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Suddenly, a squirmy, freshly born baby was placed on my stomach. I blinked, and clarity returned to my world as all thepain almost completely vanished. I could still feel it blurring the edges of my consciousness.
“It’s a boy, Lydia. He’s beautiful.” Miles’s voice crooned in my ear. “We have a son.”
36
MILES
“What do you think you’re going to name him?” Evie asked.
Lydia held the baby, bundled up tight. She couldn’t stop staring at him.
I couldn’t stop staring at him. I had a son. I was a father.
She looked up at me and lifted her brows. “I really hadn’t thought about a boy’s name. But it’s Christmas. Maybe we should name him something like Chris or Noel?”
“We could always name him Yul,” I suggested.
Lydia squinted her eyes at me. “Yule, like Yuletide?”
“Not Y-U-L-E, but Y-U-L. Like Yul Brenner,” I said. “Leading man material.”
She laughed before returning her gaze to the tiny bundle with his little face exposed. She ran a finger gently down his cheek.
“Are you a Chris, or a Yul, or a Noel?” she asked him tenderly. “I guess we’ll have to think about it. We don’t have to name himimmediately, do we?” She looked questioningly from me to Evie and back to me.
I sat next to her on the couch and wrapped my arm around her, using my finger to pull the blanket back ever so slightly so I could take a look at the boy. “We don’t have to name him immediately,” I agreed. “We can give it a couple of days and try out each name and see which one fits him the best.”
“You’re gonna let me name him?” she asked.
“You did all the work. He’s your son.”
She blinked, and I could see tears in her eyes.
“Why don’t you help Lydia get into her bed? She’ll be more comfortable there,” Evie said. “I have your Christmas present, which I should probably go get, because you need it now.”
Lydia looked up at her friend.
“What did you get?” she asked.
“I got a bassinet. I haven’t even finished wrapping it.” Evie chuckled. “Let me go get it. I’ll be right back. If you think you could stand putting him down for a minute to let him sleep on his own.”
Lydia gently twisted back and forth as she sat, rocking the baby. “I don’t know if I can put him down at all,” she admitted.
“You don’t have to go anywhere just yet. Once you’re feeling more stable, we can get you back into your room,” I said.
“Are you sure you need to leave?” she asked.
Evie was already putting on her coat. She paused and looked at Lydia. I didn’t miss the furtive glance she sent my way. “Do you need me to stay?” Evie asked Lydia very pointedly.
Lydia also glanced over at me. “I’ll be fine if you go. But it’s cold and dark, and I don’t want you out in the storm.”
“It’s really not that bad,” Evie said.
I didn’t know if she was lying to herself or lying to keep Lydia from being too concerned. We had both been out in the weather earlier, and it was bad.
“Do you need me to go with you?” I asked.
Lydia sucked in a small gasp of air and looked at me with a panicked expression all over her face. I thought she was about to burst into tears.