Shane Holland was officially a father.

A father.

The word echoed in his mind for hours, no matter where he went. He was a father now. He had a daughter. A little girl. And God, he had never been happier in his entire life.

She was perfect. So much like {{user}} that it made his heart do stupid little flips every time she opened those big dark eyes and wrapped her tiny fingers around his thumb. Shane wasn’t just officially a father — he was a completely smitten one.

He did everything he could to keep {{user}} as relaxed and comfortable as possible, knowing how difficult the birth had been. Shane had never been so scared in his life. But his woman had been strong. Incredibly strong. She had fought all the way through.

Sometimes, his chest tightened when he thought about it — about the same strength that had once saved him. The girl who had changed his life had become the woman who had given him life. More precisely, a tiny bundle of life weighing two kilos and four hundred grams, named Hope.

Hope.

He never got tired of looking at the two of them. {{user}} was more than beautiful — she was radiant, always radiant with the baby in her arms. Shane had never felt so grateful. He hadn’t realized how much he needed this until he was holding it in his arms. And now, he would never let go.

That night, after their now well-established bedtime routine, Shane was putting Hope to sleep while {{user}} took a shower. This new routine, two months in, had become his favorite part of the day. No one needed to know that he loved singing softly to her, that she only fell asleep like that — in his arms.

Definitely a girl dad.

After settling the baby into her crib and turning on the baby monitor, Shane left the nursery and walked into their bedroom. He stopped at the doorway, watching {{user}} brushing her hair, still damp from the shower, and once again he was overwhelmed by love.

He walked over and wrapped his arms around her from behind.

“The little princess is asleep,” he murmured, kissing her neck as he pulled her close.

This was life.