Devious Intentions (Carson Cove Scandals 3)

“Really?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “I thought it was going to be another month?”

“They got done early.” She laughed under her breath. “Or maybe I just told you that it was going to take another month on purpose…”

“Why?” I tilted my head inquisitively.

“Well.” She reached forward and dug into her purse. “Because it’s a gift.”

“A gift?” I blinked in confusion.

“A wedding present.” She put a key in my hand. “And a thank you.”

“I guess we won’t have to go very far when we want to get away for the weekend.” I tucked the key into my purse.

We do have a lot of good memories at Carson Cove Beach…

Damien

Two years later

“Where’s your bag? I swear I left it by the door!” I looked at my wife with panic in my eyes.

“You moved it to the living room.” Leigh’s breaths got quicker, and she put her hand on her stomach.

“Okay, let’s go!” I put my hand around her waist and helped her walk to the door.

“Please don’t hit any bumps on the way.” She grimaced. “Otherwise, I’m going to have this baby before we get to the hospital.”

“I told you we should have left when the contractions started.” I looked at her and smiled. “You’re the one that said it was another false alarm—and sent me to get another bowl of ice cream.”

“You get to be right this time.” She glared at me. “Don’t get used to it.”

I drove to the hospital as fast as possible—without hitting any bumps on the way. Leigh spent the whole way there texting everyone who had begged for us to let them know when it was time for the baby to come. Her water breaking had confirmed that it wasn’t going to be a false alarm—we weren’t leaving the hospital until the newest member of our family arrived. Our daughter would get to meet most of the people who were eager to spoil her rotten before she even got a chance to see the nursery that we had worked so hard on.

“Okay, we’re almost there!” I pointed to Carson Cove General Hospital. “Just a few more minutes…”

“Yeah, you tell your daughter to wait a few minutes.” Leigh’s breathing got faster, and she dug her nails into my arm.

The wheelchair was waiting for us as soon as the car came to a stop in front of the hospital. I helped Leigh get situated, and then we were rushed inside. Thirty minutes later, I was standing beside Leigh’s bed, hoping that she didn’t break my hand before she finally gave birth—or divorce me. The doctor told her to push, and she cursed me. He told her to breathe, and she muttered something that I didn’t understand, but I didn’t even consider asking her to repeat herself—it was probably better if I pretended that she was just telling me how much she loved me.

“You’re doing a great job.” I looked down at her and smiled.

“I know.” She narrowed her eyes. “I’m doing all the work!”

The labor lasted for almost an hour before I heard my daughter’s first whimper—and then she started crying. It was a beautiful sound, and my eyes filled up with tears. A nurse came over with a warm washcloth and cleaned our daughter up before she placed our beautiful bundle of joy in Leigh?

??s arms. All of Leigh’s frustration and pain seemed to melt away the moment she held our daughter for the very first time. The doctor allowed me to cut the umbilical cord, and then I leaned forward to press my lips to Leigh’s forehead.

“You did it.” I looked at our baby and tried to hold back the tears that didn’t seem to want to stop. “She’s beautiful.”

“We did it.” Leigh tilted her arm so that our daughter was looking in my direction. “That’s your daddy, Caroline. You’ve already got him wrapped around your little finger.”

I hope she learns to wield that power wisely—because I can already tell that she’s going to get anything that her heart desires…

The End