by Tia Siren
I glared at him. “You ass. I didn’t pee my pants. My water broke!”
He looked at my legs. “Oh shit.”
I nodded. “Exactly.”
“But, we still have a month. You’re only thirty-six weeks. You’re supposed to be pregnant forty weeks,” he said, looking as if his world was spinning. He reached out and grabbed the handrail to steady himself before reaching out and taking my hand.
“Well, you tell them that,” I growled. “They’re coming. They’re clearly as stubborn as you are and have decided to do things their way.”
“Okay. Okay, don’t panic. I’ll get the bag. Don’t panic,” he said, obviously panicking.
I found my phone in my purse and called my mom to let her know it was time. She had been my backup coach in case Brad couldn’t get to the hospital. I was worried she may need to step in while my normally cool husband lost his shit. I laughed while I watched as Brad went up and down the stairs at least three times before he finally came back down with the bag.
“Don’t panic!” he said, rushing out the front door.
I waited, wondering if he would forget me. He burst back through the door.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
I nodded my head, holding my stomach as a strong contraction came on.
“Oh shit. Are you having them now?”
“No!”
“Let’s go. The car’s ready,” he said, putting an arm around my shoulders and guiding me out the door to where our new SUV was parked in the driveway.
Neither one of us had owned a car but figured with twins on the way, we would need our own vehicles for doctor’s appointments and trips to the grocery store. It had been a bit of an adjustment to move out of the city, but we had finally gotten the hang of living in the suburbs.
The drive to the hospital was relatively calm. A sense of peace had washed over me once the doctor had assured me it would all be okay. A month early was normal for twins. The labor and delivery had been rather smooth and fast. Now I was staring at my identical twin girls lying in their little incubators.
“They’re beautiful,” Brad said for what had to be the hundredth time.
“You’re going to give them a huge ego if you keep telling them that,” I warned.
“I don’t care. They are, and I want them to be confident.”
“With you as a father, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem,” I quipped.
My mom came through the door with a huge bouquet of pink balloons. “There are my beautiful girls,” she cooed.
A nurse came in and asked if we were ready to hold our babies.
I sat up in bed, anxious to feel my babies in my arms.
“I’ve got Gracie,” Brad announced. “You get Fiola.”
I held my daughter for a few minutes before giving her to my mom. Brad handed me Gracie. For the next thirty minutes, we passed the girls around among us, oohing and ahhing over their cuteness.
“I should go and let you rest and settle in. I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” my mom said, kissing each of the girls on the head. “Do you need anything?”
“No, thank you. We’ve got everything we need right here,” Brad said, beaming with pride.
I smiled and nodded. “Thanks, Mom. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I leaned back against the pillows and watched as Brad tucked in his baby girls into their shared incubator.
“Twins,” he said, shaking his head. “I still can’t believe we got two for the price of one.”
I laughed. “Trust me, there were no freebies.”
“I can’t wait to tell the world we have twin girls. My listeners are going to go crazy.”
“Now you can finally reveal the sex. I can’t believe you managed to keep it a secret this long. My mom and I had a bet you would slip up, but you never did.”
He smiled. “Nope. It was tough, though.”
“Now what are you going to talk about on your show?” I teased.
“Parenting! I can’t believe how many music stars have kids. It’s crazy. I guess I didn’t know because most of them don’t talk about their kids in interviews. I like that they all felt comfortable talking to me about parenting and what it was like when they were pregnant, or their wives were pregnant. It’s been great for ratings as well.”
I smiled and nodded. “You’re killing it, babe. I know you were a little nervous at first, but people love you.”
He took a deep breath. “It was a little scary at first, but that first show after we found out it was twins was what changed things. People seemed fascinated by what I was going through, and they all wanted to share their stories. Now we will get to talk baby poop and late-night feedings, and soon enough teething, I suppose.”
I burst into laughter. “Only you could think that was the fun stuff. I, for one, am not looking forward to that.”
“Yes, you are,” he said, kissing my nose. “Every minute with our babies is going to be awesome, even when they’re puking all over us.”
I shook my head. “You have a weird sense of humor.”
He crawled into the bed beside me. I snuggled in close. We sat and stared at our sleeping daughters for a while. We were both madly in love with them, and with each other.
“Can you believe we have babies?” I whispered.
He shook his head. “No. Not yet. I mean, obviously they’re right here, but I can’t believe this is really my life. I feel like I should pinch myself.”
I pinched him. He yelped, startling Gracie. “Shh,” I scolded.
“You pinched me,” he protested.
“You suggested it. I was just trying to help you out,” I said with a grin.
We fell silent again as the girls squirmed in their sleep.
“I hope they sleep that well at home,” he murmured.
I sighed. “I have a feeling we should enjoy the peace while we can.”
“I’m glad we had everything ready. I guess the doctor wasn’t lying when he said to be ready at least six weeks ahead of the due date. I thought he was being cautious,” Brad said, shaking his head.
“I’m glad too. I didn’t get to finish putting away all their clothes, though. Oh well, I’m sure we’ll be going through them pretty fast. Why bother putting them in the drawers?” I chuckled.
Brad leaned down and kissed me again. “I love you. You have made me the happiest man on this earth. I don’t even care if the radio show tanks. The only thing that truly matters in this world is you and those two sleeping beauties. Nothing else matters.”
“Stop! You’re going to make me cry. I am a jumbled-up mess of hormones,” I said, wiping the tears that were already falling.
“I want you to know. We missed out on a lot of time together because I didn’t have the nerve to tell you before. I’m never letting that happen again. I’m going to tell you every day. I love you. I’m never leaving you or my family,” he said, holding my chin to look me straight in the eyes.
“I know. I love you, too. I would give up everything.”
He picked up Gracie, who was starting to fuss, and put her in my arms. I snuggled her close and kissed the top of her head.
“She’s a cute baby, huh?” he said.
I giggled. “Yes, she is. So is her sister.”
He laughed. “We make cute babies.”
I nodded. “Yes, we do.”
“I think our girls need a brother, maybe even brothers. How crazy would it be if you got pregnant with twins again?”
I groaned. “No. You have to have the twins next time. I don’t think my body could do that again.”
“You know I would take away all the icky stuff in a heartbeat if I could. But, getting back to the topic at hand, ready to try for another one?”
My eyes widened. “You are out of your mind. Get away from me. You might impregnate me just by looking at me like that.”
He was smiling. “You know you want my babies. I make beautiful babies,” he said, waggling his eyebrows. “I will give you as many as you can
handle.”
“Get away from me. I need to recuperate,” I said, slapping him with the spare pillow in my bed.
He laughed and took Gracie into his arms, kissing her gently before laying her back down.
“You can recuperate all you want, but I still think we should get in lots of practice. I want to make sure my aim is true,” he said with a wink.
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t think that’s ever going to be a problem. Your aim is just fine.”
“But just to be sure,” he whispered, kissing me on the nose and then the lips.
I smiled and nodded. “You’re right. Practice makes perfect.” I sighed, thinking about the pre-pregnancy sex. “Brad?”
“Yes?”
“I can’t wait to have sex when I don’t feel as big as a house.”
He chuckled. “You were a beautiful pregnant woman, and you were never as big as a house.”
I groaned. “Whatever. I still want hot, dirty, monkey sex.”
“You better stop or I’m going to have a very hard time keeping my hands off you for the next couple weeks.”
I chuckled. “I think that might be the other way around.”
When he crawled back into bed with me, I closed my eyes and let myself enjoy the moment. It was by far the happiest moment of my life. I knew with him and my baby girls, there were sure to be more of these moments that I would treasure forever. The man had turned my life upside down in the best way possible. I wouldn’t give up a minute of the heartache and frustration he had caused me. It had all been worth the wait.
***
END OF THE SECOND STORY
The Billionaire’s Baby
I’ve got six months to get married and get my fake wife pregnant. But I never imagined I’d actually fall in love.
I don’t want to be part of my family’s banking business.
They all call me the black sheep. I’ve got my own big dreams.
I’m counting on my inheritance to give me my freedom. But there’s a clause – I need a wife and baby.
My cousin’s birthday bash is the perfect place to meet her.
Then I see Brea.
Curves like a goddess and a mouth made for kissing.
I was hard and she was flirting.
Over comes my best friend, checking Brea out with a hungry gaze.
Hands off, buddy. She’s mine.
I’m the one who’s gonna take her home and marry her.
Now I just have to get her to say yes.
CHAPTER 1
Ryan
“Fuck. I was supposed to be there an hour ago,” I muttered as I stared at the brake lights in front of me. Nobody was moving tonight, and I groaned as I dropped my head back against the seat of my Escalade. I saw a break ahead and switched lanes quickly, earning a loud honk as I turned left to go to the parking lot nearby. I was already tense from the argument I’d had with my parents earlier today, so I planned to have a drink before running down the street to Lucy’s party.
The public thought my family was wealthy and perfect. Mitch and Linda Hall were a power couple with their successful banking firm that had made them rich beyond belief. They had everything money could buy, and I was like a pawn in their game. Mom was certainly beautiful with her long blond hair and bright blue eyes, but she’d had so much surgical work done to keep her youthful appearance. She was in her late forties now but didn’t look a day over thirty. Dad was a savvy businessman, always in the papers and online blogs for having made billions in the business.
I wasn’t hurting for anything. I had a great penthouse in Manhattan and I drove a brand-new Escalade. Possessions weren’t an issue, but Dad was infuriated that I didn’t want to step into the family business. It had been in the family for generations now, and he was always pushing me to embrace my legacy. It was our constant argument.
The final straw was when my father had decided to add conditions to my inheritance. I had been set to get it at the age of twenty-five, and my father waited until just before my birthday to change the terms.
I walked into a corner bar, needing to relax before I joined the party. Lucy was my favorite cousin, and I had a great time with her when we hung out, so I didn’t want to be an asshole when I arrived. She was already going to give me shit about being late in the first place.
It wasn’t like I spent days at the bank working. I avoided it as much as possible and only helped when necessary. I ordered a whiskey on the rocks and looked at it for a moment before I tossed it back in one gulp.
My mother was an alcoholic. That was her big secret from the public, but Dad and I both knew how bitter and angry she was when she was drunk at home. They fought all the time and she bossed him around, playing him like an instrument to maintain her lavish lifestyle. It was no wonder Dad worked so much.
I called out for another drink, needing a little more of the burning warmth in my throat. I wasn’t driving if I didn’t have to. I would take a cab home and get my car tomorrow. I tried to loosen up more by drinking the second one at a slower pace while running a hand through my hair.
I was not my mother. I was young, just thirty-two, and going to a social function. People drank at parties, and I was not the nasty lush Mom was. I was friendly and interested in conversations, meeting people, and getting to know them. I had a lot of friends who were involved in social work. That was what I wanted to do with my inheritance money, which Dad was going to hold.
I needed to get married or provide a child to get the half million dollars set aside for me by my grams. I was her favorite grandson. When she’d been alive, she had always told me she saw me doing good things with the money in the future. She died when I was just fifteen, breaking my heart, and Dad had decided to change the terms of the will. He was very proud of the firm and wanted it to stay in the family, no matter what. Once I explained that I wanted to go in a different direction, he altered things so I’d be forced to play by his rules.
It hadn’t bothered me so much at twenty-five. I’d been living fine then, but now I was all too aware that I needed to be hitched or expecting a child within six months. Nothing like love and romance in the Hall family. I didn’t think anyone had it, least of all my folks. They seemed to hate each other at home but always played it up for the media. If I didn’t comply with the rules, there would be no inheritance for me to change the world with, and Dad had made it clear that things weren’t going to change. I’d have to work somewhere making money, and I didn’t know what I could get. I wasn’t stupid, but I’d blown off college and it was competitive here in the city. Dad had told me he wasn’t going to help me if I didn’t choose the business or marriage and a family. I knew from growing up with him that he meant what he said. Dad was a hard-ass and Mom was a nag who made it all worse.
Why the fuck would I want to get married?
I finished my third drink and walked to Lucy’s apartment, which was just a few blocks away. As an artist, she fit in perfectly here in Brooklyn. Like most New Yorkers, she was building her career while she waitressed at a local diner. Her parents weren’t thrilled with her choices, and we bonded over that. I was pushing for her to make it, and she could afford the apartment with a roommate. I was proud of her. I headed up the stairs and tapped on the door, hoping someone would hear me over the music.
The door opened and Lucy’s wild brown curls came into view before the eyes that matched her hair. She shook her head at me. “You’re late!”
“Hey! I got stuck in traffic and parked a few blocks away to make myself less late than I was going to be. Give me a break.” I held up my hands and grinned at her as I watched her lips curl up into a smile. “Let me in.”
She moved to the side and I saw that the small two-bedroom apartment was full of about thirty people. They were all more of Lucy’s crowd if I were to take my parents’ stance, but I liked her friends. I walked through the door and she led me toward the kitchen where the drinks were lined up on the counter. I poured another whiskey out of habit and glanced around, seeing men and
women alike. A tall brunette walked over and hugged Lucy as I looked on. I found her intense green eyes alluring as Lucy squealed and hugged her back. “It’s about time, Brea.”
“I had to close at the coffee shop. Some people refused to leave.” Brea rolled her eyes as I stared at her, finding her more compelling with each passing second. Lucy looked around as someone called out her name. She ran off as I looked nervously at Brea.
“Hi,” she said. “I’m Brea Taylor. I’m Lucy’s best friend.”
I reached over and shook her hand, appreciating her solid grip.
“I’m Ryan Hall, her cousin. We haven’t met before, have we?”
She shook her head and smiled weakly.
“Probably not, no. I haven’t been around until recently. I just graduated from NYU, and that kept me busy.”
I looked her over, thinking she was a bit older than most graduates I’d met.
“Want a drink?” I asked. She wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “You don’t drink?”
“I…I took care of my dad for a couple years while he was dying of liver failure. He was an alcoholic, and I think that whole childhood and the watching him die thing made me never want to drink. It can be so damaging,” she said as she reached for a can of soda. “I know that it’s fun for people in their twenties and it’s what we’re supposed to be doing, but I’ve been over it for a while now.” She giggled. “I went to an ice skating rink on my twenty-first birthday with some friends. We skated around, singing every song and acting like fools.” She shook her head. “I thought I’d be out of school soon at that point, but then Dad got sick. Mom’s remarried in Minnesota, and it was on me to take care of him. I took a break from school for that.”
“How long?” I asked, drawn to the caring in her bright eyes as she smiled wistfully.
“Two years. I’m twenty-seven and I just graduated a few months ago. It’s crazy.” Brea glanced up at me and smiled. “I feel like I am so out of the loop.”
“What was your major?” I asked.
She sighed heavily. “Cinema studies. Great, huh? I want to be a filmmaker in the biggest, most competitive city on the planet.” She shook her head as I looked down at my drink. I didn’t want it, and I regretted the other drinks I’d had on the way over. While I wasn’t my mother and didn’t suffer from her addiction, I also didn’t need alcohol to have a good time. I set it down and looked around, reaching for a soda as she tilted her head curiously at me. “Change your mind?”
