Page 94 of Always Been You

Everyone smiles at her, and I turn to Olivia, and she gives me a small nod. She knows what I’m asking without me having to say it. I walk over to Matt and stand in front of him. “Catherine, meet your godfather, your Uncle Matt.” I place her in his arms as he stares at me. Once she’s settled, he looks down at her, sticking one of his fingers inside her hand and giving it a little shake as he sways.

“She’s beautiful,” he murmurs.

I run my finger over her cheek. “Just like her mamma.”

“You guys really want me to be her godfather?” Matt asks. It’s almost like he can’t believe we would give him the honour.

“Matty, you’re the best big brother a girl could ask for, and I know that you’ll be the best uncle, too. If anything were to happen to us, I trust that you and Zoey will take care of her,” Olivia says with complete conviction. I agree with her. Matt will do anything for his family, and that includes our little girl.

I turn and see that Gi has climbed into the bed with Liv and Em is on her other side. It’s like an Olivia sandwich. I smile at the view.

“Grandma would like to meet the beautiful girl.” My mom walks over to Matt, and he transfers her to her arms.

Cat is passed around to everyone before she starts to cry; I take her and pass her to Olivia. She covers herself and feeds her. Not that I’d have an issue with her not covering herself, but I think she does it so that her brother and our dads don’t feel the need to leave. Everyone hangs out for about an hour before they head home so that we can get some sleep. There is a couch in here, which is where I’ll sleep tonight.

“You did amazing today,” I whisper into Olivia’s hair as I kiss the top of her head. She tips her head back, making eye contact with me, and smiles. “I couldn’t have done it without you.” I give her a quick kiss before moving to the couch and settling in for the night.

I wake up with Olivia every time Cat cries, and in the morning we get ready to take our girl home with us. As we walk out of the hospital with the car seat in one hand and Olivia’s hand in my other, I wonder how I got so lucky. I have everything I could ever need with these two and I’m going to spend the rest of my life ensuring that they are happy.

Epilogue

Six Months Later

Watching Josh withCat leaves my entire body humming with happiness. Seeing the look in his eyes as he stares at our daughter, you can’t help but see the love shining in them. In the beginning, he got up with me every night when she cried. After we were able to build a supply of milk, we began alternating nights on who would get up, but he took more than me. I think he really enjoys using the evening feeds to bond with her. There is no doubt in my mind that she will be a daddy’s girl. When we are out and there are a lot of people, her favourite place to be is in her daddy’s arms and she has him wrapped around her finger.

Watching them together makes me think about growing our family sooner than we thought. I always enjoyed beingcloser in age to both Matt and Gianna, and I don’t want to wait too long before we have another, but I also want to enjoy this time with Catherine.

Watching Matt with Cat has been some of my favourite memories with him. She can do no wrong in his eyes. She has all the guys wrapped around her finger. It makes me laugh. When the guys come over for poker, she finds a way to end up on one of their laps instead of hanging out with me, and they all love it. None of them complain when she reaches for a card or chips and tries to put them in her mouth.

All our friends were over the first time that she rolled over and it was such a sight to see a group of adults crowded around her cheering as she did it again.

The last year has been surreal, and today Josh and I are celebrating our one-year wedding anniversary. Gi and Emily are coming by tonight to chill on the couch and watch movies while Cat sleeps and we go out for dinner. Our friends and family have been amazing with helping us. We don’t leave Cat with other people often, but it’s nice to know that if we want to go out, there is a village surrounding us that will help.

I fix my hair in the mirror of our bathroom, head into the bedroom and slip my heels on before making my way to the living room. I lean against the wall at the end of the hallway as I watch my gorgeous husband dressed in a suit dance with Cat in his arms. This isn’t the first time I’ve walked in on him doing this, but I still pull my phone out and start recording. A smile tips my lips as I see that he’s also singing to her.

I stop the recording and put my phone in my purse. “Before we know it, you’ll be dancing with her at her wedding,” I say, teasing him. He is constantly complaining that she’s growing up too fast, and I agree, but I love to get a rise out of him.

He stops in his spot, faces me, and points. “There will be no talks of her wedding. She still has many decades before that will ever be a problem.”

“Okay Daddy.” I walk up and wrap my arm around his waist on the opposite side that he has Cat positioned. I bop her nose. “Hey bug, your Auntie Em and Auntie Gi are coming over to spend the night with you.” Right at that, there is a knock on the door and I answer it. Quick hugs with each of the girls and they make their way over to grab Cat from Josh.

I give her a quick kiss on her cheek. “Be good for your aunties,” I say, giving her a small finger wave before we make our way out of the apartment.

Josh made dinner reservations at Blue Spoon for the night. Walking into the restaurant, I realize it’s been a long time since I’ve been here, since that birthday lunch I had with Matt and Josh. On my last birthday with Cat being so young, Josh made me this amazing home-cooked meal that was to die for.

I smile at him as he pulls my chair out, and I take a seat. He kisses me before moving around the table to his seat and he grabs my left hand when he sits, running his thumb over my rings.

“Happy Anniversary, babe,” he says, kissing my knuckles.

“Happy Anniversary.”

We sit and eat our dinner, enjoying conversation and making plans for the upcoming holidays. When we finish dinner, Josh pays the bill and we walk out hand in hand, but he doesn’t lead me back toward the car. Instead, we head down the block in the other direction.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

“I thought we’d enjoy more of our evening and take advantage of having our sisters at the house watching Catherine.”

I follow behind him until he pulls me into the lobby of a hotel, and I know what that means. I quicken my steps beside him and when we make it to the reception desk; he checks in under a reservation he apparently made beforehand.

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