Free Loving Faith by Sara Hooper Page B

coffee table. “It must've amused her because she did it for an hour until Tybalt finally figured out that if he stayed underneath the table, she'd forget about him.”
    “Poor little guy,” Matthew chuckled.
    “Look at that,” Faith smiled as Hope stirred. Tiny eyelids fluttered and fists stretched into the air. “She heard you laugh.”
    Matthew held out his hands and Faith handed over the slowly waking child. The lawyer's face instantly changed as he started talking to his daughter. Faith leaned back, tucking her feet up under her as she watched Matthew and Hope. The past year had been amazing. She'd moved in just a few days after Matthew had asked and they'd spent the next couple months preparing the place for the new arrival. Mama had been so excited about her new grandchild that she'd come over every weekend to help paint the nursery. The rest of the family had been equally ecstatic, throwing a huge baby shower just a month before Hope's birth, and almost every single person had come to see her in the hospital. Now, Ester called two to three times a day to talk to her granddaughter as much as to her daughter. Faith suspected that Josie was definitely getting some payback from Ester in regards to non-stop grandchild discussion.
    Madison, of course, had been the obvious choice for god-mother and took her job very seriously. Faith was certain that no other four month-old had as many designer clothes as Hope did. The people at The Oracle had been great as well. They'd been very flexible regarding time off and had eventually worked out a part-time freelance position to allow her to be home with Hope as much as possible. This also had allowed her to start working on her own art, though the time she spent was sporadic as it usually ended up being around naps. She wouldn't have traded it for anything though. She supposed they could've afforded a nanny, but she didn't want to be away from her baby. She knew Matthew felt the same way. He called home every lunch and sometimes other times during the day just to see how Hope was doing. Faith sent him pictures on a regular basis and he spent the first hour or so when he got home with Hope.
    It was strange to think that he'd been worried that he wouldn't be a good father. Since he'd never had a real father role model, Matthew had spent the entire pregnancy reading everything he could find, talking to dozens of people, trying to find out how to be a good dad. He'd been so scared that he was going to do something wrong. Now, looking at him with his daughter, Faith couldn't understand how he ever could have been worried. He was everything a father should be.
    “You look particularly thoughtful,” Matthew interrupted her thoughts.
    “I was just thinking about how, a year ago, I was so scared that I was going to lose everything that was important to me, and here I am, just twelve months later, with more than I ever could have dreamed,” Faith smiled at Matthew.
    “Hold that thought,” Matthew set Hope down on her blanket and got up onto his knees. “There is something missing.”
    “Missing?” Faith was puzzled. She had the most amazing man who loved her. She had a beautiful, healthy daughter. Her mother was doing great. What more could she ask for?”
    Matthew took Faith's hand in his, the expression on his face growing serious. “A year ago, I found out that I was going to be a father. You gave me something that I'd never had before. A family. You and Hope are the most important things in the world to me.”
    Faith sensed that something was coming, but she couldn't figure out what.
    “I should have done this then, but I knew that you'd think it was just because of the baby. I waited because I wanted you to see that I love you, not because of Hope, but because you are the single most wonderful, beautiful, intelligent, creative woman I've ever known. You're what I never knew I was missing.” He held out his hand and opened his fingers. There, resting on his palm, was a