almost there. Only a few more minutes.”
My teeth bite down on my lip harshly. Grayson leans over, kissing my sweaty forehead when the ear splitting cry of an infant bursts through the room.
I gasp, and Grayson almost falls out of his chair when he peeks around the curtain. My throat works as I gulp down air, needing to see my baby when I hear the snipping and crying. My eyes flood with tears when the midwife comes around with my little baby in her hands. I almost combust on the spot.
“Congratulations,” she says through her mask, placing the little human being on my bare chest. As soon as our skin touches, I feel the connection coursing through us. This is my baby. My child. And I will die for it. “It’s a baby boy.”
My face lights up as Grayson moves closer, kissing my head once more before stroking his tiny red cheeks as he coos.
“Crap, he’s cute,” Grayson murmurs. I snort and sniffle so loud that I hear one of the midwives laugh.
“He’s beautiful,” I let out, not holding back my tears. “He’s perfect.”
He whimpers against me, my hand holding him still while the other pokes at his tiny fingers. They wrap around mine, and my life feels whole.
“I love him,” I choke out.
“Me too,” Grayson whispers.
Tears stream from my eyes as I cuddle him closer, his little heartbeat pounding through him as the nurses and doctors finish mending me after the C-section. Grayson smiles the entire time. He even shed some tears when the baby held onto his finger. The feeling is beyond magical.
After a half hour, the midwife appears again to take him to be weighed and cleaned. “Grayson, would you like to come with us while we get Laynie back to her room?”
“I would,” he answers before looking down at me. “Will you be okay?”
I nod, and he follows her as I am taken care of.
Back in my room, settled in my bed, I let out a gentle sigh of relief when Grayson appears again with our little boy wrapped in a striped blanket.
“He’s a good boy. He cried in there, but now he’s settled.” He sits beside me on the edge of the bed. “He’s five point five pounds, which is healthy. I triple checked with the nurse.”
Smiling, I kiss the little boy’s cheek before kissing Grayson.
“We have a baby now,” I let out, like it’s still sinking into my mind.
“We do.” I hiccup and he kisses my hair. “You did awesome in there.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, lifting my eyes to his, red rimmed and glassy. My teeth tug on my lip as I wipe my eyes dry and smile at our cooing baby. “Do you still like the name we picked last month?” I ask, hoping Grayson hasn’t changed his mind.
“I do,” he says and settles back against the pillow. I grin, pulling the baby closer to my chest.
“Welcome to the world, Hunter Levi Lawson,” I utter under my breath.
Grayson smiles and reaches out, kissing Hunter’s stubby fingers. “I love it. Although, I think you two should have matching names.”
I frown, my heart jolting as I shake my head. “We agreed on him being a Lawson. To have your last name,” I say adamantly.
“I know…” he breathes out, taking a hold of my hand. “But I wasn’t talking about his name.”
My throat works as I stare at him, unsure of what he’s implying. Grayson reaches into the backpack he brought with him and grabs something. Grinning, he turns back to see my frown, and he lets out a nervous chuckle.
My brows rise. “Did you…?”
“Maybe,” he says coyly.
My heart pauses as he holds a ring between his fingers. I’m not sure I’ve blinked. I’m staring at the ring so intently as Grayson takes hold of my hand.
“I want to marry you. And start our family together. You’re the only girl I’ve wanted to be with. You’re it for me. The one. And we might have detoured a little off track, but we’re here now, together. I want you to be my wife, Laynie Adler, and I want to be Hunter’s dad.”
My lips tremble as I pull him closer, kissing him so passionately that I get caught up in it. Grayson’s hands hold the nape of my neck as he groans against me, the ring pressing against my gown as I melt against him.
When I pull away, we’re both slightly out of breath. Lips an inch apart, Grayson smiles at me, eyes drooping a little.
I nod. “I want all of that. With only you, Gray.”
Grinning, he slips on my grandmother’s ring, which I’m guessing Mum must have given him. Sneaky woman. Grayson kisses me one more time before we turn our attention back to our future. Fingers wrapped around mine and cooing, Hunter drifts to sleep.