More Than Love (NG3)

48 - Perfect

Laney looked at Reed, holding the little bundle with a pink hat. He couldn't pull his eyes away from his daughter. She should be jealous, but she felt exactly the same.

She felt her lids slip down, but wanted to fight sleep a little longer.

"She's perfect."

Laney nodded; she agreed completely. She thought of her mothers. When her parents held her for the first time, it wasn't in a hospital. Did they fall instantly in love with her? She had known Alexandra from the inside for months. Reed had spent countless hours feeling her move.

She thought of Jake. She let him feel the kicks because it was something he missed. He missed so much of her life, but found only forgiveness and his love for Sasha. Sasha had sat alone in a hospital room and held her baby, knowing it would be the last time. The magnitude of her choice hit Laney like a ton of brick.

His voice filled with emotion. "I don't know how she did it."

Reed looked up at her with love. "I was thinking the same thing. We know she ripped a piece of her heart and sent it with you, just like she left a piece with Jake. I loved her for years, but it wasn't until she was whole again that I realized how broken my Sasha was."

Sasha Watson had become Laney's best friend. She felt as close to her as she did Skylar. One was connected by blood and the other by history. Jake still looked at her like she was his daughter, who grew up too fast. He and Sasha, as a couple, made her wonder if things would have turned out okay. She would have grown up with a dog and other siblings and very young parents who loved each other. Fate gave her a unique family. Her sister convinced her to find her birth mother, and she set a ball in motion. Would Jake and Sasha have found each other and happiness on their own? Would she have found Reed?

He looked up at her. "Tired? Get some sleep. I'll be right here. I'm not going anywhere."

She summoned a tired, lazy smile. "I'm stuck with you."

"And I'm so lucky."

Reed started to stand. "Don't break her."

He chuckled and shook his head. "I saw the way she came out. She won't break."

Laney winced. She hurt in places she didn't want to think about. "You'll never want me again."

He leaned over and lingered on her lips with their baby between them. "I always want you. I love you." He held Alexandra so Laney could kiss her. "Sleep. Tomorrow will be a busy day."

Laney groaned. "Can't it be just us?"

"I'll tell Marnie. Will you tell Maureen?"

"No, but the rest?"

Reed stood tall. "Let's set the rules and a schedule. Who's first?"

"Do you think my mother will hate me? I feel like Jake deserves to be first. I can't give him back twenty-six years, but I can give him this."

Reed shook his head. "So Sasha and Jake first, then Maureen and Paul."

"And Sky. Just Sky, Hari can wait."

Reed agreed. "Then my mother and..."

"Just Marnie and Davis. The kids can wait, and Ron probably doesn't care."

"You know he'll want to bring Terri."

Laney smiled. She liked the woman Davis was dating, but she didn't know her enough for a hospital visit. "Tell him she can come visit with dinner in a few days. She'll like that." She was very domestic and loved to cook. They made a nice couple. Davis got along with her college-age kids. Reed refused to accept them as family, claiming he had enough drama with Cayden, Payton, and Rylan.

Laney drifted to sleep, but not for long. Their night was busy with learning to be parents. She was so glad Reed stayed.

In the morning, he sent texts with some pictures and invitations to visit. Laney had showered and was sitting up with Alexandra when her parents walked in. They weren't the ones who raised her, but they created her. It was a gift she appreciated on that winter morning, better than she had in the past.

Sasha approached, but Laney shook her head. "Jake, you deserve to be first."

Reed said, "Don't worry, she won't break, but don't drop her."

No one laughed, as she handed her baby off to her step grandfather or her bio grandfather. Sasha's tears confirmed she agreed as she smiled at Laney.

Laney's waterworks started. "Thank you. I don't know how you did it. You are the strongest woman I know. Thank you for choosing my happiness over your own."

Reed squeezed her hand. Surrounded by love, Laney wiped her tears and smiled.

I hope you enjoyed Laney, Reed, Sasha and Jake's story. Thanks for all your reads, votes, comments, and tears. I am not done with The Point, but I need to take a break for a while. I promise at least two more stories set on The Point (eventually).

Meanwhile we are returning to the Boston and the publishing world. It is finally time for Lillian Caron's story. I wrote it a long time ago and had to hold it, because it takes place later on the timeline. We will stay in Boston for more stories from Roche-Sumner Publishing Company and the Dwyer Mitchell Literary Agency. I promise a lot of fun starting with Lilli who has a big problem. Add it to your library and reading lists today. Stay tuned for a bonus to the start of Lilli's story tomorrow. That's right a little fun on Saturday 🔥

Looking for something to read try Designs on You and Bet on You. Neither are required reading for Romance of You, but the settings and characters overlap.