Love Accidental

by Brooke Noelle

  I didn’t have the heart to tell him I felt fine, like my old self despite being a little sore. I unlocked the front door and stepped out of the way to let him pass. I heard the sweet grunts of our newborn baby girl and smiled. I would never get tired of those sweet little noises. The house smelled like lemon, and I knew Zachary had had the cleaning woman come by before we’d left the hospital.

  Zachary walked into the open living room and carefully put the car seat on the couch before pulling the blanket away and looking down at the baby nestled inside.

  “Should I leave her?” he asked, looking up at me.

  I shrugged. “Is she awake?”

  He shook his head.

  “Then we shouldn’t disturb her. We’ll let her sleep. I’ll make us a couple sandwiches since we skipped breakfast this morning. I’m famished,” I said, walking into the large, open, and airy kitchen.

  “I had Nina stock the fridge. We won’t have to leave the house for a week if we don’t want to,” he said, wrapping his arms around me from behind.

  “I think I’ll go crazy if I don’t leave the house for a week.”

  “Don’t push it. You need time to rest and get a routine going.”

  I chuckled, shaking my head. The man was parroting the doctor’s every word. I got busy making us each a sandwich. Zachary was in and out of the kitchen, checking on the baby every three minutes. I had barely finished my sandwich when he announced she was awake. That meant the boobs were on duty. I washed my hands and headed for the living room.

  Pausing, I watched Zachary gently unbuckle the straps of the car seat before picking her up and cradling her in his arms.

  Instantly, I had tears in my eyes. Watching him hold our baby was the sweetest thing. Over the last forty-eight hours, I had taken at least a hundred pictures on my cell of him doing the exact same thing, yet here I was contemplating taking yet another picture. I would never get tired of seeing him look at her with such adoration.

  “She’s so gorgeous. She’s got to be the prettiest baby girl that was ever born,” he cooed.

  I laughed. “I might be biased, but I agree.”

  “Do you need to feed her?” he asked.

  “Probably. You hold her while I go change. I’ll be right back.”

  When I returned, daddy and daughter were staring at each other. Zachary was giving her sweet kisses on the nose and cooing to her. I heard him listing off all the things he was going to buy her and the places he would take her to see.

  “You’re already spoiling her and she’s only two days old.”

  “I’ll show her how to be generous and compassionate, but she will be spoiled.”

  I knew he was right. Most of the books I had read about child-rearing suggested a parent teach by example. Zachary was the perfect example of generosity. Our children would learn from the most giving person I had ever met in my life.

  Grabbing a pillow, I sat down and prepared to breastfeed our daughter. It was a learning experience, one I hoped I would soon get the hang of. I had cried the first few times, struggling to get it right, but Zachary was always there, encouraging me to keep trying.

  “Here goes nothing,” I mumbled.

  “You’re doing fine. You did great for the last feeding in the hospital.”

  “I hope so.”

  Zachary handed me the baby and did his best to help us get situated before going to make sure her bed was made up and ready. It wasn’t like it could have been messed up since we had no other babies sleeping in the little bassinet, but I knew it was his way. He was an overprotective daddy and would be doting on her for years to come. I leaned my head back, doing my best to relax. My mind drifted to the moment our baby had been born.

  The entire nine months of pregnancy, I had been a blubbering mess. I had cried over everything. In the delivery room, I had cried as well, but I hadn’t been alone. Zachary had cried as he’d held our little girl for the first time. Even the nurses had cried at the sweet scene. It was a memory I would cherish for the rest of my life. Zachary had been brought to his knees by a seven-pound, two-ounce girl. The nurses and I all agreed that she had her daddy wrapped around her little finger from the moment she took her first breath. I was convinced it had been much longer than that.

  “Her bed’s ready,” he whispered.

  “Okay,” I said, carefully patting her little back as I stood and walked upstairs to the nursery, which was outfitted in the woodland theme Zachary had fallen in love with.

  After getting the baby settled, I went in search of Zachary. I found him in the kitchen, staring out the window that faced the big backyard. I checked the video monitor that was mounted under a kitchen cabinet, happy to see she was still peacefully sleeping. The nursery had cameras in every corner. Zachary was not taking any chances with her safety. That was one thing we agreed on.

  “I’m going to try to take a quick nap while she sleeps,” I told him, startling him out of his daydream.

  “I want a taller fence around the pool,” he said, turning around.

  “It’s a six-foot fence already,” I said.

  He shook his head. “A higher fence. No, I want two fences, just in case she gets through the first one.”

  I nodded my head. “If it makes you feel better. I think you have some time.”

  “And I want one of those playgrounds put in behind the basketball court.”

  “Okay,” I said, yawning. “I’m going to take a nap.”

  “I’ll go with you,” he said.

  Together we lay on the bed, wrapped in each other’s arms. The baby monitor was sitting on the bedside table. Listening to the sound of her breathing was soothing.

  “It feels good to be home,” I said on a sigh.

  “Yes, it does. You never cease to amaze me,” he said, kissing my forehead.

  I looked at him, questioning the praise.

  “You have given me the most beautiful gift I could ever ask for, and you did it with amazing grace. I don’t think you cursed one time during the whole thing. I was prepared for you to be hitting me and telling me to leave and never come back.”

  “You’ve watched too many movies.”

  “You didn’t even cuss one time!” he said, amazement and pride in his voice.

  I laughed. “I may not have cursed out loud, but let me tell you, I was screaming F bombs in my head.”

  “That’s okay. You deserved to.”

  I smiled and closed my eyes, looking forward to a short nap without the sounds of a busy maternity ward to wake me.

  “I love you. You are so amazing. You continuously impress me with your strength and pure awesomeness every single day,” he said.

  I opened my eyes to find him staring at me and smiled. “Thank you. That is very kind, and I appreciate it. You’re pretty awesome too.”

  “Stay right here,” he said, rolling off the bed and opening his bedside table.

  He stood beside the bed, looking down at me. “What do you have?”

  “I got you a little something.”

  “Ohh, a present?” I said, gleefully clapping my hands together.

  He nodded. “Yes, a push present.”

  “A push present! You really are crazy!”

  He held out a little black box, and my laughter died on my lips. I held my breath, watching him open the box. Inside, there was a stunning diamond ring. It glistened in the sunlight streaming through the windows.

  “Zachary?” I said his name on a breath.

  “I know we’re doing this all out of order. Thank you for sticking with me while I figured things out. Brooke, I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?”

  I clapped my hand over my mouth as I nodded. My vision blurred as more tears filled my eyes and streamed down my face. I scrambled to get out of bed to hug him.

  “Yes! You know I will.”

  He slid the ring on my finger.

  “Good. You’ve made me a very happy man. The only thing that could make me happier is our second child.”

  I s
lapped his chest. “Down boy. Give this body a minute to recuperate.”

  “Only a minute?”

  I laughed, holding my hand up to stare at the ring. “It is really beautiful.”

  “I custom-designed it specifically for you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Now, about that nap,” he started.

  Nodding, I chuckled. “Indeed. We better sleep when she does. I have a feeling sleep is going to be a valuable commodity in short supply over the next several months.”

  I lay down, and he lay behind me, spooning me as we enjoyed the peaceful bliss. I felt a little too giddy to sleep but knew I needed it.

  “I can’t wait to tell Alison,” I mumbled, already drifting off to sleep.

  “Shh,” he murmured close to my ear. “Later.”

  There was a smile on my face as I drifted off to sleep, feeling content and happy in the arms of my future husband. My father was a distant memory. I had my own life now, and I wouldn’t let anything get in the way of my happiness ever again.

  ***

  END OF STORY