Amidst the chaos, I could easily admit I had walked away with something from that accident. It had taught me to love unconditionally, that life was so precious each morning should be celebrated. Each loving moment should be cherished, and no one should never fret to live it up to the fullest. I remember thinking then that I had so many regrets and so many wishes I hadn’t satisfied. Also, so many mistakes I had wanted to undo. It was a second chance at life that, hopefully, this second time around, we would do better, living our lives the way we had imagined.
Well, this was my second chance, and I hoped I fared better than expected.
Resting my fingers above Lily’s hand, I let my finger brush her soft skin, caressing it slowly. “We’re finally going to get have what we wished for.” The joy in my heart couldn’t be stopped. It completely swelled. I was almost in tears because of it. Stupendously happy, I surely was.
I felt a kind of urgency and protectiveness over our unborn baby. It was what I had fought so hard for. It was what I lived for. If life had another cruel joke in store for me, well, she could think again because I sure as fuck wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Chapter 9
Lily
“How about we stay another day?” The idea came out of nowhere, maybe because the hospital staff seemed confident that I was going to be okay, making me all the more hesitant to go home and deal with the fear that I was going to do something to hurt the baby again.
Drake paused, showing confusion with his brows furrowed together. “The doctor said you’re free to be discharged.”
“I know,” I murmured, hesitating while I picked at my nails, needing to mask what was going through my thoughts by avoiding his gaze, “but what’s another day? I just want to make sure everything’s okay.”
“You’re fine, Lil. There’s nothing to worry about.” Again, his confidence, like the rest of them, made me balk inside. “Well, I suppose you have a whole month of worrying about what to do at home and how you will entertain yourself while I’m at work, slaving myself away,” he teased before reaching out to touch a strand of my hair, toying with it. His sweet gesture eased some of the tension in me.
I gazed up at him, meeting his gorgeous grey eyes. “It’s not really slaving yourself away when you love what you do,” I quipped back, teasing. “So, don’t play that card with me. We both know you’re passionately nuts about your work.”
He smirked, scratching the stubble on the side of his chin while giving me an amused look that made me fall for him harder. “You do have a point there.”
“I do,” I sighed whimsically, having a hard time resisting to touch the side of his face just so I could rub my palm on the harsh, springy texture. “Do you honestly think it’s safe to go home?”
“Yes, but if it makes you feel safer, I can hire a nurse to be there with you at all hours.”
“Okay, now you’re just going overboard!” My eyes went wide, immediately protesting his horrendous suggestion. Drake had a major tendency of doing things way out of proportion sometimes. Some were sensible, while others were purely insane.
“Maybe I am, but I’m not joking, either.” He took hold of both my hands, bringing them to his lips and kissing them. “Whatever makes you happy, Lil,” he said with his whole heart and with his eyes boring inside my soul. “You and the baby are what’s important now; that’s all I care about. If going the extra length to make sure you’re safe and not a bunch of nerves, then heck, let’s have a professional there to guide you all the way until the baby’s born.”
“Hmmm. I’ll think about that, but not right now,” I said. Hiring a professional after I gave birth made sense, but not before it. Since Drake would be occupied with work anyhow, it would make life easier. Althoughmy mom and Patricia would be there to help—I knew that—I also understood they had their own lives to live. I couldn’t fully expect them to be there at all hours when I was having a panic because the baby wasn’t latching onto me while feeding like it should be.
“If you say so. Your wish is my command.” He was grinning from ear to ear, looking silly and pleased by winning the so-called argument.
“Silly.” I nudged him before finally agreeing that maybe we should take the doctor’s advice and go home. I did miss Skully. Poor thing was probably freaked out that we had left without saying goodbye to him. The very thought of him all sad and blue made me more eager to get moving, sign the discharge papers, and go home to be with family.
Drake had taken the liberty of calling both of our parents to announce the amazing news, and seeing how his eyes sparked, I couldn’t help feeling as though I should take extreme measures to keep that fire brightly lit for as long as possible.