CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Gracie did her best not to stare at the time in the corner of her computer screen. Three hours and thirty-two minutes before Diana came to pick her up for the sonogram. Gracie was trying hard not to dwell on all the what-if’s. She shoved another soda cracker in her mouth, hoping it would stay down. She’d lost nine pounds so far with appetite loss and morning sickness.
It seemed all she could eat was tomato soup, wheat toast with orange marmalade, chocolate ice cream, and crackers. Last night, she’d fixed a chicken breast and zucchini strips on her grill. Once she got through throwing up from the smell, her appetite was gone. She’d chopped up the food and given it to the cats.
She entered practice programs into a new document on the office computer in case the college released her from her contract. A good possibility once she told them about the pregnancy. She wanted to make sure her successor took over her boys with everything in order.
Someone rapped on the wooden frame of her open door. “ChriShawn, come in here and give me a hug!” She stood and extended her arms. “You moving into the dorm already?”
“Yes, ma’am. My folks brought me this morning. They wanted to say ‘hi’ if you’ve got the time.” He turned toward the hallway.
Gracie hurried to the corridor. “Where are my favorite parents? Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Phillips, I’m so honored you came by to see me. You know I demand a hug from my boys when they step into my office, even if I’m angry with them. Same thing goes for parents, too.” They laughed and embraced.
“I watched the video ChriShawn sent me.” She patted Mr. Phillips’s bicep. “He worked hard over the summer, didn’t he?”
“Yes, he did. You gave him a list of things to improve and he worked on each one.”
“His three-point shots are phenomenal now. I knew they would be if he applied himself. And it doesn’t matter what angle your son shoots from, he nails that basket. Swoosh. Pure string music, isn’t it?”
Mr. Phillips’s chest puffed out with pride. “Yes. Yes, it is. You’re good for him, coach.”
“What I’m good at is spotting talent and seeing where a player’s strengths lie. Often, I think it’s one place and they want to stick with what they know. They’re too lazy to try something new. Not ChriShawn, though, he doesn’t mind hard work or rounding himself out to become a stronger player. Don’t think I didn’t notice the dribbling with either hand.” She elbowed her player, who chuckled. “I stood up and applauded. Yes, I did. I said, ‘Look at my point guard showing his stuff.”
Gracie took Mrs. Phillips’s hand. “Ma’am, you’ve raised a good son. I know you’re proud. You two have my number?” Both parents nodded. “Call me anytime. If he sounds sick to you, call me. I’ll have the medical team check him out. I know we’ve got his asthma issue going on. Dominant player or not, I want him healthy.”
They said their goodbyes and Gracie headed for her office. She glanced in the weight room, where some of the football players were lifting iron, teasing each other. Echoes of sports dreams and achieving goals bouncing off the walls brought the building to life. Now that the students were coming back to campus, she was infused with the excitement of her job.
She really wanted to do some stretches and run, but not until she knew what was going on with the baby and discussed her activity level with Dr. Romano.
****
Webb parked his rental at the sports complex of Mount Vista College. He stepped out of the sedan and stretched. At the bottom of the mountain side was Lake Coeur d’Alene. From where he stood, pines lined the huge, natural lake and blanketed the steep hills beyond. The air was crisp and clean. He breathed deep. What a change from the city.
He reached inside the car for a bouquet of red roses and white calalilies,then marched toward the offices of the sports complex. The guard at the gate had given him good directions. He was surprised the man recognized him without his manbun.
Weights clanging and voices grunting with effort greeted him. So did the smell of sweat. It was a calming atmosphere. One he immediately felt at home in. He strode down the hall, reading each sign above the door. Finally, “Gracie Luera, Men’s Basketball Coach.” His heart pounded in anticipation of seeing her after so long.
He rapped on the frame of her open door and waved the huge bouquet in her office.
“Yes?” She glanced up from her computer and her jaw dropped. “Webb? Is that you? Your hair.” She stood. She sat. She reached for tissues and broke into tears.
“Baby?”
It was if his one-worded question made her cry more. What the hell was wrong? “Are you mad because I’ve been out of touch? I told you I would be. Then I broke my cellphone. Somehow a hundred-pound weight fell on it.” At her narrowed-eyed glare. He kept on talking. He had no clue what was wrong, but felt it was something major.
“I told you I’d be moody. I got another phone, but the salesman told me it’s impossible to retrieve contacts when the pieces of the old phone are no bigger than a fingernail.”
“Didn’t you have my email address?”
“I nuked my computer and had to buy the hotel a new microwave.”
She folded her arms and leaned back. “Right, and the dog ate your homework.”
He grinned and closed the door behind him. “Actually it might have been your cat, Itty-Bitty. Don’t I get a hug? Damn, I’m starved for the taste and the feel of you.” Right about now if she told him to crawl to her, he would.
She reached for tissues and dabbed her eyes. “I’ve been trying to reach you. I needed your reassurance that everything would be okay.” Her brown eyes were puffy as if she’d been crying a lot. Her face was thinner. What the hell was going on with his woman?
“What’s wrong, love?” He laid the flowers on her desk and sat on a wing-backed chair. “Come here and let me hold you. Tell me everything.” She did and as soon as she’d settled on his lap, he enveloped her in his arms and inhaled the scent he remembered. He cupped her cheek with a hand and covered her lips with his.
Someone turned the color back on in his life. He sipped her lips with his, enjoyed their suppleness and swept in his tongue to lay claim to her mouth, to her. They clung to each other as if their souls had meshed from the heat of passion of two people separated for too long. He kissed her neck. “I love you. I know you think I don’t, that it’s impossible so soon after meeting, but I do. I love you.”
“Will you love me when I tell you I’m pregnant?” Her eyes searched his.
He bit her lower lip. “Pregnant? We’re pregnant?”How freaking awesome.
A sunshine smile brightened her face and his world. “That’s why I’ve been trying to reach you.”
His forehead rested against hers. “Did you think I wasn’t responding because I’d dumped you?”
Her eyes filled with tears and he couldn’t stand it. She had. She thought she’d have to go through this pregnancy alone. That he’d cast her aside like all the other bad boys before him.
“Reach into my coat’s interior pocket. You’ll find a box I carried all the way from New York. A man can’t propose without a diamond. Even if he is a reformed bad boy.”
Her hand stilled. “But you haven’t asked how I got pregnant when I was on the pill and there’s some things you need to know about the baby.”
His gut clenched and a bead of sweat slowly ran down his spine. Was there something wrong with little Peanut? “No. We’re doing this right. First the engagement, then we’ll talk about the baby.” He removed the box himself and flipped open the lid. “Gracie, I love you. These last two months have been pure hell without you. I want you with me every day. I don’t care if you come to me or I have to move here. I just want you to marry me.”
The square cut diamond surrounded with round diamonds set on a platinum diamond encrusted band was impressive. He hoped she liked it. He prayed she’d accept it.
“I love you, too, Webb. It just took me longer to realize it. I don’t like being apart from you either. Yes, I’ll marry you.” She held out her hand and wiggled her fingers.
He kissed it before he slipped it on her finger. “A perfect fit.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yes, we are.” She took control of his mouth and he found his center again, right here in this woman’s arms.
While they snuggled, she filled him in on the pregnancy and the possibility of complications. Fuck, no wonder she needed to talk to him. As her Dom, it was up to him to see her through the rough spots of her life. From this point on, he would.
“I vote for the twins scenario,” he boasted. “As for the possibility of strong antibiotics weakening birth control pills, I knew that. My cousin has a little girl Anna, short for antibiotics.”
She slapped his shoulder. “So when you were eating dessert off me, you knew what you might be doing?”
“Well, I was hoping. I mean, I didn’t know how else I was going to get to keep you. So I told my super sperm to do their thing. Now, don’t give me the evil eye as if you’re pissed.” He nuzzled her neck and lowered his voice to a purr. “You love me, right, baby?”
Webb liked Diana Carson. She was protective, smart, and quirky. The three of them sat together in the waiting room of Pine Hill Obstetrics Center, waiting and talking about anything except what would happen in a few minutes. He had Gracie tucked to his side, his arm around her shoulders. Diana’s arm was slipped through his fiancee’s and he smiled at the ability to call her that.
“What do you think, Diana, a wedding over Labor Day weekend?” He kissed the top of Gracie’s head.
Her head whipped back and forth between her friend and him, her adorable brown eyes widened. “Oh no. You two do not get to plan my wedding.”
He winked at Diana and she covered her mouth to hide her answering smile.
“Is it pretty in this area over Labor Day, Diana?”
“Beautiful,” the retired woman gushed. “How big of a ceremony are we talking about?”
“I’ll fly my family up. That’ll be about ten. We’ll want Cooper and Gracie’s critique partner. Probably should invite your agent, too. Right?”
She crossed her arms with a huff. “I want to plan this wedding.”
“Of course. Do you prefer a church ceremony? Maybe something at a club or outside. Think about it.” He caught Diana’s gaze again and smirked. “Were you thinking eight bridesmaids or ten?”
“Ten?” Gracie’s voice squeaked. “Are you insane? I can think of eight family members I want there. Diana’s going to be my attendant, my only attendant. I want to invite the coaching staff and my team. I want the ceremony—”
“Gracie Luera?” A woman in orange scrubs held a folder in her hands, the open door resting against her hip.
All three of them stood and nodded. Webb took the middle, his arm around each woman’s waist. “We’ll all be in the room for the procedure.”
“No problem. We’ll have plenty of space.” She led them down a long hall and indicated a room. Gracie turned into his arms.
He held her to him. “We’re a team, baby. We’ll face everything together. Think twins.” Webb glanced at the technician. “You want her on the examination table?”
“Yes.”
He lifted his woman and kissed her deeply as he carried her to the table and gently laid her down. “We got this,” he whispered in Gracie’s ear
“Well,” the lady in scrubs fanned herself with the folder, “that’s a first. I’ll tell Dr. Romano his patient is ready.”
As if they weren’t nervous enough, the doctor moved the monitor so they couldn’t see what the probe inserted in Gracie’s vagina showed. Dr. Romano and his assistant whispered until Webb didn’t think he could stand it another minute. He’d only known about the baby for a few hours. After worrying for weeks, he could only imagine the stress the love of his life was going through.
“I’m going to remove the probe now and use the traditional wand. Breathe easily folks. I saw nothing wrong. As I suspected, we have twins. Now, let’s see how healthy they look.” He turned the monitor so they could watch, squeezed gel on a wand, and ran it over her abdomen. “Here they are. Twins. Let’s do some measurements, Julia.”
“Twins.” Gracie sobbed with relief. “Not some kind of mass. Twins.” Webb kissed away her tears.
“They look perfect to me. They’re developing at the correct gestational time. Want some pictures to take along?”
“Oh, yeah,” Webb said. “The one on the right is Peanut. The left one is Nutty Buddy.”
“Your daughters aren’t going to appreciate the nicknames,” she teased. It was too early to know the sex. But teasing about it would be fun.
His gaze left the screen and landed on Gracie. “Girls? Look at the shoulders on those twins.” He pointed.“Those are line backers.”
“You can’t even see shoulder yet. They’re ours and I don’t care what sex they are, as long as they’re healthy. Dr. Romano, we need to discuss my activity level, my ability to work, and any danger signs I should watch for.”
Webb asked about their having sex.
Diana questioned Gracie’s severe morning sickness, something Webb didn’t know about. He had so much to catch up on.
The three of them left the facility happy and full of information. Especially Webb, his hand on Gracie’s world class ass.