Heavenly giggled as she watched him cradle the girl in the crook of his arm. Beck drew Catronia close to his chest, then peered down at her with a grin. She stared up at him with bright, inquisitive eyes.
“You don’t know it yet, but you’re one lucky little girl,” he whispered, slowly strolling around the room. “You’ve got a mommy and two daddies who are going to raise you with more love than you can imagine. Trust me. Your parents are going to spoil you rotten. Anything you want—a pony, a Ferrari—all you’ll have to do is bat those baby blues, and your daddies will fall all over themselves to give you your heart’s desires.”
“That’s right,” Heavenly assured a sleeping Ciara. “You girls will melt their big, bad hearts.”
“When they start asking their daddies for sports cars, I’m throwing both of you under the bus,” Raine chided with a mock scowl.
“I’ll bet Hammer and Liam would rather deal with them wanting sports cars than boys.” Seth chuckled as he stood and bent, peering over Heavenly’s shoulder at Ciara.
Beck held his breath as Heavenly sent him a hopeful glance.
“You’re right. According to Hammer and Liam, the girls aren’t allowed to date until they’re thirty-five.” Raine shook her head. “Don’t worry. Mommy won’t let your daddies cloister you away until you’re nearly middle-aged.”
“Be careful, princess,” Beck warned as Heavenly smiled up at Seth. “If Hammer and Liam catch you encouraging the girls to date, your ass will be black and blue for life.”
“Good. I can’t wait. It’s been forever,” she grumbled.
“Well, you won’t have to wait much longer. Once the doctor clears you…” Beck didn’t finish. He’d let Hammer and Liam tell her they’d been keeping track of every snarky, sassy remark she’d made while pregnant.
“Would you like to hold her?” Heavenly asked Seth softly.
He tensed. “I-I…”
“She’s really good,” their girl assured with a hopeful smile. “You’ll love her.”
With every eye in the room on them, Seth hesitated, his face frozen.
Beck’s heart drummed in his chest as he waited, hoping Seth would hold the swaddled pink bundle in his big hands.
Finally, Seth gave their girl a choppy shake of his head. “Y-you keep her. You look happy holding her.”
Heavenly whipped her gaze down to the infant, her chin quivering, but not before Beck saw her fat tears and her crushed expression. Goddamn it.
Seth must have seen it, too. He cleared his throat. “Sorry.” Then he whipped out his phone and headed for the exit, killing all hope that the birth of the twins had helped him turn a corner. “Excuse me.”