“Take the test, Quinn!” Bryce commanded, extending his hand with the box.
Quinn walked over to the fridge and grabbed the milk out of the refrigerator. “No. I’m not taking the test.”
Bryce rolled his eyes. “Honey, take the test. It will be okay.”
Quinn poured milk for Zeke who was just over two years old now and drinking whole milk. She’d just stopped nursing Teague, her second oldest, a few months ago. So taking another pregnancy test was simply not on her agenda in the near future. She wanted her boobs back! Yes, that was crass, but…
“You’re scared,” Bryce said when she walked back again, putting the milk in the fridge and smiling to their housekeeper who was cleaning up from breakfast.
But with her husband’s words, she spun around to glare up at him, poking the middle of his chest. “I’m not scared! There’s no reason to be scared! I’m not pregnant again.”
Bryce ignored her finger and lifted her up into his arms, carrying her out of the kitchen and into his office. He knew that Zeke and Teague’s nanny would take care of his kids. His priority right now was to take care of his wife who was exhausted and he was concerned.
Kicking the door closed to his home office, he set her down on his desk then leaned in so she couldn’t get away. “Quinn, you are now six weeks late, you are about to fall over due to exhaustion, and you slept for twelve hours last night! Not to mention, you ate an entire box of chocolate chip cookies last night before you fell asleep.”
She shrugged. “There’s nothing wrong with chocolate chip cookies,” she argued. She couldn’t deny how much she’d been sleeping or even her current exhaustion. She’d fallen asleep at her desk yesterday, and it had only been ten o’clock in the morning. Harry had laughed as he’d nudged her awake just in time for her to hurry out the door for court.
“There’s nothing wrong with eating cookies at all, especially since you’ve been losing weight.”
“Ha! See? If I was pregnant, then I’d be gaining weight!”
Bryce felt the tension in his shoulders increase. “Exactly, Quinn,” he replied softly. “So if you’re not pregnant, then I want to know what’s going on.” He pulled her into his arms, holding her as tightly as he dared. “I can’t lose you, honey! I need you. I love you.”
Quinn curled her arms around this man who gave her so much happiness, swallowing past the lump in her throat. Quickly, she blinked back the tears. “I don’t want to be pregnant again!”
He sighed, still holding her close. “I know, honey. I know. I’m sorry.” He pulled back slightly. “And Valentine’s Day was…”
She put a hand over his mouth, not allowing him to finish. “Don’t say it!” she gasped, remembering that night. She’d been frantic for him that night as well as the following morning. Probably due to a bit too much champagne. She never drank enough to get drunk, but one glass just made her embarrassingly sexual. It was a very odd reaction.
Of course, Bryce knew all about her reaction to champagne and exploited her weakness. And yes, she admitted that she might be a willing accomplice to his plans, but still…
“Valentine’s day was incredible,” he said with a laugh.
She smacked his shoulder, but without any heat. He was right, it had been incredible. But…it might have resulted in yet another pregnancy. Three pregnancies in four years? No. Not going to happen.
Unless…
She spun around, her arms quickly wrapping around his waist. “What if it’s a girl?!”
He rolled his eyes. “There is always that possibility,” he told her, thinking she was the most endearing, enchanting, and amazing woman he’d ever met. “I hope it’s a girl too, honey. Will you go find out if you’re pregnant though?”
At the possibility that this pregnancy might give her the hoped-for girl, she grabbed the box and just about danced into the bathroom.
Three minutes later, she walked out, a huge grin on her face as she waved the plastic stick in the air. “Yes! I’m pregnant and I just know this is going to be a girl!”
She left Bryce there, hurrying back into the kitchen as her mind instantly started to contemplate decorating a nursery for her baby daughter.
Meanwhile Bryce watched her walk away, shaking his head. He’d known that his gorgeous wife was pregnant. But God help him if they had another boy!
One week later, Bryce watched the doctor as she moved the fetal heart rate monitor over his wife’s lower abdomen, his own stomach clenching in fear as he watched the doctor’s facial features.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded, wanting to know the issue so that he could fix it. Fast!
The doctor smiled, but continued to move the monitor across Quinn’s abdomen. Bryce felt Quinn’s fingers sneak into his hand and he squeezed gently, trying to reassure her even as his own dread continued to increase. This pregnancy had been strange already and he had no idea why she was having so much difficulty.
Her fingers were cold and, as the doctor continued to hesitate, he felt them begin to tremble as well. He knew that Quinn was hoping for a girl this time and the possibility that she wouldn’t get that baby girl was killing him.
But the heart rate sounded strong and even, exactly as Zeke and Teague’s had at this point in the pregnancy.
Finally, the doctor looked up and a different expression was on her face. One that…
“Well, this is interesting,” she began and then realized how concerned her patients were. “I hear two heartbeats,” she told them. Lifting up Quinn’s patient file, she started to write something on the form, unaware of the stunned horror growing on both participants’ faces. “I’m going to send you over to get a sonogram, especially since this is a bit later in the pregnancy than I prefer to be when we realize there could be twins. I also need to know the placement of the placentas, even though they will most likely move as the pregnancy progresses.”
Quinn looked over at Bryce, her mind still not functioning. “Twins?” she whispered, not really understanding. She looked at her belly, then at the doctor. “There are two in there?”
The doctor heard the horror and looked up, then laughed. “Relax. Twins are more complicated, but…”
Quinn was already shaking her head. “Do you remember my last two births? Zeke and Teague were big babies!” she gasped.
“Yes, that’s one of the reasons I’m not overly concerned right now. You’ve already had two healthy babies. I know your body can handle this.”
Quinn shook her head and whipped her hand out from her husband’s grip. “No! I’m not having twins. Do your thing again and find just one this time,” she said, waving her hand to indicate the doctor should check for multiple heart rates once more.
The doctor laid a reassuring hand on Quinn’s leg. “Relax. Get the sonogram and check things out. We’ll have more information then.”
Quinn sat up, but couldn’t move again. “Twins,” she repeated. The doctor had already walked out, leaving her alone with her husband.
When the reality of what that word meant sunk into her befuddled mind, she slowly turned her head to glare at her husband. The look of awe in his eyes was…amazing and her anger just couldn’t seem to form.
She wanted to punch him, but he lifted her into his arms and kissed her until she was breathless and clinging to him, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. The trembling that had started off in her hands quickly grew to the rest of her body and she felt almost sick with the fear that was threatening to overwhelm her. But as soon as she felt Bryce’s strong arms around her, holding her strong and steady, she felt better. More able to handle this latest news.
“Twins!” she sighed, leaning her cheek against his chest.
“Twins,” he replied, equally amazed.
Quinn looked at Bryce as he donned the surgical covers, thinking that, even with the ugly colors, he was still the most handsome man she’d ever seen in her life. He was strong and capable and…she needed him.
“It’s going to be girls this time,” she assured him, trying to hide her worry but knew that he could tell how scared she was.
The nurses arrived, ready to take her down the hallway. A month ago, the obstetrician had announced that the babies were too big to deliver normally and a cesarean was the best way to go, especially with twins. They were still strong and healthy even at eight and a half months. So today was their day.
“I hope so, honey.”
“We should have looked on the sonogram,” she said, her heart beating frantically as they pushed her down to the surgical room.
“We decided to wait. But you know it’s going to be girls.”
She nodded, hanging on to her optimism as much as she could with all of the equipment around her. “At least one has to be a girl, right?”
“Absolutely,” he assured her.
Twenty minutes later, she was no longer hopeful. She was angry and glared up at her husband as he held her hand. “The first one is a boy!” the doctor announced.
Quinn’s glare lightened as one of the nurses took the baby over to a warming table, wrapping up the baby and cleaning him up. “Is he okay?” she asked. That was really the important thing. At this point, she didn’t care about the gender. She wanted her babies to be okay.
The nurse turned and smiled. “He looks wonderful,” she assured Quinn.
“Another boy!” the doctor announced and everyone in the surgical room broke out with laughter. Everyone knew how much Quinn wanted a girl. She’d been announcing it for weeks, but now, her hopes had been dashed.
“Is he okay as well?” she asked, holding her breath as she waited for the second nurse to confirm the health of her newborn child.
“Just as sweet and handsome as the other three, Ms. Steele,” the nurse announced.
Quinn looked up at Bryce who was staring right back at her. His eyes worried and she almost laughed at his expression. “Twin boys,” she whispered.
He squeezed her hand again. “Four boys, honey.”
She rolled her eyes. “We’re getting a dog. And it damn well is going to be a girl!”
Bryce was so shocked at her announcement that he didn’t really understand for a moment. But as soon as her words sunk in, he threw back his head and laughed. “Yes, honey,” he agreed, kissing her forehead. “We’ll get a female dog, a female cat, and we’ll have only female pets. I promise!”