Page 132 of Sharing Shane

“I’ll take him,” Lucy said, her face going soft at the sight of her son. “Hey there, little man. You ready to eat?”

The other woman settled the baby in Lucy’s arms, then straightened to smile at Veronica. “I’m Glory, by the way.”

“Veronica,” Veronica replied and managed a smile. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“All good,” Lucy put in, lifting the hem of her tank top.

Glory perched on the arm of Lucy’s chair. “Can I get you anything?”

“I’m good, thanks.” Veronica watched as Lucy guided the baby’s avid mouth to her breast, his squeaks and grunts fading when he latched on.

“Fuck, that stings,” Lucy muttered, but the look on her face as she looked at the baby was one of tender indulgence. “Good thing we only do this a few times a day, huh buddy?”

She glanced up at Veronica. “The pump isn’t great, but at least it doesn’t hurt like this.”

“I didn’t know it hurt to breastfeed,” Veronica said.

“Believe me, neither did I,” Lucy said and Glory laughed. Lucy tilted her head back to grin at her partner. “We all learned pretty quickly though, didn’t we?”

“The whole floor of the hospital learned,” Glory reminded her. “The nurses said you were scaring the other patients.”

“Pish. Knowledge is power, isn’t it, little man?” she cooed to the baby.

Glory smiled at Veronica. “It’s a good thing we’d already decided on the breastfeeding, bottle-feeding combination.”

“We wanted Glory and Jack to be able to feed him as well,” Lucy explained. “That way everyone gets to bond with him, and I don’t lose as much sleep.”

“Makes sense. Did you guys finally settle on a name?”

“We went with Graham, in the end.” Lucy smiled. “It’s Glory’s father’s name, and we wanted him to have something of hers.”

“That’s lovely,” Veronica managed.

Glory was watching the baby feed, her eyes shining with emotion. “I think I only got my way on that because Lucy wants to keep the other name we were considering in case we ever have a girl.”

“Rory,” Lucy supplied. “I just think it makes a more interesting girl’s name. Besides, you don’t look like a Rory, do you? No, you’re definitely a Graham.”

Veronica watched Lucy nuzzle her son with a little spasm of envy. “I should go, let you guys get some rest.”

She rose to her feet, gathering her purse. “Thanks for listening, Luce.”

“What are you going to do?” Lucy wanted to know.

“I don’t know.” Veronica shrugged. “Let things cool down, I guess. Then, if he doesn’t call me, I’ll call him, and we’ll have it out.”

“My advice? If you love him, work it out. But don’t let him off the hook.” Lucy smiled. “At least not right away. Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

“I’ll show you out,” Glory said and started to stand.

“No, stay.” Veronica waved her down. “I can find the way. Enjoy your family.”

Glory settled back on the arm of Lucy’s chair with a smile. “It was nice to meet you.”

“You, too.” Veronica paused in the doorway, looking one last time at the pair of them, heads together as they watched their child nurse, love and contentment like a glow around them.

She wanted that, she realized. Not the baby, necessarily, at least not right away, but the intimacy that was so bright and strong she could almost see it. She wanted that with Shane.

---