In a gesture of a woman who was relieved, in love, and nervous, she leaned her head onto his shoulder and sighed while she looped her hand in the crook of his arm. That was what he wanted. For Beth to know she could lean on him for the rest of their lives, and he'd be there for her. He'd help her through all her internal and external struggles. He'd pick her up when the world seemed like it was out for her, then beat the shit of whomever he had to. Gladly and dutifully, he vowed to excel at the title of husband for the rest of their lives together.
***
When the ceremony was finished and the order to kiss the bride came, Beth looked into the eyes of the man she loved and knew she'd be treasured every day of her life. He’d kissed her gently, then they made their way back down the aisle together as husband and wife. Positioned at the bottom of the steps, they waited for the guests to start the exit from the church and give their congratulations.
But before the crowd started to descend upon them, Beth turned and looked up at her husband. "I'm pregnant."
"What?" His stunned look was priceless.
"I'm pregnant."
"How...what...how did that happen? You're on birth control," he asked softly.
"My doctor said they gave me IV antibiotics in the hospital. I didn't know," she said.
"Oh, lord, I forgot. Beth, I'm so sorry," he apologized, his face growing concerned.
She took his hands into hers. "It's all right. There's nothing we can do about it now except handle this change of events."
Watching her husband take a deep, cleansing breath and close his eyes, then nod, she was amused that she could shock him. Good bit of info to store away for a later time.
Opening his eyes, they blazed with desire and heat. He took her mouth in an assaulting kiss. When he pulled back, he held her face gently in his hands. "I love you."
"I love you."
"We're going to have a family, Mrs. Millen."
She beamed. "Yes, we are, Mr. Millen."
"Thank you, Beth. Thank you for giving me you," he said sincerely.
"Thank you for finding me, Sean," she said.
"Oh, honey," he breathed. "You found me."
Epilogue
"Ryan, please take her to her doctor's appointment. I can't get out of here, and I don't want her going alone. She's going to find out the sex of the baby," Sean pleaded.
Sighing, Ryan said, "All right, all right."
Rolling his eyes at his younger brother, Sean knew better. Ryan loved babies, and this would be an honor for him to witness the first ultrasound before the father did. In fact, Sean might never live it down.
Beth waddled into the office. "I'm so fat."
Smiling, Sean stood from his desk and went straight to her swollen belly. Yes, she was larger than what was normal, but it wasn't unusual for a woman to gain a lot of weight, so long as she was healthy. Rubbing a hand over the bump where his unborn child resided, he bent down and kissed her belly then stood up straight and kissed her hard on the lips. "You're beautiful."
"Fat," she complained.
"Beautiful," he said firmly.
Those eyes glistened with joy. "Thanks," she said softly and leaned into him, resting her head on his chest. He absolutely relished her need for his comfort. Nothing else in the world made him feel a hundred feet tall than his wife leaning emotionally and physically on him.
"You're going to be late," he scolded and pulled away.
"We're leaving," she placated.
Ryan picked up her purse and groaned over the weight. "What the hell do you have in here?"
"A brick," Beth retorted.
Sean laughed and Ryan smirked at her. Tossing an arm around her shoulders, his brother kissed her on the top of the head. "Let's get going. Lunch is on me afterwards."
"Good, I'm starved."
***
Lying on the table, Ryan watched the ultrasound tech squirt gel on Beth’s stomach, which caused her to jerk. She squeaked, which caused Ryan to chuckle, which gifted him a shooting glare.
Placing the ultrasound wand onto her stomach, the tech began small circular motions around her belly. Beth strained her neck to see something on the screen. Then the sound of a heartbeat echoed throughout the room.
"Oh," Ryan breathed. He’d heard that sound so many times, but the fact that it was his brother’s child’s heartbeat shot straight to his gut. He’d love this baby as if it was his own. He grasped her hand and squeezed. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "That's our baby."
The echo grew louder, sort of like the heartbeat was echoing itself. Ryan stiffened and straightened. The tech stopped the wand, struck keys on the board, then zoomed in.
"Is that..." Ryan trailed off.
"Give me a moment," the tech said.
"Is that what?" Beth panicked. "Is everything all right?"
"Yes, sweetheart, it is," Ryan said distracted, staring at the screen.
"Ryan?"
"Just a minute, honey," he said.
Another few long, silent minutes of the ultrasound only slightly moving more keystrokes, Ryan grinned from ear to ear while the tech took pictures. Oh, man, his brother was going to lose his ever lovin’ mind.
"Mrs. Millen, I'm going to have the doctor come in and talk to you," the tech finally said.
"What is going on?" Beth asked, her voice shaking and tears filling her eyes.
Ryan finally tore his eyes from the screen, glanced at her and blanched. Shit, he was supposed to be taking care of her. "Honey, there's nothing wrong. There's two heartbeats."
"What does that mean?" she asked, confused.
"Twins, Beth. You're having twins."
***
Arriving home later than he anticipated, Sean stepped through the front of his home, anxious to find out about Beth's doctor's visit. Shutting the door behind him, he juggled a dozen red roses, a gallon of milk, two large pizzas, and a chocolate fudge cake. His girl's chocolate addiction ramped up two fold since she became pregnant.
Closing the door behind with his foot, he made his way to the kitchen only to find it empty. In fact, the house was unusually quiet. Ryan's truck sat in the driveway, along with Beth's sedan, so they had to be home.
"Ryan?" he called out.
"Upstairs," his brother answered, his voice muted by the floors.
Dropping everything on the island, he snagged the roses and went upstairs to find his wife and his brother standing in the center of one of the three, empty spare bedrooms.
"How did it go, baby?" Sean asked.
His Beth beamed at him and shoved an ultrasound picture in his face. "Great. Everything is perfect."
He handed her the roses and gave her a peck on the lips then took the photo and studied it closely. Neither his wife or his brother spoke while he gazed at the picture. "This is our baby," he mused.
No response.
Wait. What the...? His head snapped up. "Beth?" His eyes bounced between his wife and his brother.
"Twins," Beth said softly.
"Tw...twins?" he asked dumbfounded.
"Good for you, man," Ryan said and slapped him on the back. "You're shootin' doubles."
Sean jabbed his brother in the stomach. Grasping Beth's shoulders, he asked, "Are you all right?"
Those large blue windows to that beautiful soul of his wife's shined with delight. "Two tiny miracles, Sean. I always wanted a sibling. There's no way I'd be happy with just one child."
Engulfing Beth into his arms, he couldn't begin to express his jubilation, his anxiety, and his eagerness over becoming a father. But now he had three reasons to stress over. His wife was giving him twins.
"There's more, Sean." Ryan snickered.
"What?" Sean pulled back concerned. What more could there possibly be? Twins was a pretty damn large piece of news.
Beth beamed. "They're both girls."
“Gi…girls?” he stammered. “Both, girls?”
Ryan snickered while Beth nodded enthusiastically.
“I can’t wait to tell
Daddy, he’s going to be so excited.” She was about bursting at the seams. “Two baby girl granddaughters.”
“Girls?” he repeated. Oh, God, girls. Two of them. Two tiny baby girls. His mind went blank. How the hell did he handle three women? Thank goodness Ryan was in the house to help keep the balance. “I think I need to sit,” he said softly.
His dumbass brother burst out laughing.
“Sean, are you okay?” Beth asked concerned.
“Just give me a minute, honey. I just…need a second,” he said, feeling winded.
“Aren’t you happy?” she asked.
He looked up into those gorgeous eyes that were filled with worry and knew he had to trample whatever severe anxiety was taking over. He’d freak out when he was alone. “I’m thrilled sweetheart.” Placing his enormous hands on her swollen belly, he said, “Two baby girls who look exactly like their mother? A man dreams of such a life, honey, and you’ve given it to me.” He kissed her softly. “Thank you, my Beth.”
Beth’s eyes relaxed, and she gave him the shy smile that he’d fallen in love with. Hopefully both his daughters would inherit that same look.
Sean kissed her again. He’d spent the rest of his life thanking her and anyone else who had a hand in bringing his angel permanently into his life.
“I love you,” he said. He’d endlessly repeat it so his Beth was aware of how much she meant to him. "I love you."
###
Acknowledgements
Many individuals had a hand in getting this book out. I hope I don't forget anyone.
First, I have to thank Jenn from The Killion Group, Inc. She stepped up, took and edited Silent Love's manuscript on an emergency basis, when other plans fell through, and had it back to me within a couple of days. She probably suffered from severe eyestrain because of that commitment and favor. She's a true professional.
Joanna Chastla, who has created all of my covers and I must say, was brilliant with Silent Love as well. She's such a breeze to work with. Everything with putting out a book should be as easy as it is working with her. (Just wait until you see the remaining covers of the series.)
My sister, Tandy, who is a respiratory therapist working in Pittsburgh and gave me such detailed information and made certain I had it all correct after writing the fire scenes. You know, just in case any of you work in the medical field and would know if I was making stuff up, or for those of you who are very thorough in finding out if a plot is accurate.
My betas! This volunteer group of women had Silent Love first and did a fantastic job at letting me know what they liked, loved, didn't like, any holes in the story, and anything else I may have missed. Each one took the task seriously and I hope I did them justice with the final product.
Jim, my website man. He's the one behind CaseyClipper.com. He has built the site because that's what he enjoys doing. Any changes, any suggestions, anything at all, he fixes and adjusts so I don't have to worry about figuring it out on my own, giving me the time to do the things I need to, like write. I can't thank him enough for taking his own time and building and maintaining the site.
Clipp's Crew, the Casey Clipper Street Team. These women rock! I'm amazed at how they willing plug and pimp my books. Each day I'm grateful for all they do. Your work never goes unnoticed (I know, it's wordy). Thank you!
About the Author
Casey Clipper lives outside of Pittsburgh, PA, which naturally makes her a sports fanatic. Like you, she is an avid romance reader and loves to lose herself in a great book. She reluctantly admits to having a love affair with chocolate (it's really more like an addiction). Casey is a member of the Romance Writers of America, the Authors Guild, Pennwriters, TRRW, CRW, IAN, and ASMSG.
Visit Casey’s website at www.CaseyClipper.com for upcoming releases, current titles available, appearances, newsletter, merchandise, and much more.
All titles can be found at www.CaseyClipper.com.
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Other titles from Casey currently available:
Scarred (a novella)
The Boss's Love (a novel)
Darren's Story: A Prequel to The Boss's Love
Courtney's Story: A Prequel to The Boss's Love
Derrick's Story: A Prequel to The Boss's Love
Coming in 2014:
Dangerous Love (The Love Series-Book 2)
Silent Love Page 15
