“We’ll get some help,” I assured her. “I know two babies less than a year apart will be hard.” I chuckled. “Irish twins, Beaker. We’re having Irish twins.”
“It’s entirely your fault,” she sobbed. “If you weren’t so damned irresistible, I wouldn’t be knocked up again!”
I hummed into her hair. “I told you before, Shelby. OJ is packed full of natural goodness. And determined, it would seem. It was only one time.”
She let out a giggle, and I nuzzled her hair.
“We’ll be fine.” Drawing back, I swept the hair away from her damp cheeks. “We said we wanted two close together—” I paused with a grin “—maybe not this close. But given your advancing years, it might be a good thing.” I kissed her nose teasingly. “We can have our family done before you’re totally decrepit.”
She smacked my chest but grinned. She knew I was trying to make her smile. I waggled my eyebrows at her. “OJ did himself proud.”
“I’m probably going to be really fat this time.” She sighed. “I haven’t had a chance to get back into shape yet.”
I hugged her close, knowing she needed my reassurance. “I love you really fat. I think I proved that last time.” It was true—I couldn’t keep my hands off her. “And besides, you’re in amazing shape. Perfect, in fact.”
“The press will have a field day.”
“The never-ending pregnancy.” I groaned. “Everett is gonna kill me.”
She sighed, nestling her head into my neck. “He’ll be fine. He loves being an uncle. Although I’m sure he’ll tease us both mercilessly. So will Douglas.”
I held her, stroking my hand through her hair in soothing passes as we both lost ourselves to our thoughts.
“I want to talk to Dr. Emily.”
“I already made an appointment for next week. She asked if you would be bringing your notebook.”
I would be. A new one. This was a whole different ball game, and I needed lots of notes. “Maybe we need to decide on the house in England soon.”
“Your mum and I talked. I thought maybe we could go over in a couple of months, check on the work, and get it ready? Go back after the baby is born?”
“I like the sound of that. We can enjoy some time with our children.”
“I’d like that too.”
Tilting up her chin, I smiled at her. “Thank you, my Shelby. For my son, for this rather shocking but blessed piece of news—for everything.” I stroked the skin on her cheek. “I’ll take good care of all of you. I promise.”
“I know you will. You already do.”
A cry echoed in the house and I laughed. “Meanwhile, our son wants us—well, probably you. I’ll go get him.”
“I’ll come down. Your mum, no doubt, is bursting. She was so excited at the doctors. Another ‘grandwean.’”
“She’s going to be giving Douglas a hard time about this, you know. I bet she tells him to man up.” I puffed out my chest. “My boys are a determined lot. He has a lot to live up to.”
Shelby giggled. “I bet you’re right.”
I wrapped my arm around her as we walked down the stairs. “Maybe we’ll have a girl this time, Beaker. I’d like that.”
“Maybe,” she agreed. “We have a fifty-fifty shot.”
With a grin, I nuzzled her head. “If not, we can try for number three.”
With a glare, she pushed me away. “I don’t think so, Oscar,” she muttered. “And I am cutting you off until I’m back on birth control after this baby is born.” Shaking her head, she stomped away to the kitchen, leaving me laughing since I knew she didn’t mean a word of it.
IAS was back.
And so it began.Shelby’s eyelids fluttered open, her eyes unfocused and confused. “Liam?” she whispered groggily.
Cupping her pale face, I pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. “I’m right here, my darling girl.”
Her voice became anxious. “Olivia?”
“She’s perfect, Shelby.”
Tears welled in her eyes, running down her face as a small sob escaped her mouth. “You promise?”
Pressing my forehead against hers, I reassured her. “She’s fine, baby. I promise. I was holding her. She’ll be back in a few minutes.”
She shifted, wincing, and I stood to help her get more comfortable, moving her gently. “Easy, love, you just had surgery. You’re going to be sore.”
Gripping my hand, she kept crying, her voice weak. “I was so scared.”
“So was I. Dr. Emily was amazing, and Olivia is fine. You’ll be fine. Everything is okay,” I reassured her.
“I want to see her.”
“Soon, baby. I need you to rest.”
“You promise,” she pleaded, unable to relax.
I grabbed my phone, holding it up so she could see the pictures I had taken. “Look, I’m holding her—and there is one of Mum with her. She’s fine, I promise. Rest a little more, and when you wake up, she’ll be here and you can hold her.”
She relaxed a little seeing the pictures. I stroked her hair softly as her eyes drifted shut. She was still under the influence of the anesthesia they had administered. I scrolled over the pictures as I sat beside my wife. Our daughter was tiny. Adam had weighed almost ten pounds when he was born, and Olivia Elizabeth Wright had barely broken the five-pound mark. But her delivery had been fraught with drama—too much blood and pain—and when Dr. Emily made the decision to do an emergency C-section and put Shelby under, I was terrified. Seeing Shelby lying unconscious again brought back many bad memories, and I’d struggled to stay calm.