“I need you. Now—”
Without a word, he nudged her legs apart with his knee and settled himself over her. His chest was going up and down very fast and the sound of their mingled harsh breaths filled the room. Taking his weight on his forearms, he started to push inside her then stopped.
“What?” she asked.
“A condom—”
“Oh, God! I wasn’t thinking—”
“I was.” He rolled sideways, reached into the nightstand to retrieve one then put it on. Moments later he was back and kissed her softly. “All squared away. Now, where were we? Oh, yes—”
He entered and her body closed around him, welcoming him. She wrapped her legs around his waist, taking him deeper inside, moving her hips. He got the message and slowly stroked in and out, building the tension with each thrust.
Before she was ready, Annie felt herself let go, break apart, setting free waves of pleasure inside her. Aftershocks made her tremble in the most wonderful way and he held her until they stopped.
Then he began to move in and out again. One thrust then two. Moments later he groaned and breathed her name. She kissed his neck and chest and when he buried his face against her hair, she held him until he sighed into her shoulder.
Annie wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that and didn’t much care. She hadn’t felt this good in a very long time, and that kind of scared her. Sex with Mason was different. Oh, the mechanics were the same, but it was unlike anything she’d ever experienced. And there was only one reason for that.
Her feelings were engaged. She wasn’t putting any label on them, but something was stirred up inside her. It was ironic that she’d been bothered when he wouldn’t sleep with her. And there was that old saying—be careful what you wish for.
Well, she got it. And she wasn’t complaining. It was everything she’d hoped for and more. Mason played her body like a violin and her body was happy. But her heart was a different story.
Chapter Thirteen
Annie didn’t trust perfect.
She’d grown up in an environment that was the exact opposite of perfect. The absence of crisis was the bar she used to judge the quality of her life. A rainbows-and-unicorns existence made her uneasy but that’s how it had been for the last week. Ever since that magical night when Mason had surprised her at work and taken her to dinner, followed by the best sex she’d ever had.
And it wasn’t an aberration because it had happened every night after. Even with babies and work, they managed to be together. It was wonderful but Annie was so afraid to go all in and believe this was how things were going to be from now on. She was a little less confident about her control where Mason was concerned.
He would laugh if she confessed her fears, but he couldn’t understand. Except for that one bad marriage blip, his life had been smooth sailing because he’d won the lottery in terms of fabulous families. She couldn’t relate to that, so it was understandable that he had no frame of reference for her insecurity, either.
Today her insecurities were on parade inside her. They were meeting his lawyer and the family court judge to finalize his legal petition of paternal rights. He was with Charlie in the family room waiting for her to get Sarah ready.
She smiled at the little girl on the changing table, playing with a small stuffed bear as Annie secured the tabs on her diaper. “Daddy is your daddy, right? So what could go wrong, baby girl?”
Sarah babbled an incoherent response. “I know. I’m being ridiculous. Daddy would say the same thing. It’s just that I’m nervous. And you need to look your best. So Mommy has to put your clothes on. No flashing the judge, baby girl.”
She slid white tights over Sarah’s feet and legs, then covered the diaper. After sitting the infant up, she slipped a dress over her head, a simple floral print with a smocked bodice, and black ballerina flats. Last, she put on a headband with attached bow that highlighted her cornflower blue eyes and blond curls. For once, the little girl didn’t pull it off. And again the perception of perfection reared its ugly head.
“I have a bad feeling about this.”
She sighed then picked up the baby and walked into the family room. Mason had Charlie in his arms, holding the little boy closer and more tightly than usual. He was wearing navy slacks and a long-sleeved white dress shirt with a red-and-blue-striped silk tie. There was a serious expression on his face and her stomach knots pulled tighter.
“You’re worried,” Annie said.
“About?”
“Court.”
“Nervous,” he clarified. “There’s a difference. Unless you work there, no one wants to go in front of a judge.”
“But your lawyer said it’s just a formality. All the paperwork is in order.”
“He did,” Mason confirmed. “So smile, Annie.”
“You first,” she challenged.
At that moment Charlie babbled something that sounded like “Da-da” and patted Mason’s shoulder with his chubby little hand. And that got a genuine smile from his father.
“See? Charlie isn’t worried,” Annie said.
“Only about getting his next bottle.” Mason tested the weight of the boy resting on his forearm. “Have you noticed how heavy he’s getting?”
“I have.” She nuzzled her daughter’s soft cheek. “This little princess is petite and delicate.”
“She looks beautiful. And so do you.” For a moment his eyes glittered with something other than anxiety. “Is that a new dress?”
She looked down at the belted black shirtdress with its long sleeves and white detailing. Her coordinating heels were low and sensible. Practical but not flashy. For the moment, anyway, she was living a rainbows-and-unicorns life, so why not dress the part?
“Yes, and new shoes.” She caught her bottom lip between her teeth. “Do we look like we’re trying too hard?”
“Maybe. But justice is supposed to be blind. I doubt the judge will turn down my petition because of our fashion choices.”
“So, you’re saying I’m being ridiculous?”
He smiled. “Those words did not come out of my mouth.”
“Uh-huh.” She looked at Sarah. “See? I told you Daddy would call me silly.”
He moved close enough for her to feel the warmth of his body and hers responded to it. Smiling tenderly, he said, “You are the least silly person I know. If anything, I’d like to see you develop a silly streak and work on cultivating a little carefree-ness.”
“So now I’m too serious?” she teased.
“You’re perfect.”
“Not even close.” And of all the things he could have said, that was the least likely to anesthetize her nerves. Because she didn’t trust perfect.
“That’s my prognosis and I’m sticking to it.” He shrugged. “But we’re procrastinating and need to get going. No one will care how photo ready we are if we miss the hearing.”
“Right.”
They shifted into high gear, working together like a meticulously choreographed ballet. Each put a baby into a carrier then took it to the car and secured it in the rear passenger seat. Annie had packed the diaper bag with bottles, changes of clothes and supplies for any emergency imaginable and set it on the floor in front of Charlie. Mason lifted the double stroller into the SUV cargo area. He’d put on his matching suit jacket and looked like a successful doctor and devoted dad.
Annie smiled at him. “You look very handsome. And pretty soon this will all be over.”
“Piece of cake.” He kissed her, a brief brush of his mouth on hers. “We got this.”
They drove to the courthouse located in an older section of Huntington Hills. It was a complex of buildings and Mason’s lawyer met them in the lobby of the family court. The high ceilings made their footsteps echo on the marble floor and the twins noticed. Both of them found their outdoor voices and used them in diffe
rent pitches that made Annie and Mason wince.
She had just met the attorney and wanted their babies to make a good impression. Like that really mattered, but... “Sorry about that.”
Cole Brinkman didn’t seem perturbed by the noise. “This is normal for family court. They’re kids and no one expects them not to make a sound.”
“So this won’t count against us?” Mason asked.
“Of course not,” the lawyer said. “Nothing will. Through no fault of yours, you didn’t know about them. Now you do and have the science to back up your claim. It’s a slam dunk.”
“Okay.” Mason nodded.
“Just so you’re aware, there are other cases in front of this judge, too. There will be other parents.”
“And kids?” Annie asked.
“Yeah.” Cole grinned. “It’s going to be noisy.”
“Okay, then.”
“We should go in. Judge Downey is hearing the case and his courtroom is at the end of the hall.”
They walked in the direction he pointed and stopped at the tall, wooden double doors. Mason pulled one open so Annie could push the twins’ stroller through. Cole wasn’t lying. By Annie’s count, there were about eight or ten couples already seated with numerous children of varying ages.
Minutes after they settled in the first row, an older man came in from a side door near the high bench. Since he had on a black robe, one assumed he was the judge. A woman in a sheriff’s uniform announced Judge Downey, a man with white hair who looked to be somewhere in his sixties.
“Good morning,” he said. “I’ve reviewed the documents for all of you here today and we’ll try to move things along quickly. Children have a short attention span and I want them to go be kids. So, first case.”
It wasn’t them. From what Annie could pick up, the couple were aunt and uncle to a boy whose parents had been arrested during a drug sting and sent to prison for illegal distribution. The child was born while the mom was in jail and family had petitioned for temporary guardianship of the infant. They were the only parents he’d ever known. Now they were seeking legal custody. Their home environment was stable and loving, but the court bent over backward to keep children with their biological parents unless that became impossible. It was complicated.
Thank goodness Mason’s case was simple, Annie thought. Several more couples and kids were called up, but Charlie was getting restless in the stroller so she unbuckled him and set him on her lap. Sarah wouldn’t stand for being strapped in if her brother got to be free. So Annie handed off the boy to Mason and released the little girl, holding her close for a moment.
As proceedings dragged on she pulled out bottles from the diaper bag, then toys to entertain them. That worked for a while but then they started rubbing their eyes. After that there were tired cries and she wasn’t sure if it was permissible to get up and move around with them. Mercifully their case was called and they could at least walk as far as the judge’s bench.
He smiled. “You have a beautiful family, Dr. Blackburne.”
“Thank you. I think so, too.” He patted Charlie’s back.
“A lot of scenarios present in my court, most of them heartbreaking. And I have to make decisions that are in the best interest of a child, decisions that will affect people’s lives forever. And not always in a good way.”
Annie’s stomach lurched. Was he trying to prepare them for the worst? Something no one could have predicted?
Judge Downey smiled then. “Fortunately your situation is not one of those and the facts speak for themselves. Black-and-white. The DNA results are proof that you are the biological father of Charles and Sarah Campbell. They are a conclusive determination of your paternal rights, which I’m pleased to legally affirm.”
“Thank you, sir,” Mason said.
“Your attorney also filed a concurrent petition to change their last names and that is granted, too.”
“So, that’s it?” For a second Annie wasn’t sure she’d said that out loud.
The judge smiled. “That’s it. I wish every case was this easy. Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Your Honor.” Mason grinned at her, obviously relieved.
They left the courtroom and shook hands with their attorney. Cole took cell phone pictures of them, their first as a legal family.
They left the building and found the SUV. Mason grinned. “We’re all Blackburnes now.”
“I know.” She had been ridiculous to worry.
This was surreal and so wonderful that there were no words to express her feelings. The last piece had fallen into place and she could hardly take it in. She finally had everything she’d ever dreamed of. A traditional family. She had never really believed that happiness like this could happen to someone who’d come from where she had. But she’d beaten the odds.
On paper and in reality her life really was perfect.
* * *
Mason drove his family home from the Huntington Hills’ government center but he couldn’t be sure he wasn’t flying. Since getting the DNA results, he’d been there for the babies. He’d fed them, changed diapers, walked the floor at night with either—or both—when necessary. He’d been doing all the right things because he loved them. But there was something profoundly powerful in knowing the t’s were crossed and the i’s dotted. His status was legal. His name was on their birth certificate. No one could take them away from him.
“I’m pretty happy right now,” he said.
“Really?” Annie was in the front passenger seat beside him. “I’d never have guessed. What with you frowning since we left the courtroom.”
“I haven’t stopped smiling.” He was stating the obvious, which she already knew. “It’s the weirdest thing. The proof was in the DNA test but I feel as if a weight has been lifted.”
“That’s good, because you’re stuck with me and the twins now, Dr. Blackburne.”
“And I can’t think of anyone I’d rather share this with.”
There was a smile in her voice when she said, “What a sweet thing to say. I feel the same way.”
He glanced over and thought again what a pretty picture she made in her new dress. He also thought how very much he was looking forward to getting her out of it. But that was for later. Right now they had to get the kids home for naps. How ordinary that sounded and how wonderful. He vowed never to take it for granted. This was something he’d wanted for a very long time.
Annie seemed happy, too. They’d worked out the sex misunderstanding and were as compatible in bed as they were out of it. She wasn’t demanding declarations of love or a definition of his feelings, and he was grateful for that. He cared about her more than he wanted to put into words. A couple of times leaving the house or on the phone when he’d said goodbye and nearly added “I love you,” it startled him. But he caught himself. What they had was pretty damn good.
He wasn’t going to rock the boat with a four-letter word. He’d said it all the time to his ex, even at the end when he wasn’t feeling it anymore. He didn’t want anything to mess up what he had with Annie and the kids, especially that one little word.
“We’re almost home,” he said. Another four-letter word that felt different from when he’d left this morning. Now it was his turn to be silly and Annie would probably make fun of him, but right now he didn’t care. “The meaning of home feels more profound to me.”
“Like you got a blessing from the angels?”
“At the risk of you laughing at me,” he said, “yes.”
“I understand.” And she wasn’t laughing.
He pulled the SUV into the driveway and turned off the engine. “Would it be too corny to say this is the first day of the rest of our lives?”
“Probably. But I get where you’re coming from and share the sentiment. Who’d have guessed the big, bad, army doctor, emergency specialist was such a super softy?”
She glanced into the back seat and smiled tenderly at the sleeping babies. “Car ride works every time.”
“Any chance of getting them in their cribs without waking them up?”
“There’s always a chance.” But the skeptical note in her voice put the brakes on hope. “The odds aren’t good.”
“That’s what I figured. I’ll take Sarah and the diaper bag. You get Charlie.” He felt as if he was the commander of a military operation, and life with twins was like that sometimes. Double the work. But he wouldn’t change it for anything.
“Sounds like a plan.”
Coordinating their efforts, they swiftly and efficiently and—dare he say it?—expertly got their children inside and changed out of their perfect family court clothes. One-piece terry-cloth sleepers were just what the doctor ordered. Each of the babies got a bottle and went down for a nap with a minimum of protest. The magic was still holding.
He and Annie tiptoed from the nurseries into the family room and he smiled at her. “That was too easy. Do you think it’s because I’m now legally their father as well as biologically?”
“They’re just tired out from a big day,” she said. “Or maybe we’ve banked some good karma.”
“Since all is quiet on the home front, would you mind if I went out to do an errand?”
“What do you need to do?”
He grinned. “It’s a surprise.”
“Oh?” Female appreciation turned her eyes a darker shade of hazel, highlighting the gold flecks. “Maybe champagne and rose petals?”
“You’re half-right. We need a really good bottle of champagne to celebrate a really good day.”
“But no flowers?” She didn’t look the least bit disappointed. “It was a sweet and beautiful gesture that I’ll never forget. But those petals were really messy. Until they dried, it was kind of hard to vacuum them up. I watched you struggle with that.”
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