Chapter One

Chris

 

“So, have you decided when you want to get married yet, sunshine?” I ask Taylor as I take my place beside her and kiss her temple as she curls up into my side - her favourite place to be.

“Nope, not yet.” she says as she throws down the magazine she was flicking through.

“You do still want to get married, don’t you?” I ask her as her eyes flick across to mine, she looks up frowning at my question.

“Of course I do! I just don’t know when or where, that’s the problem.” Leaning across and kissing away the adorable little crease lines between her eyes, they soon melt away as her frown turns to a smile.

“Have I told you lately that I love you?”

“Oh, you know... once or twice.” she raises her eyebrows with a sweet smirk. Now if you know Taylor, she doesn’t do sweet. I take the magazine from her, place it behind me and grip her chin lightly, then pull her lips to mine. A sigh slips out as we connect, our taste mingling and tongues softly tangling together, not the normal fast, heated kisses we share.

Pulling away slightly, I admire the beautiful features of my fiancée.

“What are you looking at?” She asks playfully. Saying nothing I lift her hand with her engagement ring on and hold it to my lips. After all the trouble we went through getting here, it still feels a little surreal that she agreed, she isn’t the most easy-going woman to be with but I love her. I’d do anything to give her what she wants, I’d move heaven and earth for her and she knows it.

Pushing her back on the sofa, I cover her body with mine, push her into the cushions as my mouth takes on a mind of its own and travels down her neck. My palms knead her breasts as my lips carry on their journey into the valley of her breasts, down towards her tummy, circling her belly button with my tongue as she gasps...

BANG, BANG. Fuck!

“Chris?” Taylor breathes

“Fuck them. They’ll go away.” Pushing her top up to reveal her flat stomach, my lips then trail up towards her breasts.

“Chris,” She gasps. “We’re supposed to be discussing…”

“Discuss later. I’m busy.”

BANG, BANG!

“FUCK!” I growl, reluctantly dragging myself away from her hot body and open the front door.

“What do you want?” I tell my little shit of a brother Adam, frowning.

“That is no way to speak to your favourite brother, Christopher.” he covers his mouth, “we didn’t disturb you did we - I know what dirty little fuckers you two are!” he laughs.

“Adam!” Darcy scolds as she looks back to me. “Hi, I’m really sorry Chris. If we’re disturbing you we can go and come back another time.”

“Darcy!” Taylor shouts as she leans over the back of the sofa so she can see who’s there.

“Not at all, chick. Come in.” I tell Darcy, smiling before turning back to Adam.

“You’re a cockblocker!” Smacking him around the head jokingly. Adam walks into the living room rubbing the back of his head and slips up behind Darcy, wrapping his arms around her pregnant belly as she talks to Taylor. I’m glad my little brother is happy and Darcy is really good for him, she keeps him on the straight and narrow.

Darcy takes a seat by Taylor and straightaway they slip into wedding talk while Adam and I open a beer in the kitchen. I pour Taylor a glass of wine and Darcy, a glass of lemonade and take them into the living room. I place the glasses on the table them give Taylor a hard kiss on the lips then leave them to talk.

“Thank you, babe.” Taylor says. I wink back at her as I walk away from her. I’m glad she can talk to Darcy, she’s never found it easy to talk to people. Ash is having health issues with her pregnancy so she doesn’t want to stress her out plus, she’s almost ready to have the baby. Taylor doesn’t want to put any more stress on her.

Joining Adam back in the kitchen, we clink beer bottles and take a swig.

“How’s Darcy doing now?” I ask Adam. Darcy lost her dad a few months back... she took it hard then she found out she was pregnant almost straight after. Adam came through for her though and made sure she was treated like a princess. I’m proud of him really, I just like to wind him up.

“Oh, you know, she finds it hard some days but she’s stronger than she was. I think she finds it harder not doing the physical work in the garage because of the baby, she’s been used to getting stuck in, but she’s not allowed that’s what she’s got the guys for. She's always been so independent and the last couple of years she's been the one to make the decisions, so for her to take a step back is huge.” I look out into the living room, Taylor and Darcy are deep in conversation, flicking through the magazine she had earlier - their faces filled with awe.

We join the girls in the living room and sit down. “How far gone are you now Darce?”

“Thirty-one weeks in two days. Counting the weeks. The little bugger is so active I don’t sleep, it doesn’t stop. It’s going to be a boy I know it.” Adam smiles proudly. “You can smile Willows! You won’t be smiling when you’re up all night...” Giving him a sarcastic grin he frowns, that changed his tune as Taylor laughs.

“Oh, dear Adam, don’t piss off a pregnant woman or any woman for that matter.”

“You lot just bully me…” Darcy snorts.

“Tit.” I tell him.

“Have you got everything yet?” Taylor asks.

“Not yet I still need a cot but we wanted to wait until we were in our own place, it’s just not practical between two houses - but I’m worried about Mum; she’s really not coping.” Taylor wraps her arm around her and hugs her into her side.  No more words spoken.

That’s my Taylor. Always there for everyone when they need her.

 

Taylor

 

“Aw, hun. It’ll just take time but you’ll get there. Both of you.”

“Thanks Tay. She’s been on the phone a lot to my uncle in Australia, it’s strange, they didn’t speak for ages before Dad died.” The sombre look on her face makes me feel so sorry for her, I know how close she was to him and for him to die in the circumstances he did, makes it so much harder. “Anyway, back to the wedding. You need to pick somewhere.”

“Pft, you sound like Chris.”

“Yeah, I know but I can’t travel anywhere unless it’s in a car, I’m not sure what the cut off time is for flying and I really don’t want to take a new-born baby abroad...”

“Oh, alright bossy.”

“She’s is bossy, isn’t she?” Adam pipes up. Darcy giving him the death glare shuts him up though, as I laugh at how whipped he is.

“You were telling me what you needed for the baby.”

“Oh yeah, we’ve got all the essentials we just need the extras but the big things we still need to get.”

After some more baby talk and no resolve on the wedding; they leave, with a promise that we’d discuss it further. Oh fun!

 

“Babe, I’ve had an idea.” I say as I grab the empty cups and glasses from the table and take them into the kitchen.

“What’s that? Maybe start where we left off when Adam interrupted us...?” His hands slide around my waist as he pushes one hand down towards my crotch over my jeans. Slapping his hand, “No.”

“Ugh, it’s started, you’re already telling me no and we’re not even married yet. What the fuck is that all about?!”

“Shush.” I place a finger on his lips and replace it with my lips. Kissing him is still my favourite thing to do. “After speaking to Darcy, I want to buy them the cot and we could keep it here until the baby’s born, in the spare room - just until they sort themselves out. I know the money isn’t the issue but the garage is still picking up so it’ll help them, don’t you think?”

“Do you know why I love you, Mrs soon-to-be Willows?”

“Why?”

“Because you’re always thinking of everyone else.” With a soft but firm kiss to my lips I melt into him. Looking up at him, a lazy smile appears on his handsome features. “I think you should get your kit off and let me do lots of dirty things to that sexy body of yours.”

“So romantic. How could I resist.” My eyelashes flutter. He lifts me as he growls into my neck, the vibrations of his voice creating a spark. I wrap my legs around his waist as his hand cups my breast and squeezes. His kisses on my neck sends shivers down my spine as he starts walking us to the bedroom. A buzzing comes from my back pocket. Reaching behind me I pull out my ringing phone and look at that screen. “Hold that thought.” I swipe the screen when I see Ash’s name, “Hey.”

“Taylor, are you busy?”

“Define busy?”

“Oh my god, are you shagging?”

“No! I wouldn’t have answered the phone, would I?!”

“Debateable. I need you to come over right now.” she gasps frantically.

“What’s wrong?” I tap Chris’s arm to let me down. Once my feet touch the floor I walk back to the settee and sit down.

“I think I’m in labour and Ryan’s at work! I’m all on my own and I don’t know what to do.” She tells me panicking and almost crying.

“Calm down and try to relax, I’m on my way.”

As soon as I cut off the call Chris speaks. “What’s this, Chris has a day off work so we’ll cockblock him?” Chris complains.

“Oh, stop sulking you big baby. Ash is in labour and Ryan’s not there so I need to go, I’ll make it up to you later though.” I tell him as I smile seductively at him.

“Oh shit! Okay, you go to Ash and I’ll go to the station to see if he’s there. Grabbing my bag and my car keys, I slip my phone back in my pocket and jump in the car.

 

I get to Ash’s house within ten minutes. It’s two pm the traffic is usually really bad through town, but luckily it was on my side today. Locking the car as I run up to her door, I knock loudly. She answers in seconds with one hand holding her belly.

“Aw, you okay?”

“What do you think?” She groans through gritted teeth.

“It bloody hurts.” She screws her face up.

“Aren’t you early?”

“Yes! But only by a week. I need to sit down.” I follow her into the living room and sit at the side of her rubbing her lower back.

“Have you tried to ring Ryan yet?”

“Yes! He’s not answering. Fuuuck it hurts.” she stands and walks to the end of the settee so she can grip onto something.”

“How far apart Ash?”

“Five minutes.” She pants. She sits again but within less than five minutes she’s up again.

“Have you rung the hospital yet?” She shakes her head panting through the contractions. My phone rings in my pocket again. I pull it out, it’s Chris…

“Hey, is he there?”

“Hi babe. No, I’m going to try his phone again but if he’s on a call who knows how long he’ll be. I’ll have to sit here and wait for him.

“Okay just let me know. She’s on the phone to the hospital now and the contractions are really close, it’s definitely not a false alarm.

“Alright stay with her and go to the hospital, I’ll meet you there at some point.”

“Okay. Love you.”

“Ditto.” The phone clicks off. I slide it into my back pocket as Ash is having another contraction but a bigger one this time. “Are you ready to go? Do you want me to drive or ring an ambulance?”

“I don’t fucking care, don’t give me options, just get me there.” Ash gets up and freezes. “Oh shit, I think my waters have broken.” Ambulance it is then! Ringing the emergency number, I tell them to send an ambulance to Ash’s address then I ring the hospital, just to let them know she’s on the way. I go into the bedroom and grab her hospital bag and take it back into the living room, dropping it down on the couch.

“Is everything in here?” She nods as her breathing gets harder. “It’ll be here soon.” I clutch her hand as she squeezes it to the point I think it’s going to drop off, from lack of circulation. A few minutes later we hear a siren outside. I look out and see the ambulance coming up the street. “Wait there.” I run to the door and open it for the paramedics. When they’ve asked their questions of how far apart the contractions are and took her blood pressure, they walk her out into the ambulance. I watch the very fit paramedic get into the back. I shake my head from the thoughts running through my mind. Bad Taylor!

“Are you coming to Miss?”

“I could be.” I retort with a wink at the gorgeous man in uniform.

“TAYLOR!” Ash shouts, she may be in pain but she can still yell at me for my dirty mind.

“Sorry. Yes I am.” I smirk as the paramedic grins too. He knows exactly what I meant.

“Hey Ash, we would’ve missed all this if I’d driven you there... I do love a man in uniform.”

“MMMMMM.” she growls. “That’s why you’re marrying a fireman now, SHUT UP!” she grinds out through a contraction.  I keep my dirty thoughts to myself for the rest of the ride, be a dutiful best friend and let her squeeze all the blood from my hand from the pain she’s in. We pull up and within minutes we’re bursting through the doors of the maternity wing.