Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 34934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 175(@200wpm)___ 140(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 175(@200wpm)___ 140(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
Her mouth drops in shock.
I pull the ring box from my pocket, open it, and take out the diamond ring. “Samantha, I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life. You are the one for me. You. Him. Us.”
Her hands fly to her mouth. “Eli,” she whispers.
“I promise to love you. I promise to always be here for you. For him. For all our future babies.” I’m almost pleading with her, hoping that she says yes. “Marry me, Sassy. Marry me and build a future with me.” I shake my head. “Please say yes.”
She slowly goes to her knees. “Yes, yes, God, yes, I love you so much, Eli. Yes, a thousand times, yes.”
Relief hits me hard, and I finally take a steady breath.
I put the ring on her finger, and then we kiss. Our lips meet, and the kiss feels deep and almost desperate, as if we can’t get close enough.
When we pull back, my forehead rests against hers, and her hand is over my rapidly beating heart. Our forever starts now.
EPILOGUE
SAMANTHA
Eli never leaves my side.
Eight hours of labor, and he’s been right next to me the whole time.
The pain is unbearable at times, but Eli is there to talk me through it. He cheers me on, kisses me, and wipes the sweat and the tears off my face.
He’s patient and kind.
And I don’t know how I could have done this without him.
I’m panting, trying to catch my breath.
The nurse has the baby in the corner, checking him.
The room goes still, and then all of a sudden, a cry rings out.
The nurse comes to us and places the baby on my chest. Eli has one hand on my shoulder and one on the baby’s back.
I kiss the top of his head. “Hey, little one. Boy are we glad to meet you.”
I look up at Eli and see the sheen in his eyes. He’s caught up in the emotions too, and I can’t say I blame him. There’s been a lot of ups and downs over the last eight hours.
“You okay?” I ask him.
He leans down and kisses me. “I should be asking you that. You did all the work. You okay, honey?”
I nod. “We did it.”
Eli nods. “We did.”
“I don’t know how I could have done this without—”
He cuts me off. “You don’t have to find out. I got you, Sassy. I got him,” he says, gesturing to the baby. “Did you decide on a name? It’s time.”
It’s been a joke between us the last few weeks. I know I needed to pick a name, and I thought of one, but I wasn’t sure how he’d feel about it. I look into his eyes. “I picked one, but if you don’t like it, we can pick something else.”
He’s hovering over me and the baby like he can’t get close enough. The nurses are all working around us, cleaning up the room, but neither of us is paying them any attention.
I lift my chin. Eli hasn’t let me down yet, and I told him I’m all in. “Weston. I want to name him Weston.”
He points a finger to his chest. “After me? That’s my middle name.”
I chuckle because he’s acting like I didn’t know that already. “I know it is. Is that okay? I wanted to give him a name that meant something, and you’re the best man I’ve ever known. If he grows up to be half the man you are, I’ll have done my job right.”
“We,” he says. “We will have done our job right.” He leans over and kisses little Weston’s head. “And I’ll be honored to have him carry my name.”
Later, when the room is quiet and it’s just us, I let it all sink in.
Elijah has his shirt off, and the baby is pressed against his skin. His hand looks huge on the baby’s back, and the way he’s holding him, I know we’re going to be all right.
This is what love looks like. I know we’re going to be okay.
I look at my husband and our son. “I love you, Eli.”
He chokes up. “Oh Sassy, I love you more.”