hey placed her in his arms.
“Libby, I’m going to slowly lift you up okay. Tell me if you feel sick or not.” I nodded my head as the nurse began to lift the bed.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen. The man I loved more than anything, holding our baby girl.
Once I was settled and comfortable, Luke walked over to me. He had been singing to the baby and my heart was about to burst in my chest. One of the nurses looked at me and winked.
Stopping next to my bed, Luke looked at me and smiled the most breathtaking smile I’d ever seen. “My God, she’s stolen my heart and I don’t think I’ll ever be the same.”
Wiping my tears away, I tried to calm my beating heart. I loved this man so much. When I thought he couldn’t make me love him more—he said something to make me fall even more in love with him.
As Luke reached down and placed our daughter in my arms, he kissed me. Smiling I whispered, “She’s so tiny.”
Luke chuckled. “Seven pounds two ounces.”
I held her in my arms as I looked into her big blue eyes. It was as if she was looking into my soul and knew exactly how I was feeling. I had fallen just as fast as Luke, and it appeared our daughter had as well. We continued to look into each other’s eyes as Luke ran the back of his hand down my face.
“I love you, Libby.”
Peeking up at him, I smiled. “I love you, Luke.”
Luke and I spent the next hour alone bonding with our daughter and looking at every square inch of her body. From her toes, to the tip of her head that was covered in light-brown hair.
There was a soft knock on the door. “Come on in,” Luke called out. The door opened and Luke’s parents and my parents all walked into the room. Ari and my mother both started crying. I glanced at my father and saw him wiping away a tear.
“Are you crying, Josh?” Jeff asked.
Looking at Jeff, my father chuckled and said, “Are you crying?”
Glancing at Jeff I noticed he quickly wiped a tear from his eye. “No, something got in my eye.”
“Who would like to hold her first? I asked. Ari and my mother walked up. “We had to draw straws to see and Heather won,” Ari said with a huge smile.
Looking down, my mother whispered, “She looks exactly like you, Libby.”
I lifted up the baby as my mother scooped her from my arms. The love that swept over my mother’s face caused my stomach to drop and a smile to spread across my face. I knew she held that same look when she gazed upon me and Will for the first time.
She began swaying slightly as she looked down lovingly at the baby.
Glancing up, she smiled as a tear rolled down her cheek. “What did you decide on the name?”
Luke walked up next to me and took my hand as I nodded for him to tell them. “Mireya Hope Johnson is our precious little girl’s name.”
Ari covered her mouth in an attempt to keep her sobs back. My mother smiled and whispered, “Mireya, meaning miracle.”
Luke kissed me gently on the lips and said, “She truly is a miracle. She also brought us hope when we needed it the most.”
LUKE AND I sat down on the sofa, dropped our heads back, and let out a sigh as I said, “She’s finally asleep.”
Nodding his head, Luke said, “She’s got a full belly, a clean diaper, and a comfy bed.”
I giggled and let out another sigh. “So much has happened in the last three months. We had a baby, you graduated college, and we moved into our very first house.” I turned my head to look at Luke. “No more sharing a house with four other people.”
Luke turned and wiggled his eyebrows up and down. “You can scream tonight when I make you come over and over again.”
My core clenched at the idea of Luke having his way with me. We had hardly been together. Luke refused to touch me while we stayed at my parents’ house. I was ready to scream all night while Luke had his way with me. “Do you think Mireya will sleep through the night? She only woke up once last night,” I said with hope in my voice.
Luke closed his eyes. “I sure hope so. How awesome would it be to sleep a solid six hours?”