Her eyes widened, flicking up to me in alarm. “I was?”
I laughed, unable to help myself.
Anita stood closest, right at my side, her eyes brimming as she took in her grandson.
“You want to hold him?” I asked softly.
She shook her head, her voice breaking. “No. I want to see him like this first, safe in your arms.”
“He’s beautiful,” Caroline said, her voice trembling as though she were holding back tears. It wasn’t often I saw her emotional like this. She leaned closer, her eyes soft. “Hey, little Nico…” She hesitated, then looked at me. “Can I call him Nico?”
“No. We’ll call him Nick,” Cameron cut in from behind her.
“But Nico sounds cuter,” Caroline shot back, turning toward her brother.
“I want to call him Nico,” Harper said.
“It’s Nick,” Cameron insisted.
I grinned, unable to resist. “I like Nico.”
“You lost, man,” Dean said with a laugh. “Just accept it.”
“Nico sounds nice,” I said.
“I like it too!” Harper chimed in, bouncing on her feet.
Cameron’s face fell; the look of defeat only made my smile widen.
“See?” Caroline said with a triumphant grin. She bent down again. “Hey, Nico…”
“I’m still going to call him Nick,” Cameron said stubbornly.
“Have you counted his fingers?” Caleb asked with seriousness, his eyes narrowing at me. “All there?”
“Yes, all there,” I replied, amused.
Lina leaned closer, her smile soft when she said to me, “He’s going to look like you.”
“Let’s pray for that,” Cameron said.
“I don’t know…” I murmured, studying our son’s face. “His dad is pretty handsome to me.”
I looked up at him, and he was grinning from ear to ear.
“Hey, man, congratulations,” Gabriel said as he shook Cameron’s hand. The two of them had grown close lately, often joining Caleb, Dean, and Ben for basketball games. Even Ben had softened toward Gabriel once he realized Gabriel’s only motive was being my friend. I liked seeing all of them together. It felt good knowing Cameron and I shared a few people we could both truly call friends.
“Thank you,” Cameron said to him.
“You look tired, but I can see how happy you are,” Lina murmured softly, her voice meant only for me. “This is one of the happiest days of your life, isn’t it, Sloane? Hold on to it. Remember how far you’ve come—how far you both have come. Be proud of yourself, Sloane. You deserve this.”
I nodded, my throat tight as emotion welled up again. “Thank you for being my friend, Lina. I’m so grateful for you.”
“The feeling’s mutual, honey,” she said with a soft smile, her eyes just as misty as mine.
I heard soft sobbing from the other side of the room and turned to see Ben standing there, tears streaking down his face.
“Ben, come here,” I said, tilting my head toward Nicholas.
