Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 42745 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 214(@200wpm)___ 171(@250wpm)___ 142(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42745 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 214(@200wpm)___ 171(@250wpm)___ 142(@300wpm)
“You okay?” he asks softly.
I nod, but tears slip down my cheeks anyway. “Yeah.”
His eyes search mine like he doesn’t believe me.
I squeeze his hand. “I’m happy.”
“I know.”
I rest my head against his shoulder while we wait for our turn to meet the newest member of the family.
CHAPTER 21
PENN
We let everyone else go first. It’s not that I’m not excited to see my baby sister and my new niece. I am. I just need to prepare.
Every time someone comes back from the room with tears in their eyes and a smile on their face, I feel Aria’s hand tighten in mine.
I know I’m putting it off and half expect Aria to get up and pull me down the hall, but she sits patiently beside me like she’s having to mentally prepare herself too.
“Penn?”
I look down at her. “Yeah?”
She gives me a small smile. “We’re the only ones left.”
I glance around the waiting room, and she’s right. The rest of the family have already visited and have left. Now it’s our turn.
I stand and pull Aria up with me. “Ready?”
She nods, but her eyes are already shining with unshed tears. “Yeah.”
We walk down the hallway together, and I keep hold of her hand the whole way. The closer we get to Skyler’s room, the more I feel Aria’s nervousness.
The door is cracked, and I knock softly before pushing it open.
Zach looks up from the chair beside Skyler’s bed. He looks both exhausted and happier than I’ve ever seen.
Skyler is propped up against the pillows, her hair pulled back, face tired, but she’s absolutely glowing. There’s a tiny bundle in her arms, wrapped in a soft pink blanket.
Aria sucks in a breath beside me.
“Oh, Skyler,” she whispers.
Skyler looks up and smiles. “Come meet her.”
We step into the room, but Zach immediately stands and points toward the sanitizer dispenser mounted by the door.
“Hands first.”
I almost smile. “Zach.”
“I’m not kidding.” He points again. “Hands. Both of you. Thoroughly.”
Skyler rolls her eyes. “He made Mom sanitize twice.”
“She touched the elevator button,” Zach says like that explains everything.
“It’s okay,” Aria says, already pressing the dispenser. “I respect it.”
Zach nods like she passed some kind of test. “Good.”
I hold out my hands, and he watches me rub the sanitizer in like I’m one of his recruits and not a grown man who works in a hospital.
“Again,” he says.
I stare at him. “You’re kidding.”
“Do I look like I’m kidding?”
Skyler sighs from the bed. “Zach, he’s a doctor.”
Zach’s forehead creases. “And doctors are around germs all day.”
Aria laughs softly and hits the dispenser again. “Come on, Penn. If you want uncle privileges, you gotta follow the dad’s orders.”
I do it again because I want to hold my niece and because arguing with Zach right now would be pointless.
When he’s finally satisfied, he steps aside but still watches us like we might do something wrong.
Skyler looks down at the baby, and her face softens completely. “This is Grace.”
Aria presses one hand to her chest. “She’s beautiful.”
I look at my little sister. “She looks just like you.”
Zach’s head snaps toward me. “She has my chin.”
Skyler smiles. “She has your attitude.”
“She’s perfect,” he says, looking back at the baby like the whole world begins and ends right there.
Skyler looks at me. “Do you want to hold her?”
Before I can answer, Zach steps closer. “Sit down first.”
I glance at him. “You know I’ve held babies before.”
He shrugs, not even fazed. “Not mine.”
Aria covers her mouth, and I hear the small laugh she tries to hide.
I sit in the chair beside the bed. “Better?”
Zach studies me for a second. “Support her head.”
“I know how to hold a baby.”
“Penn,” Aria says softly, and when I look at her, she’s smiling. “Just let him have this.”
I let out a breath. “Fine.”
Zach carefully takes Grace from Skyler and turns toward me. His whole face changes when he looks down at his daughter, and then he places her in my arms. It’s obvious Zach doesn’t want to let her go.
She’s so tiny.
Her face is scrunched up, her lips pursed like she’s irritated, and one little hand is tucked beneath her chin.
My chest tightens so fast I almost can’t breathe. “Hey, Grace. I’m going to be your favorite uncle,” I whisper.
Skyler laughs. “Ozzy, Miller, Logan, and Guy all said the same thing.”
“Competition. I like it,” I mutter.
Zach leans over me. “Don’t breathe on her.”
I look up at him. “How exactly do you want me to hold her and not breathe?”
“Carefully.”
Skyler laughs from the bed. “He’s been like this since they put her in my arms.”
“I’m her father,” Zach says.
Skyler points at me. “And Penn is her uncle.”
Zach looks at me, then down at Grace. “Exactly. That’s why I’m watching him.”
I should make a joke, and normally I would, but I can’t stop looking at the baby in my arms.
I’m so damn happy for Skyler and Zach. But underneath there is an ache that I’ve been feeling for a year and a half.