“But his eyes are so dreamy,” she grunted.
“True, but these are girls we’re talking about. They’re already going to be stunning, with his eyes and pouty mouth, even doubly armed, Gavin, Granddaddy and Drew won’t be enough security.”
My lips twitched with a smile as I navigated the dark streets back to JRMC, and Suzie laughed outright. “Good point.”
“We’re here.” I hit the brakes and immediately Zola leapt out and jogged around the car to help Suzie.
“All right, Mama, let’s get you inside and settled into a room. You remembered to pack your music?”
Music?
“Yep. Gavin’s new album, what else?”
Zola rolled her eyes and laughed. “You two are sickeningly cute. Seriously.”
Another point of agreement with me. When they disappeared into the hospital, I found a parking spot and rushed inside to the maternity ward. Suzie was in a corner room, dressed in a soft pink gown, Zola at her side as soft strains of Gavin’s latest single played in the room. “That was fast.”
Suzie laughed. “It pays to have a birthing plan,” she explained and smiled up at Zola. “And a sister who made sure the plan was executed without a hitch.”
I stepped inside the room and let the door shut behind me. “Yeah, thanks Zola. I got it from here.”
“Sure you do.” She flashed an arrogant, knowing smile that I brushed off because the woman was arrogant every second of the day.
“I told you that Zola is my backup birthing coach.”
She probably had, but whenever the subject of Zola came up, I usually zoned out or stopped listening immediately. “I’m here, and I’ve delivered babies before.”
“Drew don’t make this hard. You were too busy to attend the classes with me and Zola offered to help.”
I had begged off the classes because I was too busy, but it still stung, and I already felt like I was being replaced. But instead of making this special day difficult, I nodded and left the room. It was my own fault that I was left out in the hall pacing, and Zola was inside helping usher my nieces into the world. Not as a doctor, but as a sister.
She wasn’t my sister, that was for sure, and whenever I tried to slide Zola into the box of friend or family, I was reminded of our night together. Reminded of miles of smooth brown skin, shapely legs that wrapped tight around my waist, narrowed hips that pumped against me when she was on top. I could close my eyes and see the way the corners of her mouth tipped into a sly smile as I sank into her.
The cries she made when pleasure overcame her.
The way she let out that sweet and husky nervous laughter after her orgasm, but she never moved to cover herself. She was shy and confident all at once, and that night, she’d been the most beautiful and alluring woman I had ever come across.
That was then, before I knew I’d have to see her every damn day of my life for two years.
The door opened and the woman who plagued my thoughts stood there wearing a beaming smile. “Come on in, Uncle Drewy, it’s time to meet Gigi and Berna.”
I stood and frowned. “Don’t call me Drewy.”
She laughed. “It wasn’t me,” she insisted, still laughing. “It’s Gigi and Berna.”
“Gigi and Berna?”
She nodded. “Georgette and Bernadette. Perfect similarity for twins without being too samesies, don’t you think?”
I hadn’t really thought about it at all. “Sure.”
“Come on.” She nodded for me to follow her and meet my nieces, which I was eager to do, no matter how unsettled I felt around Zola. She appeared to be completely unaffected by me, by my nearness, when I was anything but unaffected. Her perfume, her smile, her curves, even her laughter hit me unexpectedly.
The result made me grumpy, which made me angry. “You know these babies aren’t yours, don’t you?” And being angry, apparently, made me an ass.
Zola just laughed. “They’re mine because they’re my nieces, but I’m fully aware that I didn’t give birth to them.” She shrugged. “There’s just something about new babies and all the happiness they bring to the people who love them and want the best for them. It’s just so pure and warm. So real.”
“It doesn’t last.”
“Of course not.” She rolled her eyes and her smile dimmed a little, which only intensified my feelings of being a jerk. “Babies are hard work and they cause lifelong worry for those who love them, but today, right now and for the next few days, it’s just this pure kind of bliss that you’ll always associate with the day you met that kid for the first time.” She laughed at my skeptical look. “Hold Gigi and Berna in your arms and I dare you not to melt like ice cream on a hot Alabama day.”