Mine Would Be You Read online

  I now know exactly what they were talking about, because this is the happiest moment of my life. God truly blessed us with the world’s most beautiful little girl on the planet.

  I squat down beside the bassinette and gently brush my lips against her tiny knuckles. I hear the click of my sister’s camera and, for once, I’m not annoyed. I want to capture every single moment with my angel on Earth. She and her mommy are my world. I am truly the luckiest man in the world.

  “She’s beautiful, Lawson,” Delilah says between her tears as she rests her hand onto my shoulder and leans over to get a closer look at her niece.

  “That she is. She looks just like her mommy.” I look back at Emelyn, who’s smiling at me with the most beautiful, heart-stopping grin on her face. She looks tired, but right now, like this, I swear she’s never been more beautiful in my eyes.

  “I’m so glad I didn’t miss this,” I say with awe and amazement in my voice. I feel as if I’m riding the biggest high of my life, and I never want to come down from it.

  I push the bassinette beside the bed so Emelyn can hold the baby’s hand. Her shoulder’s shake as she cries softly. “She’s so perfect. I can’t believe we created her. Something so beautiful. She’s so darn little. I can’t get over how tiny she is.”

  Wanting to give us some privacy, Delilah excuses herself so she can head down to the waiting room and tell everyone the baby has arrived, and Mom and baby are doing great.

  After a few minutes, the nurses tell us she’s doing well enough for us to hold her for a few minutes and Emelyn can try to breastfeed her.

  I pull my phone out of my pants and take a million photos of Mommy and baby, followed by a handful of videos. I’ve been a father for five minutes, and already I’m turning into my buddies who obsess over their kids. I always bust Dallas’ balls for having his iPhone full of baby photos and videos capturing every single milestone and moment in his children’s lives—but now I get it.

  “Thank you for giving me the best Valentine’s Day gift ever,” I tell Emelyn as I scoot onto the bed beside her and lean over to give our baby, and then her, a kiss.

  Realization flashes across her face as she takes in the words I just said to her. “Oh my gosh. I was in such a panic of you not being here I completely forgot today is still Valentine’s Day! That is so awesome.” She flutters kisses against the baby’s little hat and then stares up at me. “So what are we going to call this little Valentine’s miracle?”

  “I really liked Madison and Hannah on that list of names you had.”

  Emelyn nods her head in agreement. “Those are my favorites too. Madison and Hannah. I really want to use Lily’s name somehow in her name though. I looked up on my phone earlier to pass the time at various names for Lillian, because Delilah and I got onto the topic of Lily and us when we were little, and how we used to say we’d all have babies together one day. That’s happening now, with Delilah being pregnant—”

  “Wait, what? Delilah’s pregnant?” When the hell did this happen? My baby sister is having a baby!

  Emelyn lets out the sexiest giggle. “Whoops. I guess I interrupted her romantic weekend and ruined her special surprise. She was supposed to tell Grayson today, but since he didn’t mention anything to you, then he must not know yet. So whatever you do, don’t say a word!”

  I pretend to zip my lips, and then laugh. “My lips are sealed.” I watch as Emelyn tries to nurse the baby. At first, she doesn’t want anything to do with it, and I see Emelyn is growing frustrated, but after a few more tries, she finally latches on. I swear it’s the most fascinating thing I’ve ever seen.

  “Baby name?” I ask as I reach out and caress the baby’s chubby little cheek.

  “Oh, right. What do you think of Lila Grace McCoy? I kept going back and forth with Hannah Grace and Madison Grace, but those names are so overused I don’t want our child going to school with five other Madisons or Hannahs, ya know? I thought maybe we could do Lila as a way to give her a name that would honor her guardian angel watching over her, and her favorite aunt-slash-godmother.

  Lila Grace…

  I love it.

  An all-teeth smile dances across my face as I stare down at the two loves of my life. “I love it, Em. Lila Grace…it’s the perfect name for the most beautiful baby.”

  EPILOGUE

  Emelyn

  Six Months Later

  The sun is shining, the sky is full of white puffy clouds, and the humidity is at an all-time high, but we’re not letting it get us down. Nope. Instead, we’re soaking up the rays and enjoying the beautiful sunny afternoon by hanging out in Delilah and Grayson’s backyard by their in-ground pool. Lila’s floating in her little baby floaty, with an inflatable canopy shading her from the sun and having a blast.

  We call her our lil mermaid, because she loves the water.

  I still can’t believe our baby girl just turned six months this week. It just doesn’t seem possible. You’d never know she was a preemie, seeing her today. She is Mommy’s chunky lil monkey, with chubby little legs and arms. She is seriously the cutest thing on the planet.

  She spent a week in the hospital, due to her lungs needing more time to get stronger before we could take her home. Nothing broke my heart more than on the second day, leaving the hospital without her. But Lawson and I spent every day at the hospital with her until she was cleared to leave.

  After everything that happened with my premature labor, Lawson and I sat down and talked a few nights after we brought Lila home to my condo. He told me that after the scare we went through, he feels safer with us staying in Lincoln. He doesn’t like the idea of me in Tuscaloosa alone, with everyone back home. Especially with how his work schedule is and the traveling he does.

  I was ecstatic when he told me we’d start looking for a house to buy as soon as possible. The commute to his garage is almost an hour and a half every day to and from work, but he never complains. He was able to cut back his hours to three days a week at the garage, because he promoted Dallas, having him run the place on the days he isn’t in.

  So far, things are working out perfectly.

  We bought a house down the street from Delilah four months ago, but it was a fixer-upper, so we’ve been staying at my condo until it’s ready. I love being able to go with Lawson to Lowe’s to pick out everything for our home. We’re designing our dream home together, and I couldn’t be happier.

  Every day, I swear I fall a little more in love with him. All of the bumps along the way only make what we have together that much more beautiful.

  I’m lounging on the large tiled stairs that lead into the pool, when I hear the rumble of Lawson’s truck pulling up to the house.

  “Lila, I hear Daddy!” I say with my baby voice.

  I always laughed when I saw parents talking like this to their kids at work and thought it was the silliest thing ever. Now, I’ve become the damn president of the baby talk club.

  I can hear Lawson singing along to whatever song is stuck in his head at the moment. Leaning back on my hands, I kick my feet lightly in the water, playing with Lila, who’s giggling uncontrollable as she smacks the water, splashing her aunt, who’s pushing her around the pool, in the face.

  “Hey, hot stuff!” I shout over my shoulder as I spot him rounding the corner.

  I still get butterflies in the pit of my stomach every time I see him. My eyes slowly roam over his body, from his shaggy brown hair that’s peeking out from under his ball cap, to his muscular and tanned arms, down to the nice bulge in the front of his board shorts. I feel my body flush as his eyes lock onto mine and he gives me the same onceover with a smoldering hot gaze.

  “Hey, yourself, sugar lips,” he teases as he kicks off his flip-flops and walks down the stairs into the water. I slap his ass as he walks by me and straight to his daughter to give her a kiss.

  “Geesh. What am I now, chopped liver?”

  He lets out the sexiest laugh as he turns away from Lila and bends down, cupping my chin in his large
, strong hand and tilting my head up towards him. “Never, darlin’. I just like to save the best for last, is all.”

  “Good save.” I reach up, fist his shirt in my hand, and pull him down to me. The feeling of his lips on mine sends a tingle of desire shooting from my mouth to straight between my thighs. I love kissing him. I especially love being able to kiss him anytime I want, now that we live together fulltime.

  “Enough with the PDA, you two!” Delilah yells at us before a splash of water smacks us in the face.

  “Hey!” I squeal as Lawson stands back up and turns around to splash his sister back.

  Delilah grabs Lila’s floaty and pulls it in front of her, all while Lila is blowing raspberries and squealing as she continues to splash at the water, fascinated that her hands can make it flap everywhere.

  “That’s just wrong. Using my baby as a shield!” Lawson’s voice booms across the backyard as he squawks. He’s trying to act disgusted with her, but he can’t hide the smile on his face or in his words.

  Delilah simply smiles up at him with a look of satisfaction on her face. “I learned how to fight dirty from only the best.”

  Lawson rolls his eyes at that one, deciding she’s a lost cause, and turns his attention back down to me.

  “On your feet, LaClaire. We have places to go and things to do.” He holds his hand out and I take it, letting him pull me to my feet.

  His eyes zero in on my breasts that are practically bursting out of my bikini top. They went up a cup sizes from a B to a C since I started breastfeeding, and Lawson seems to have a certain fascination with them. He’s constantly trying to fondle them every chance he gets.

  “God, woman. I swear your tits get bigger every day.” His words come out raspy as he tugs my hand, pulling me into his arms.

  “You two! Seriously…you’re worse than horny hormonal teenagers.”

  Smacking Lawson’s chest, I wiggle out of his grasp and grab my towel off of my lounger, wrapping it around my body, hiding my boobs and hopefully helping Lawson focus. “What’s going on? Since when did we have things to do today? You do know it’s like 95 degrees out, right?” I ask, looking from him to Delilah.

  Neither of them are giving anything away. The only conclusion I’m coming to is that these two are up to something, and I’m going to figure it out soon enough.

  “Delilah has already agreed to watch Lila for us. Thanks again, sis.” He flashes a big, fake, overly chipper grin at her before turning back to me. “I have something special planned for us. But we need to get on the road pronto, because we’re on a tight schedule.”

  “You sure you don’t mind, Dee?” I feel awful just bailing on her like this, when we had planned to hang out for the whole afternoon.

  Splashing her hands in the water at Lila, she laughs while slightly distracted. “No problem, you guys. You know I love spending time with my precious goddaughter. I’m getting lots of practice for when this one finally enters the world,” she says, rubbing her tiny baby bump.

  You can’t even tell the woman is pregnant, but she claims every second of the day that she feels as big as a house.

  “Alrighty then. It’s settled. Lila is staying here, and you are coming with me,” Lawson says matter-of-factly before taking me by surprise, scooping me up into his arms bridal style, and carrying me to the truck. I wave goodbye over his shoulder to Lila and Delilah.

  “Bye, baby. Mommy and Daddy will be back later!” My words come out laced with laughter as Lawson playfully nibbles at my breasts bouncing around in front of his face.

  As soon as we get to the truck, he sets me back on the grass and opens the passenger door for me. “Buckle up and put this blindfold on.” He tosses it onto my lap and I stare at it for a few moments before picking it up and slipping it on.

  “What exactly is it you have planned?”

  “You’ll find out soon enough.”

  I hear the door shut beside me and the sound of Lawson’s flip-flops smacking off of the pavement as he runs around the truck to the driver’s side and climbs in next to me.

  “You know I’m all for you channeling your inner Christian Grey—but I prefer that to stay in the bedroom,” I tease as I hear the truck roar to life and feel him begin to back out onto the street.

  I feel his fingers slide up my leg, leaving a path of tingling heat in their wake. “Believe me, baby. I love playing the Christian to your Ana. But I promise you I have no plans whatsoever to add fucking you while blindfolded in public to my list of favorite pastimes. Now sit back, relax, and sing along to the radio like I know you love to do when we go on roadtrips, because we’re going to be in the truck for well over an hour.”

  “Where exactly is this so-called surprise?”

  “You’ll find out soon enough.”

  He turns up the radio, blasting my newest obsession, Chase Rice’s “Ready, Set, Roll”. I decide to do as he suggests and enjoy the anticipation of my surprise.

  Kicking my feet up on the dashboard, I sink into the passenger seat and sing along with the radio. I feel the truck turn onto the highway, and the windows go up and the air conditioner comes on. So I know wherever we’re going, we have to take the highway to get there.

  I feel Lawson’s fingers slipping in between mine, and then our hands come to rest on his thigh.

  Time passes quicker than I thought it would, and soon enough, Lawson is slowing down and telling me, “We’re almost there. Only a few more minutes.

  I don’t feel the sun warming my skin through the windshield anymore, so I assume it’s now setting behind the mountains. The truck windows roll back down, and I immediately feel the warm night air blowing through my damp hair and smell of woods and lake water filling the truck.

  Shifting in my seat, even though I can’t see him, I look towards where I know he’s sitting. “Are we at the lake?”

  His thumb rubs circles on my hand, but he doesn’t answer me.

  “Fine then, don’t give me any hints.” I try to sound mad, but I’m so darn excited I can’t hide the excitement in my voice.

  I feel the truck begin to bounce along a rough road and hear people saying hello to Lawson as we slow down to almost a crawl. After a few more minutes, I feel the truck come to a stop and the engine turn off.

  “We’re here. Stay put and I’ll come around and get you.”

  I unhook my seatbelt as I hear his driver’s side door open and then shut. My heart is beating hard and fast against my chest as my excitement builds.

  Without warning, my door opens and I feel Lawson scooping me out of the truck again.

  “You know I can walk,” I tease playfully, laughing as I lock my arms around his neck. I press my cheek to his chest and inhale deeply, breathing in his cologne. I love the way he smells. One of my favorite things is sleeping in his t-shirts and snuggling with his pillow when he leaves for work in the mornings.

  “I know you can walk, but I enjoy carrying you. It gives me easier access to my favorite parts of your body.”

  I wiggle in his arms and squeal loudly as I feel his thumb graze my clit through my bikini bottoms and his lips, soft and hot, on my cool breast.

  “All right, I’m going to set you down now.”

  I feel soft grass beneath my bare feet, but it quickly turns to cool, wet wood as I feel us move from grass to a wooden dock.

  Instantly, my heart shoots up into my throat as with one quick movement, Lawson yanks the blindfold from my eyes. I blink a few times, letting my eyes adjust to the sunset-lit sky. It’s absolutely breathtaking seeing the sky painted in an array of oranges, pinks, yellows, and blues as the sun sinks slowly behind the mountains. The setting sun is dancing on the lake water, making the waves appear to be filled with color as they roll to shore and splash against the wooden beams of the dock.

  I look around in awe as I take in the sight of Chinese lanterns lining the entire pier on either side, followed by random photos clipped onto the rope the lanterns are hanging from.

  “Lawson…oh, my God…
you did this?” I ask as I walk slowly along the dock, taking in the photos hanging above us. I feel as if I’m looking at the story of our lives, with every step I take and every photo I look at. They range from when I was just eight years old, to us now with Lila.

  My breathing is erratic as I work my way around the entire pier, the entire time walking hand-in-hand with Lawson.

  Some of the photos I don’t remember ever seeing. There’s pictures of Lawson and me lying on a pile of pillows we threw on the floor at my old apartment I shared with Lily and Delilah in college, one of Lawson, Delilah, and me sitting on their front porch around the time I first moved to Lincoln, another of us riding a horse at his grandparents’ farm, and then us on my prom night—the night we gave our virginity to one another.