Noah chokes back a laugh. "You said what?”
“Shut up,” I groan. “It’s all Noah’s fault. If he was here on time, I wouldn’t have had to use you as target practice.”
“I know,” Tully says, resting her hand down on my leg and giving it a gentle squeeze before grinning wide. “Alright, now that’s out of the way, I want all the gruesome details. Did you shit on the table?” Her grin widens as she looks to her brother for confirmation. “She shit on the table, didn’t she?”
I roll my eyes as Noah dives into the story, but I end up taking over as he constantly stops, wanting to know what he can and cannot say, but he should know that I have no secrets when it comes to Tully, and by default because of her big mouth, Rivers too.
Rivers comes and sits down beside her and we talk and compare birth stories and as we do, I can’t help but look at the two, beautiful little boys in their arms.
Tully and Rivers are due to get married in three months and I couldn’t be happier. It’s going to be an incredible day, one that we’ve all been waiting years for. Not to mention, Lily is going to make the best flower girl that I’ve ever seen.
“So, nobody knows that you had twins yet?” Tully confirms, looking at me with an excited smirk.
“Nope,” I laugh. “Not unless anyone here has said anything. But to be honest, I’m a bit surprised. It’s not exactly like my belly was small.”
“True,” Tully says, thoughtfully. “But it’s not like it was massive either. It was like a happy medium. It looked bigger than one baby, but you were small for twins.”
“Exactly. I figured someone would at least have guessed by now.”
“Well, they probably would have had Noah not shown them the fake ultrasound pictures.”
I grin at my husband. He really does take shit like this to the next level. Noah grins right back from his spot on the recliner couch. “Mom is going to lose her fucking mind. I can’t wait! She just sent me a text; they’ll be here in a minute with Lily.”
Violet has been a great addition to my life since the second I met her over six years ago. She’s always been a kind and patient friend, but the second little Lily came along, she jumped straight into ‘World’s best Nanna’ mode. Her own kids were forgotten as her world now revolved around that little girl.
Now there are another two babies, and Noah is right, Violet is going to lose her mind.
Tully and Rivers were the only two to know our surprise, but that’s only because I have just as big a mouth as Tully does and I’m a terrible secret keeper. I kept quiet about the news for less than twenty-four hours before that bomb was dropped, and naturally, she couldn’t resist sharing it with Rivers.
So, this is the moment we’ve all been waiting for, you know, apart from the babies actually coming out.
Knowing they’ll be here shortly, we get ourselves ready for the best surprise that we’ll ever give. Rivers gets up and places Elijah in my arms and I take him greedily. It's only been an hour since I last held him, but fuck, I've been missing him while he laid on the other side of the room. Noah has to steal Ethan back from his twin sister and goes back to his position on the recliner and with that, we’re ready.
It’s not like we have a big plan or anything, I think just pushing out two babies was the plan, but either way, it’s going to be huge.
Not three minutes later, there’s a gentle knock on the door and Tully flies up off the bed to answer it as Rivers pulls out his phone to record the moment, knowing all us girls are going to want to see this over and over again.
Tully pulls the door open and in her desperation to see what’s going on inside this room, Violet leans into the open slither to peek in, unable to wait just a few moments for the door to open the whole way.
Violet’s eyes instantly fall on me and the second she looks down into my arms, her whole expression melts. She’s hardly even looked at him and she’s already in love. She barges her way past Tully with Eddison coming in behind her. He has Lily in his arms and the moment Lily sees her mom, she dives for her.
Violet sighs as she comes closer. “Oh my,” she says, welling up. “Isn’t he just beautiful?”
I can’t help but smile. She’s not wrong.
She’s just about at the side of the bed when Noah’s deep voice rumbles across the room. “Hey, mom.”
Violet hardly spares him a glance, but as she reluctantly looks up from Elijah, she has to do a double take. Her brows furrow as she looks between my twin sons and when her eyes come back to mine for confirmation, it’s just about all she can handle.
A violent sob rips out of her and she falls to her knees as Noah calls out. “Surprise!” Tully and Rivers laugh while I beam with pride.
Eddison is the first to make a move and walks around to his son to congratulate him while Rivers takes pity on Violet and helps her up, despite her endless joyful sobbing. She comes around to me and gives me a warm hug before looking down at Elijah.
There’s absolutely no doubt about it; she’s in awe.
We go through all the congratulatory things and discuss birthing before she gives me a hard time for keeping such a huge secret. She admits that it’s the kind of dickish move that Noah would do and that she never would have expected anything like this from me, though she’s damn thrilled about it.
It doesn’t take long before Violet is scooping Elijah out of my hands and taking him to stand beside Eddison who holds Ethan so they can look at them together. I’d bet anything that the day Noah and Tully were born is currently flashing through both of their minds.
Just as I knew they would, they fall head over heels in love with my children and then it’s not long before the same surprise is being shown to Dad, Aria, and his wife Jackie. Gina and her new boyfriend, Randall, show up and are equally as shocked and before we know it, it’s a party.
To be honest, I’m surprised Rivers even allowed Randall through the door. He’s only been dating Gina for a few months and while he’s certainly earned my stamp of approval, Rivers is a different breed. It’s going to take a shitload of trust for Rivers to allow him in, but just for today, he’s willing to look past his own insecurities and allow us all this moment.
When we get too loud, the hospital staff rightfully tell everyone to get the hell out, and then it’s just the four of us once again.
As happy as pigs in mud.
Chapter 5
Noah
Henley and I walk through the door of our home, each with a baby safely in our arms and to be honest, out of all of the moments we’ve had of the four of us together, this has got to be my favorite.
Bringing my children home so we can truly start our lives as a family is the best feeling in the world.
Who would have known that it was possible to love someone so strongly and so protectively that I only just met? Without a doubt, I would lay down my life for these boys, right along with their mommy.
I close the door behind Henley and with the boys both asleep, we walk them straight down to their bedroom and tuck them in. Henley stands by their bassinets just staring at them as I switch on the baby monitor.
“Come on, Spitfire. Let them sleep.”
“Just another minute,” she whispers. “They look so small in there. Do you think they’ll be alright?”
“They’ll be perfectly fine. The monitor is on and we’ll leave the door open so we can check on them every time we walk by.”
Henley silently nods before allowing me to finally pull her away. “How are you feeling?” I ask, knowing she must be incredibly exhausted and sore. After all, just having one baby is exhausting, but two? Fuck, I don’t think Henley and I have slept for the past four days.
“My boobs have never been so sore,” she tells me, pulling out her top and looking down at her tits which have been making my dick hard every time I glance her way. I mean, I fucking love her body, but since she started breastfeeding, her tits have doubled in size and fuck…it’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.
“Is the
re anything I can do?” I ask, feeling pathetic for not being able to do more.
It’s always Henley who has to get up and feed in the middle of the night and it’s hard because everything is doubled. As soon as she finishes with one, the other wakes and is screaming for milk.
I just wish there was more I could do to help.
Henley shakes her head. “No, I was going to express some milk while they’re asleep and see if that will help. They’re just so full all the time, not to mention the fact that I feel like a cow.”
“You may feel like a cow, but you look like a fucking goddess,” I tell her, dropping down onto the couch as she rummages through all the baby things we haven’t got around to putting away yet. “So, I was thinking,” I continue, “I know you’re doing a great job and all, but if you wanted, maybe you could express some milk to leave in the fridge for tonight, that way I can get up in the night and feed the boys so you can get a good night’s sleep.”
Henley shakes her head, but awe shines brightly through her eyes. "You don’t need to do that.”
“But I do and I want to.”
“Are you sure?” she questions with longing in her eyes. She’s been so tired that the idea of a full night’s sleep is probably at the very top of her wish list.
“I’m sure, babe. Besides, I’m kind of jealous that you’re the only one who gets to feed them. It’s like you get this special little bonding thing that you get to do and when I hold them, all they ever want to do is sleep.”
Henley beams at me as though I’m her knight in shining armor. “You’ve got yourself a deal,” she says, turning back towards the crap on the dining table. She starts shuffling through all the stuff before producing a big box and bringing it over to me.
She sits down on the couch beside me as we both stare at the box. "What the hell is that?” I grumble in curiosity.
Henley stares at it as though it’s some sort of torture device. “It’s the breast pump,” she says, opening the box and pulling out the pieces. “It’s supposed to suck the milk out of my tits and then I think it goes straight into the bottle.”
Her brows crease as she looks it over and I grab the instructions and start opening it up, but the more I look, the more terrifying it becomes. I mean, there’s fucking diagrams and everything.
We get it set up and Henley looks at the machine with fear, but the way she’s been non-stop rubbing her sore breasts tells me that she probably needs this more than either of us know.
She whips her shirt off and unclips her maternity bra as I plug the torture device into the power outlet. She picks up the pump with a laugh before placing it over her hand. “Turn it on,” she says.
I hit the button and we both watch with wide eyes as the pump gently sucks on her skin before releasing it and repeating the process over and over again. “It doesn’t look that bad,” I tell her.
Henley shrugs her shoulders before pulling it away from her hand. “I guess there’s only one way to find out.”
With that, she pulls her plump tit out and milk instantly starts leaking from her nipple as I watch on in horror. There must be more milk in those things than I’d realized. No wonder she keeps saying that she’s sore.
Henley places the pump over her tit and cringes as she looks at me. “Okay,” she says. “I’m ready.”
“You don’t look ready.”
“Just do it. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can both have a nap.”
Fuck, that sounds good.
I hit the button and Henley’s nipple is instantly sucked into the machine. She gasps out at the foreign feel as we both stare in wonder. The machine releases it before going again. Soon enough, we hear the slight trickle of her milk dripping down into the bottom of the attached bottle.
“Holy shit,” I laugh. “It works.”
“Okay,” Henley says, shaking her head. “Now I really feel like a cow.”
I can’t resist leaning in and pressing my lips to hers. “You’re not a fucking cow. You’re the best goddamn mother these babies could ever have and you’re doing an incredible job.”
“You really think so?” she murmurs against my lips.
“Yeah, Spitfire. I do.”
Henley lets out the softest sigh of relief before her lips begin moving against mine and she melts into me. My arm snakes around her waist and I pull her back into the couch.
This is the fucking dream right here. How is it possible that I became the luckiest bastard in the whole fucking world?
Henley’s head falls to my shoulder and my fingers draw circles over her skin as she concentrates on filling the little bottle. When one side is done, she holds the bottle up proudly before capping it and placing it down on the coffee table and getting started on the other side.
I can’t believe how easy and natural Henley is finding all of this. She’s able to soothe the twins with the slightest touch, doesn’t bat an eyelash at having to change shitty diapers, she’s strong and confident when holding, bathing, and dressing them. She’s fucking super mom.
Me? I struggle with the basics. Henley’s had to teach me what to do. It was not that long ago that Lily was that small, but I held her for the shortest little while before always handing her back because I was terrified of breaking her, but these are my sons and I want to be as hands on as I can be.
I want to be the best goddamn father this country has ever seen. I want my babies to know that their daddy loves them with every piece of his heart. I want to be their world. But most of all, I want us to be the happiest, joyful family that we can be. I want to give Henley and my boys the absolute best life they deserve.
Something warm splashes down onto my leg and I look down to find Henley has fallen asleep and her milk is spilling everywhere.
I catch the pump and turn it off before placing it down on the coffee table. There’s enough milk in each bottle that I can feed both the boys, so with that sorted, I clip Henley’s maternity bra and pull it back into place before scooping her up off the couch and walking down the hallway.
She snuggles into my arms and it almost kills me that I’m going to have to put her down.
I walk into our bedroom and tuck her into bed. She’s been missing our bed. Every night in the hospital she would tell me just how much she hated that damn bed so I don’t doubt that she’s about to have the best sleep of her life.
Henley curls into her pillow and her arms instantly snake under it. I didn’t realize I was capable of being jealous of a pillow, but here we are.
Wanting to give her some peace and quiet, I sneak out of our room, but keep the door open, knowing she would murder me if she woke to find the door closed and she wasn’t able to hear her babies when they needed her.
Knowing she’ll be out for a while, I clean up the spilled milk and put the two full bottles in the fridge, feeling proud as fuck that my girl is able to provide for our babies like that.
I wash up the breast pump and sterilize it just like the instructions tell me to before putting on a load of washing and making sure every last thing around the house is done. It’s the least I can do for Henley after the hell her body has been through over the past few days.
I’d hate to find her getting up and exhausting herself with stupid shit like laundry and cooking. Seeing as though I can’t shove a tit in the babies’ mouths, I may as well make myself good for something.
Just as all of the chores around the house are done, I go to take a seat on my couch, hoping for even a few minutes of rest, but the boys have a different idea.
Their little cries come streaming up the hallway and I hurry down to them, not wanting to wake Henley.
I scoop up Elijah and get him comfortable before walking over to Ethan, who looks pissed that his brother just woke him up. I manage to scoop him up too and feel like a fucking king having them both in my arms.
I make my way out to the living room and put them down on their special playmat with my heart just moments from exploding right out of my chest.
Ethan sucks on his hands while Elijah farts like a fucking grown ass man and I laugh to myself as I hurry into the kitchen and warm their bottles. These two boys are going to be hard fucking work, but Henley and I have got this.
We can handle it just like we’ve handled everything else that’s ever come our way; like a fucking King and Queen.
I get the boys' bottles and make sure to find a spew rag for both of them in case of any spills. After all, that’s how Henley’s been doing it over the past few days and well, she’s the boss when it comes to this.
I scoot Elijah over and sit down between them before placing the bottles in both of their mouths and watching as they each take it with ease. I smile down at my hungry boys as Ethan latches onto my pinky.
“I love you both so goddamn much,” I whisper. “Every single day your mommy and I will protect you, we’ll love and cherish you both. You’ll never have to go without, and we will try our damn hardest to ensure you never have to know fear, hurt, or pain. We’re going to work our asses off to make sure you have everything you could possibly need, but most of all,” I add, running my thumb over both of their little fingers, “we’re going to raise you so that one day, you can both know and understand what it feels like to love your child unconditionally because I tell you, this is the best thing I’ve ever known, and doing it beside a woman like your mommy is going to be the ride of a lifetime.”
Chapter 6
Henley
I finish putting the final touches on Ethan’s outfit and look at the two of them in awe. They look absolutely gorgeous for their daddy’s birthday lunch. They’re so freaking handsome, just like my husband.
It’s been a bit of a wild ride getting them ready this morning. It’s our first real outing and it’s honestly making me kind of nervous. I shouldn’t be though. We’re only going to Tully’s place for a huge family lunch, but I can’t stop the feeling that I might forget something.
We’ve packed enough diapers to last us a lifetime, we have baby wipes coming out of our ears, spare clothes for when they destroy their outfits, blankets, spare bottles despite me coming along with my bulging tits that don’t seem to fit in any of my clothes. I even packed the biggest first aid kit imaginable, you know, just to be on top of my game.
Unmissable: Haven Falls (Novella 7.5) Page 4