Love at First Sight

“No, you don’t.” I don’t want her to guess right away. “Come with me.”

She follows me into the room that I’ve set up for us, but she doesn’t immediately rejoice. Her face pales and she looks stunned. “What is going on here, Logan? I’m freaked out.”

I watch her clutch onto her belly like she does every time she’s in fear. This isn’t what I planned, I didn’t want to do it right away, but I suppose I can change that if it helps her to relax. I almost forgot that she’s a little more highly strung than usual because of all the crazy pregnancy hormones.

I grab onto her hands and give her a soft smile. Then I drop rapidly to one knee and tug the ring box out of my pocket. As I show it to Tamara she gasps. I thought she was expecting this but clearly not.

“Tamara Owen, you have completely transformed my life. In the best way possible. The day I first laid eyes on you, even if it ended up with you yelling at me, was the best of my whole life. Something shifted inside of me and I just knew that you were different. Maybe I didn’t know how much of a change it’d be, I never knew how deeply I would end up falling in love with you, but I’m over the moon with how things turned out. You came around the world with me, we had the most amazing adventure, and now we’re about to embark on something new.” I rest my hand on her belly. “We’re going to be parents… to twins, none the less. Obviously, we can’t do things by halves.” We share a little laugh. “I want you to be my wife for it. I want our love to be solidified and for us to be the full family unit. So, will you make me the happiest man alive and agree to be my wife?”

“Oh my God.” She smiles and tears fill her eyes. “Of course I will, I’d love nothing more.”

“Oh, thank God.” I jump up and kiss her hard while sliding the ring onto her finger. We’re going to be husband and wife. That’s the best news ever, I’m so happy you said yes!”

“Did you honestly think that I wouldn’t?” She wiggles her eyebrows. “Come on, you knocked me up.”

We can’t share the moment alone for too long because Al and Katherine whoop loudly and burst from his room to hug us both. Tamara doesn’t even look surprised, almost as if she knew that they were here.

“You’re getting married!” Katherine screams while embracing her friend as tightly as she can considering the large bump between them both. “I can’t wait for it! It’s going to be amazing. I’m a bridesmaid, right?”

“Yeah… but not until these babies are born. I refuse to waddle down the aisle. And you are maid of honor, of course you are, you nutter. It’s going to be the best wedding ever.”

30

Tamara

I twiddle the engagement ring around my finger, staring at the diamond with a smile. I absolutely love this ring and the fact that Logan chose this for me - although he admits he had a little help - means the world. Even though we’re having children I didn’t think marriage was on the horizon. But I’m so glad that it is.

“How are you feeling today?” Logan asks with a smile. “You look as lovely as ever.”

I clutch onto my stomach as another twinge races

through me but I try not to let it show. The closer it gets to my due date, the more freaked out he becomes. I don’t want to wind him up further by making it worse. As soon as I tell him that I feel anything he’ll have me rushing to the hospital at the speed of light. I don’t want to get there until really necessary, the less time I have to spend in a hospital building the better. I’ve never been a fan.

“Are you okay?” I guess I didn’t hide it as well as I wanted to. “Are you in pain? Can I do anything?”

“No, no.” I wince through it. “I’m fine. Nothing to worry about. I’d like some coffee though.”

“Coffee? Should you have coffee?” I give him a look. I think he’s taking the pregnancy rules too seriously. As far as I’m concerned, a little bit of caffeine can’t possibly hurt. “Okay, sure I’ll make you one.”

He pours me a drink while constantly darting his eyes back to me. I have another wave of pain but I don’t grip onto myself just yet. I grit my teeth as hard as I can and I keep the scream inside. I’ll admit, it’s starting to get worse, I think I might be getting a little bit nearer, but there’s still time. I just need to hold it together…

“Argh!” The guttural noise bursts free from me before I can even think about it. “Oh my God.”

“I knew it.” Logan has his arms around me in an instant. “I knew that you were suffering. What is it? Is this a contraction? Do we need to get in the car because it can take a bit to get to the hospital?”

The idea of giving birth to my babies in the car with an over panicked Logan delivering them is too much to bear and I force myself into a standing position. He’ll never be able to cope without a medical professional telling him what to do so I suppose I’m going to have to suck it up and get to the hospital.

“Yeah, okay.” I pant heavily, still trying to hide how much it hurts. “Let’s get going. It can’t hurt.”

I waddle over to the front door with Logan close behind me. I can almost feel the nerves bouncing and darting through his body, he can hardly keep still with a fearful anticipation. If he keeps this up he’s going to drive me insane. I need him to be calm. I need to keep calm myself as well. Any stress is bad for the babies.

“It’s going to be fine,” I reassure him while curling my fingers around his arm. “Don’t panic.”

“Oh, I know I shouldn’t, I’m sorry.” He shakes his head emphatically. “Sorry, I keep telling myself that, I know I shouldn’t get…” He laces his fingers through mine. “I’m just so scared of you going through all that pain. And I’ll be useless, that’s the worst part, I will be standing there unable to help you through any of it.”

“You’ll be there. That’s the main thing. You will be by my side.” I kiss him on the cheek. “Plus, you can make sure the doctors give me plenty of drugs to get me through. That’s hugely important.”

He leans his head closer towards me and kisses me harder. The feel of his lips against mine gets my heart racing faster and it comforts me for just a moment. It feels nice to have this second just for us before…