Not one to back away from an awkward situation, she swallowed her pride, pushed her way past her sisters, and marched down to the lake.
With his back to her, he didn’t hear her approach and she took the time to appreciate the way his broad shoulders stretched his thin t-shirt and how his butt looked so tight in his black and red swim trunks. She parked her bus of an ass next to him and shoved her hands in her pockets before they betrayed her by reaching out to touch his arm. Or grab his butt.
“Hey.” He smiled, and forced it back as fast as it appeared.
“Hey.” Sage rocked back on her heels. “Nice day.”
“Beautiful lake.”
“Yeah. Brian and Claire love to entertain here.”
“I can see why. It’s the perfect spot.”
Sage looked out across Sebago Lake. The house was nestled in a quiet cove, away from the busy traffic of boats and jet skis. The water lightly lapped against the shore and a neighbor waved from his kayak in the distance. Luke waved back and kept his eyes on the lake.
“So, um, I’m sorry.” She’d never apologized for her behavior before and actually meant it.
“No need to be.”
“I can be a bitch sometimes.”
Luke laughed. “You don’t hold back, do you?”
Oh, if he only knew. She was holding back right now. What she really wanted to do was strip off his shirt, grab ahold of his pecs, and make love to him in the warm water. “I’d blame it on the pregnancy hormones but I’m always snarly.”
He nodded in understanding. “Come sit by the water.” He kept his hands to himself as he walked to the edge of the dock ramp and sat down, his legs hanging off the edge, the water coming up to the middle of his muscled calves.
Getting down wouldn’t be too bad, but she’d never get up again without his help. Settling next to him as gracefully as she could, she let out a loud sigh when her feet finally touched the water. “I’ll never take this for granted again. Getting up and down these past few weeks has been pure hell. I’m tempted to remain standing until these babies pop out.”
“I can—” He stopped himself before finishing, but she knew what he was going to say.
“I know. But I need to do this on my own. I don’t like relying on other people. For anything.”
“Okay.” Luke nodded and slowly kicked his feet back and forth, making swirls in the water.
Hurting people’s feelings had never been her intention. She had always been outspoken, and always would be, but she didn’t speak her mind to hurt others, only to protect herself. Making Luke believe that would be a challenge.
“I’d like us to be friends.”
“Sure,” he said off-handedly.
“I mean it, Luke. I know I said all I wanted was sex, but now things are different. I don’t want…well, I’m not going to sleep with you anymore, but I’d like it if we could remain friends.”
“Sure,” he said, still sounding blasé.
Sage rested her hand on his freakishly strong bicep and waited for him to look up. When he finally lifted his hazel eyes to meet hers, she smiled her first genuine smile since…since the last time Luke made her laugh. Damn, she missed him. His normally twinkling eyes were turned down and sad and she wanted to wrap her arms around him and hold him until his gorgeous dimpled smile returned.
But she couldn’t. He’d read it as her wanting something more. Something she couldn’t give, but he desperately wanted and deserved. Slowly she moved her hand from his arm and butted her shoulder against his. “I think the guys like having you around.”
Luke glanced over his shoulder at the noisy crowd and smiled. “They’re good people, your family.”
“Yours too. I guess we all have our dysfunction. Some more than others.” She winked and shoulder bumped him again. His body relaxed a little and the gleam returned to his eyes.
“I’d say I have you beat in that department.”
“You haven’t met my parents.” And probably never will, she wanted to add, but didn’t want to bring the mood down.
“I guess there’s no such thing as ‘normal’ these days, huh?” Luke leaned back on his forearms, closed his eyes, and tilted his face toward the sun.
Damn, he was beautiful. Once again the urge to pounce on him was strong, but there was no way she could lift her legs to straddle his body. Instead, she took advantage of the view and let her gaze travel from his Superman chest, to his tapered waist, finally settling on his groin. Oh, she knew that area quite well. Her mouth watered and she sighed in longing want, remembering their game of dirty Hangman.
“If we’re going to do the friend thing you can’t be looking at me like that.”
Sage jumped—as much as humanly possible with her protruding belly and additional five hundred pounds—and nervously splashed her feet in the water. Luke got to his feet and stood behind her, his hands touching her shoulders before dropping to her sides and helping her up.
“Thank you.”
“Sure. That’s what friends are for.” Luke gestured for her to walk first down the boat ramp and he followed behind. Probably staring at her gigantic ass. She couldn’t figure out a way to flex it and sway it without knocking herself into the water, so she waddled as quickly as she could, following the scent of barbequed chicken.
Surprisingly, the next few hours flew by. Sage’s sisters and their husbands took turns entertaining the kids, refilling the snacks, and cleaning up the constant messes the kids and men made. The couples and families laughed and worked together while Sage sat uncomfortably on the outside, observing the well-orchestrated chaos. Luke fit in well, offering a hand at the barbecue, showing off for the kids with cannonballs at the end of the dock, and getting drinks for the women. He didn’t ask Sage if she needed anything, but she caught him looking her way plenty of times. Thankfully he respected her wishes and didn’t hover.
Honestly, though, she wouldn’t mind if he caved and came to her rescue. Her legs had gone numb and there was no way she could haul her lard ass out of the lounge chair. Sage looked to her left. Thyme giggled as she and Grayson chased Maddie across the lawn. To her right, Rayne sat cuddled on Trent’s lap. The disgustingly loving couple were goo-goo eyed and happy as they watched their son play with his cousins and uncles. Luke sat across from her, nursing a beer and pretending to watch Brian and Claire with their kids down by the lake.
The afternoon had been fun, but Sage was ready to go home. She tired quickly these days and needed the comfort of her bed. Now. Unfortunately she rode up with Thyme and Grayson, and they didn’t look ready to leave.
Stifling a yawn, Sage inched to the edge of her seat, wiggled her toes, hoping they’d wake up to brace themselves for the amount of weight she was about to put on them, and rotated her kankles. Hopefully the water she’d been retaining would evaporate the second she pushed the little monsters out.
“Here.” Luke wrapped his strong, calloused hands around her arms and easily lifted her to standing. “Don’t bite my head off. Just accept the help.” He walked away before she could thank him or bark at him.
“Sage, you look tired. Owen and Olivia are probably ready to call it a day. We can bring you home if Thyme wants to stay longer.” Rayne started to get up but Trent stopped her, whispering in her ear. She looked up at Sage, then behind her, and made a poor attempt at hiding her smile. She patted Trent’s hands and slid out of his embrace. “Come on. I’ll help you get your things together.”
“I don’t have things. Just my bag. I’m good to go.”
“You’re leaving?” Luke stepped out of the house, his keys in hand. “I was coming out to say goodbye to everyone. I can, uh, take you home if Grayson and Thyme want to stay longer.” He looked at Rayne, who nodded too eagerly.
Sage rolled her eyes. “Seriously. Could you be a little more subtle?” Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, and feeling guilty for making Thyme leave early, she knew she had to accept his offer. “Sure. Thanks.” She turned to Rayne, who immediately wrapped
her in a hug. Or as close to a hug as she could manage with Sage’s ginormous belly in the way.
“I can’t wait to meet my little nieces or nephews.”
“Or one of each,” Thyme said as she joined the hug-fest. “You look beat. We can bring you home if you’re ready.”
“Luke will bring her home so Maddie and Owen can play a little longer.”
“That’s okay. I think Maddie is tuckered…ow!” Thyme rubbed her side where Rayne had elbowed her. “What was that for?”
Ignoring Thyme, Rayne leaned in to give Luke a hug. “I’m so glad you came. And thank you again for bringing Sage home.” She took Thyme by the arm and pulled her away from them.
“Sorry about my sister. She still believes in fairy tales.”
“And you don’t.” Luke sighed before turning away and walking toward the car.
Chapter Twelve
Sage
“What the hell?” Sage grabbed the underside of her belly with one hand and supported herself against the counter with the other. She’d been having contractions off and on for two days, since Luke dropped her off Saturday night. It was too early for her to have the beasts. She still had four weeks until her due date and didn’t want to alarm her sister. Thyme would overreact and call every ten minutes asking for a status report if she knew.
Or worse, she’d come over and not leave Sage’s side until the babies made their grand entrance. Both scenarios were unappealing, so Sage kept mum about her contractions, deciding to wait until she knew for sure that she was in labor.
They started off as uncomfortable menstrual cramps, but this last one was a doozy. After almost forgetting to breathe, Sage blew out a stream of air and gulped in some more. When the contraction stopped, she waddled to her iPhone, clicked on the labor app she downloaded a few weeks ago, and typed in her stats.
The graph showed her contractions were getting closer together, lasted longer, and were a hell of a lot more painful. Well, the graph didn’t show that, but she upped her pain level from a three to a six. God, she couldn’t imagine what a ten would feel like. Hopefully by then she’d be flying high on an epidural.
“Holy mother of…” Sage scrunched up her face, surely creating permanent wrinkles in her skin, and braced herself against the counter. “One. Two. Three.” She huffed over and over, looking at the clock when the pain finally subsided.
Three minutes. Yeah. It was time. Picking up her cell, she sent off a quick text to Thyme and Grayson before going to her room for her bag. She packed it two weeks ago, not out of excitement or nerves, but because she was always prepared. Always had a Plan B in case Plan A went astray. Which it never did. Sage would never allow that.
She checked her makeup and brushed her teeth, nearly swallowing her toothpaste when the little buggers clamped down again. “Fudgenuckers.” She clamped her teeth and breathed through the pain once again. When she regained her equilibrium she grabbed her phone and wasn’t surprised to find three texts from Thyme. Before she could finish reading the third one, her phone rang.
“Hey.”
“Where the hell have you been? I’ve been texting you for half an hour!”
“It’s been three minutes and I was busy having a contraction.”
“You’re having contractions every three minutes? Why didn’t you call me earlier?” Sage could hear frantic rustling in the background. “Don’t have those babies before I get there. I’m about ten minutes away.”
“Yeah, I’ll just tell my uterus to hang tight until you get heeeeeere.” Sage dropped the phone and grabbed her belly. “Ahhh!” She screamed and breathed. Screamed and breathed.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked down at the floor where her phone lay. There was no way in hell she could bend over to pick it up. Hoping Thyme was still on the line, she yelled, “Hurry the hell up. Your twins are as anxious as I am to be done with this.”
Minutes later Thyme came crashing through the door. “ThankGodImadeitthankGodImadeit.” She rubbed and kissed Sage’s belly. “I’m here, little fellas. Mama’s here. We’re going to take good care of you.”
“Get me the hell to the hospital. Now.”
“Watch your language around my babies.” Thyme picked up Sage’s overnight bag and helped her out the door.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Sage rolled her eyes, knowing the next few hours were going to be painful. Literally and mentally. “I stopped dropping the F-bomb when Rayne had Owen. But I think I’m entitled to a few four letter words while I push two freaking ginormous watermelons out my vag.”
“Don’t be so crude,” Thyme scolded as she helped Sage into her minivan.
The second Thyme closed the door, another contraction hit. Damn, she needed her phone. She forgot to enter the last three contractions. She needed the graph, the estimated delivery time based on the length, frequency, and pain level of her contractions, but her phone was still on the floor of her kitchen and she couldn’t currently speak. Her phone. She’d never been without it, or at least her iPad. The babies sucked the air right out of her and she grabbed on to her seat belt as she tried not to push the suckers out.
“One, two, three. One, two, three. Don’t forget to breathe or you’ll pass out. Say it with me: One, two, three.”
“Shut the hell up and drive!”
“Fine. Be that way.”
Sage was in no mood to be nice to her sister. It was her fault Sage was in this condition to begin with. Sort of. “Where’s Grayson? I figured he’d be driving us.” And he’d be the voice of reason, telling Thyme to back off when Sage barked.
“He’s dropping Maddie off at Rayne’s and will meet us at the hospital. I didn’t want you to have to wait any longer.”
The hospital was only a fifteen minute drive, but that meant at least five contractions, no F-bombs, and one pesky, annoying sister to deal with. God, she prayed for a speedy delivery.
When they finally made it to the emergency entrance, Thyme threw the car in park and ran over to help Sage out. “Help! Someone! My sister’s having my babies!”
Dying of embarrassment and pain, Sage glared at her sister. “Shut the hell up and just get me inside. You can wait in the waiting room.”
“I’m sticking by your side. I’m not going to miss a single second of this.” Tears formed in Thyme’s eyes and Sage felt a smidge guilty. Of course Thyme would want to experience everything she could. Not that Sage understood it herself.
“Fine. But if I tell you to shut up, you’d better.”
“Absolutely.”
A nurse brought a wheelchair over and helped Sage into it. “Can you push this thing any faster? I think I might have to pee. Oh.” Sage looked down at her gray sweats and watched them darken as gallons of warm liquid pooled in her lap and ran down her leg. “Yeah, so, I think my water just broke.” Talk about embarrassing.
When the nurse unloaded her in her room, Thyme finally calmed down. The nurse took Sage’s vital signs and strapped a contraption around the VW bus that used to be a flat, slick board. The on-call doctor came in, a friendly smile on his lips as he snapped on latex gloves.
He waited while Sage endured another ninety seconds of fire-burning, dagger-twisting pain and then examined her. “Well, Miss Wilde. You’ve already transitioned to stage three. You’ll be ready to push in no time.”
“Great. Give me drugs,” she yelped as another contraction bore down. They were closer, not that she needed her fancy app to tell her that. She barely had time to open her eyes and count to ten before another one came barreling through her body.
After the doctor removed his hand from her sacred zone, he snapped off his gloves and smiled through his apology. “I’m sorry, but it’s too late. You’re at eight centimeters. I’m going to get my team together and prepare for delivery. I’ll be back in a few. You’re doing great.”
“Oh my word. We’re having our babies.” Thyme’s face was wet and splotchy, her hands shaking.
“I’m glad I got here in time.” Grayso
n stepped in the room and hugged his wife to his chest. “How are you holding up?”
“Her? You’re asking her? I’m the one in pain over here!” Sage grabbed on to the sheets beneath her and clenched her teeth.
“Breathe, Sage. Breathe.”
“Hand!” Sage blindly reached out until she felt a strong hand, presumably Grayson’s, and squeezed. “Another!” She waved her left hand in the air and waited for Thyme’s soft, delicate hand, gripping hard as the contraction peaked.
“Ouch!”
“Shut…up!” When the pain finally subsided she let go of each hand and leaned her head back.
“Grayson. Please don’t let her talk to me.”
She heard him chuckle before he brushed her hair back. “As you wish.”
Sage didn’t need to open her eyes to know Thyme was pouting. “Spoiled brat.” Sage smiled. Her sister had always gotten on her nerves, and Sage figured it was partially her fault. She’d coddled Thyme after their parents abandoned them, making sure she never went without and letting her make her own stupid mistakes. She didn’t think Thyme would ever grow up, but here she was, married to a rich and successful Prince Charming, about to welcome twin babies into the world. She and Rayne would have the fairy tale lives they always dreamed of. And Sage was happy to help them get their wishes. It’s what older sisters did.
The doctor returned, shoved his hand up her hoo-haa, and declared her ready to push. Thank the heavens.
Only not. Pushing hurt a hell of a lot more than the stupid contractions she’d been dealing with. Had she known, she wouldn’t have prayed so hard to get to this stage.
Sage let out a string of every four letter and five letter and six letter curses that she could think of, and a few made up foul-sounding phrases, before the doctor finally announced a head was out.
“Holy fu—” Sage looked at Thyme’s anxious, smiling face, then dropped her eyes to their clasped hands and almost teared up herself. “Fudge.”
“Here we go, Ms. Wilde. One more push and baby number one will be out.”
“This one’s for you, sis.” She brought her chin to her chest, pulled back her legs and grunted and pushed like hell.
Wilde For You (The Wilde Sisters Book 3) Page 14