“What? Shit. Damn. Fuck. Okay, remain calm,” he says, bounding from his reclined position and patting his pockets extremely un-calmly. “Where are my keys?” He holds up a hand, darting his gaze about the room. “Don’t panic. Everything is going to be okay. They’re here somewhere.”
“I’ll drive,” I say, when he can’t produce his keys within seconds. “Let’s go before she pushes and little he or she pops out and we are not there to see it happen and welcome their baby into the world.”
“Just remain calm. We need to be calm.”
“I am calm,” I say as we rush out the door and to my car. “You don’t seem calm, though. You look pale with a tint of green. Take a deep breath. Can’t have you fainting on me.”
“Pfft,” he says, taking the keys from me so he can drive us to the birthing center. “I’ll have you know, I have a stomach of steel. I’m not a fainter and later I’m going to tie you to the bed and spank you for saying that.”
His white knuckling the steering wheel says otherwise but I let him have his moment of masculinity because it’s sweet he’s as panicked as I am. Plus, yum to my punishment.
“We’re going to be Aunt and Uncle,” I say as he drives toward the hospital. “Can you believe it?”
“No,” he says. “No, I can’t believe any of it. We’re probably going to see some blood and stretching of body parts that shouldn’t stretch that far but remain calm.” Streetlights illuminate the interior of the car and he’s white as a ghost. “What’s the speed limit? Can you go faster? Not that fast. Remain calm,” he says again. “Take some deep breaths. Like this.”
I side-eye his demonstration because clearly he is on the verge of an anxiety attack but I play along, because honestly, I am worried. Seeing Charlotte in pain isn’t something I’m sure I can handle. The birthing center allows us to be in there with her but what if I freak out? My only experience with birth was a single video in health class freshman year. It was shocking, and I imagine many teenage pregnancies were prevented as a result.
Within twenty minutes, we are hustling down the fluorescent-lit hall toward Charlotte’s private room.
“Thank God you’re here,” her mom says. “She’s at seven centimeters so it shouldn’t be much longer.”
I cross to a sweaty Charlotte who is hooked up to all kinds of machines. In a hospital gown. The baby’s heartbeat thumps into the room. “You aren’t naked!”
“Why would I be naked?”
“The lady in my health-class video… never mind. How are you?” I ask, dropping a kiss to her forehead.
“Good,” she says. “Scared but good. Hurts a little more than I expected.”
Austin steps up beside me and runs a hand down my back. “You’re going to be parents soon. Remain calm, even though you’re certainly terrified.”
A contraction causes a grimace and a long wail. James looks unsettled and Austin quickly steps to his side for moral support. An hour passes and every time Charlotte contracts, I feel it in my bones.
And then it’s time. There is a flurry of activity as Charlotte prepares to push. With her moms on one side and me on the other, and James and Austin wisely choosing to stand at the head of the bed to prevent fainting in the arrival zone, we work as a team to coach her through the pushing. She squeezes our hands and her eyes, James whispering encouragement in her ear as the nurse counts for her.
I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as Charlotte giving life to another human. Until the baby arrives.
“It’s a girl,” the doctor says. “Seven pounds, eight ounces.”
“A girl,” I whisper, unable to stop the tears from flowing when I hear her first cry. “You have a girl.”
While they clean her up, Austin, color restored, wraps me in a hug, kissing the top of my head. “That was… I have no words.”
They place the most beautiful baby I’ve ever seen on Charlotte’s chest. Gah. She’s perfect. Charlotte kisses the top of her head.
“What’s her name, Mama?” I ask.
“Well, we love you both so much, and we wanted to honor you, so we’re naming the baby Chlaustin.”
“You’re…Twilight-ing?” I ask in horror.
“You cannot be serious,” Austin says, even more horrified. “That poor child.”
James cracks up. “Good grief, no, we are not serious. Meet Everly.”
I trail my finger along her soft skin and whisper, “I can’t wait to be your aunt.” When I glance up, Austin’s looking at me with major intensity. “I think I’m ready to talk about that cat,” he says. “Maybe a couple of kittens.”
What’s next for Kayti McGee and Laurelin Paige? Who knows! We are those kind of gals who don’t really keep a schedule. Sign up for Laurelin Paige’s newsletter to find out what’s next because Kayti isn’t responsible enough to send one on her own.
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Also by Laurelin Paige
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Dating Season
Spring Fling | Summer Rebound | Dating Season: Bundle 1 | Fall Hard | Winter Bloom | Spring Fever | Summer Lovin
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Also written with Kayti McGee under the name Laurelin McGee
Miss Match | Love Struck | MisTaken | Holiday for Hire
The Dirty Universe
Dirty Filthy Rich Boys - READ FREE
Dirty Duet (Donovan Kincaid)
Dirty Filthy Rich Men | Dirty Filthy Rich Love
Dirty Games Duet (Weston King)
Dirty Sexy Player| Dirty Sexy Games
Dirty Sweet Duet (Dylan Locke)
Sweet Liar | Sweet Fate
(Nate Sinclair) Dirty Filthy Fix (a spinoff novella)
Dirty Wild Trilogy (Cade Warren)
Wild Rebel | Wild War | Wild Heart
Man in Charge Duet
Man in Charge
Man in Love
Man for Me (a spinoff novella)
The Fixed Universe
Fixed Series (Hudson & Alayna)
Fixed on You | Found in You | Forever with You | Hudson | Fixed Forever
Found Duet (Gwen & JC) Free Me | Find Me
(Chandler & Genevieve) Chandler (a spinoff novella)
(Norma & Boyd) Falling Under You (a spinoff novella)
(Nate & Trish) Dirty Filthy Fix (a spinoff novella)
Slay Series (Celia & Edward)
Rivalry | Ruin | Revenge | Rising
(Gwen & JC) The Open Door (a spinoff novella)
(Camilla & Hendrix) Slash (a spinoff novella)
First and Last
First Touch | Last Kiss
Hollywood Standalones
One More Time
Close
Sex Symbol
Star Struck
Written with Sierra Simone
Porn Star | Hot Cop
Also by Kayti McGee
Dating Season
Spring Fling | Summer Rebound | Dating Season: Bundle 1 | Fall Hard | Winter Bloom | Spring Fever | Summer Lovin
Written with M. Pierce
By Any Other Name
Written with Laurelin Paige as Laurelin McGee
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Holiday for Hire
Miss Match
Love Struck
MisTaken: A Novella
Under the Covers novels
UnderCovers
Topped
Long Shot
Hands Off
Stand
alone
Screwmates
That Thing You Do
About Laurelin Paige
With millions of books sold, Laurelin Paige is the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling Author of the Fixed Trilogy. She's a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there's kissing, much to the embarrassment of her three daughters. Her husband doesn't seem to complain, however. When she isn't reading or writing sexy stories, she's probably singing, watching shows like Killing Eve, Letterkenny, and Discovery of Witches, or dreaming of Michael Fassbender. She's also a proud member of Mensa International though she doesn't do anything with the organization except use it as material for her bio.
www.laurelinpaige.com
[email protected]
About Kayti McGee
Kayti McGee is livin’ deliciously in beautiful Kansas City, Missouri. Go Royals!
She also writes as the latter half of Laurelin McGee. Like her co-author Laurelin Paige, she joined Mensa for no other reason than to make their bios more interesting. Sometimes they podcast as IRL.
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Stalk away at:
www.kaytimcgee.com
[email protected]
Summer Lovin: A Dating Season Novella Page 9