Page 139 of Rum & Coke

“Sweets, don’t fight me on this. If it’s Braxton Hicks, we’ll just come home. No harm in going.”

“Fine,” I huffed.

By the time I waddled to the car, Vinny had already put our bag and Colton into it.

Ten Hours Later …

So, Vinny was right. It wasn’t Braxton Hicks. Luckily, my labor was only nine hours versus the eighteen hour labor I’d had with Colton.

“You can’t have this many people in this room at once,” the nurse scolded as everyone piled into the room. And I mean everyone including my parents and Vinny’s parents—whom I’d yet to officially meet because they were waiting for the baby to be born before they came from Arizona.

“Just for a second,” Vinny replied.

She nodded briefly. “You have until I get back.” Then she left.

“Everyone,” Vinny started as he moved to my side where I held our daughter, “meet Riley Lucille Reed.”

“Aw, that’s a pretty name,” Sophia stated. “Who picked it out?”

Vinny and I looked at each other and then I answered. “We compromised and named her after the Giantsandthe Dodgers.” More specifically, the mascots: Rally Bear and Lou Seal.

“You two and your rivalry.” Melony laughed.

Vinny and I shrugged at each other. Like he had once told me, it made our relationship interesting.

The time had come. The nurse had sent Riley’s umbilical cord to the lab with a DNA sample from both Vinny and me to test to see if she was his or Sebastian’s. They put a rush on it because they refused to put Vinny’s name on the birth certificate since we weren’t sure who the father was.

Whatever the test stated, Vinny would always be her dad.

“While we wait to be discharged,” Vinny said, moving to a bag and digging in it, “I have something for you.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Well, more for us.” He pulled out a manila envelope. “I had these drawn up. If you don’t want to, that’s okay.”

“What is it?” I asked and stuck out my hand for the envelope.

He handed it to me. “Just open it.”

I pulled out the stack of papers and read the three words that stuck out to me. “You want to adopt Colton?”

Vinny nodded. “Of course I do.”

Tears instantly stung my eyes and then rolled down my cheeks. “Thank you.”

“Don’t cry.” He brushed the tears off my face.

“I’m happy. I never expected this.”

“Me either, but we’re a family now, and we might as well make it official, right?”

I nodded just as the nurse came into the room. “Am I interrupting?”

“It’s okay,” I replied.

“I have the paternity results. I had them printed so you could read them for yourself.” She handed Vinny the folded up paper.

I smiled and wiped at the tears still flowing down my cheeks. “Okay.”