Labor? It was too early. “Shit.” I stood from the bed and cradled the phone between my cheek and shoulder as I bent down and slipped on my sweats. “Is she, I mean are they… the babies…” I couldn’t think straight. Shirt, where the fuck was my shirt?
“One of the babies is positioned wrong or some shit. I don’t know, but they headed into the operating room forty minutes ago… Liam?”
I pulled back the sheets and uncovered my shirt. “Yeah?”
“I’ve never seen Declan this scared… ever.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” I clicked the end call button, threw my phone onto the mattress, and slipped on the t-shirt I’d found as I called out to Kelly, “Paige is having the babies.”
I heard the sink shut off, her hurried footsteps and then the door swung open. “What?”
I suppressed my grin as I watched her go through the same exact motions I had not less than thirty seconds ago. She pulled on her black yoga pants as I said, “Yeah, we need to hurry.”
“I’m hurrying, where’s my shirt?”
“Just grab a clean one.” I picked up my phone and put it in my pocket. “Can we take your car?” She’d just purchased a new car last week and I didn’t want to mess around with helmets, I wanted to hit the road.
“Of course,” she said as she pulled an Avenues Ink hoodie over her head. “It’s too soon, right? Like four weeks too soon.”
“Come on.” I linked her hand in mine. “Dex has been through enough shit, hopefully today will be a happy one, let’s just focus on that.”
I could never say it out loud, but I was terrified. The whole way over to the hospital, all I thought about was damage control. How would I pick up the pieces if everything did go to shit? And, as the elevator doors opened and we stepped out onto the maternity floor, all the bile in my gut burned its way up my throat. Dex couldn’t handle another tragedy. None of us could. These two babies had given him purpose, given us all something to fucking look forward to after Mom died.
Kelly squeezed my hand and I raised my head. “There’s Kieran.”
Kieran was pacing just as I had suspected, and when he saw us his face drained of color.
“Any news?” I asked as he walked toward us.
He shook his head. “No. Should it take this long?”
I shrugged. “Why the hell are you asking me? I’ve never dealt with this shit.”
We both turned to Kelly and she laughed. “Last time I checked I was baby-free, guys, sorry. But, I bet we’ll have some news soon. Let’s sit down,” she suggested as her lips twitched with humor.
“Glad you think this is funny,” I muttered without any real anger as we all sat down in the waiting room.
She lowered her head and whispered, “I know how worried you are, and you tend to…” She bit her lip.
“Tend to what?”
“You tend to go from zero to sixty in two seconds flat.” My jaw pulsed, but she continued regardless, “The babies are early, but on our way over here, I remembered what Paige had said at dinner. Do you remember?”
“About possibly being born on my birthday? Yeah, she said twins are born early all the time, she’s said that a lot, but—”
“But, I’m sure she’s done her homework. I thought we were focusing on today being a happy one.” She arched her brow and gave me a crooked smile.
“You’re right.”
“Holy shit, Kieran, did you hear that? He just said I was right.” She laughed and Kieran’s frown pulled into a grin.
“I’ll note the record,” he joked, and I watched as his shoulders relaxed and he leaned back into his chair.
In less than one minute Kelly had eased the burden and made the situation a little less terrifying.
“I never give you enough credit,” I admitted.
“I’m pretty smart when I want to be.” Her laugh was soft as I lifted her chin with two fingers.
“You’re fucking amazing.”
Kelly’s cheeks turned a deep shade of pink as she bumped my shoulder with hers. “Liam, you’re—”
“Declan.” Kieran about knocked over the chair as he stood. “Is she—”
My brother was wearing a blue surgical cap and a yellow smock-looking thing, but his face, it was lit in a way I’d never ever thought possible. “She’s fine. I’ve gotta head back in, but I wanted to let you know. After she’s done with recovery they’re moving her to room forty-two-oh-five. Go grab some food and meet us there?”
“The babies. Are they okay?” Kelly’s voice wavered, that confidence she’d had earlier surrendered to the worry.
Declan’s face broke into a huge smile and his eyes filled with tears. “They’re perfect. A little small, but strong as hell.”
I wanted to hug him. Fuck, I wanted to just tell him how damn proud I was, but I knew I shouldn’t. Not now. This was about him, not about my feelings. Declan had become pure light, and for once I kept my mouth shut.
He looked at me as if he could tell I was chomping at the bit, and said, “I can’t wait for you to meet them.”
My throat contracted and I nodded. “What are their names?”
“Indigo and Royal.”
“Indie and Royal,” Kieran said with a smile. “Congrats, man, you’re a dad.”
He stepped in and pulled Dex into a hug. “I’m a dad,” Declan repeated the words a bit dazed.
Once Kieran stepped away, Kelly, and this wasn’t an over exaggeration, actually skipped and squealed before attacking my brother. Declan’s entire body stiffened as she wrapped her arms around him, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’m so excited,” she said, and he relaxed, giving me a reserved smile as his arms finally embraced her. “Babies!”
“You’re making him uncomfortable, Princess,” I teased with a smirk.
She pushed off Dex’s chest and scowled. “I am not.”
She looked back at Declan and his smile reached his eyes. “Maybe a little.”
“All you men are ridiculous, when do I get to see Paige?” She crossed her arms across her chest, and my brothers and I laughed. The pout on her lips made her tantrum comical.
“Soon.” Declan squeezed her shoulder as I approached.
I slid my arm around her waist and after a second she did the same to me. “Go see your girl, we’ll meet you back here in a few.”
“Sounds good.”
Declan’s eyes locked with mine and the normal blue color of his irises had gone completely clear. I wondered about his hallucinations, if the voices were telling him he’d fail, or as usual, that he was useless. “You’re going to be a great dad.” Declan swallowed and his gaze drifted down. “Hey. I fucking mean it. Don’t let anything give you doubt, little brother.”
He gave me a quiet smile. “I won’t.”
The cafeteria was packed with the early morning staff coming on shift, and it’d taken me thirty goddamn minutes to grab three fucking coffees. Kieran and Kelly stayed upstairs in case Dex called, or if they moved Paige to her room, and I’d been stuck in a never-ending line while my fingers burned against the thin cups. At least they had cup holders at the register. My phone vibrated in the pocket of my sweats, but I ignored it, not wanting to juggle coffee and a phone. Of course, the elevator stopped on every floor, and when it finally opened onto the fourth, I was glad to get the hell out of the sardine can. Fuck, I really hated people.
The waiting room was empty and, as I set the tray of coffee onto one of the tables, my phone vibrated again. I pulled it from my pocket and opened the text from Kelly. It said they were in the room already with Paige and, I kid you not, there were ten exclamation points after the word babies. I chuckled as I placed my phone back into my pocket, picked up the coffees, and followed the signs down the hall.
The doors that led to the patient rooms were locked, and I had to be buzzed in. After I gave them Paige and Declan’s name, the doors swung open, and I only had to pass three rooms before I found theirs. I could hear Kieran through the door and, w
hen I opened it, I wasn’t surprised to find him full of smiles.
“Hey,” he greeted me with a lopsided grin.
The room was small, and the first thing I noticed was Paige. She was sitting up, her face a little drained of its usual color, but she looked happy. Dex was sitting on the edge of her bed and, when I looked down to her lap, there were two bundles of blankets with two heads poking out the top.
My words were lodged in my throat as Declan lifted one of the babies and handed it to Paige. “That’s Royal…” Then he scooped up the little girl into his arms. She was small compared to his big hands. Declan’s fingers tugged the blanket down so I could have a better look, and the most fragile looking hand popped out. Declan offered her his thumb and her tiny fingers curled around it. He kept his eyes on his daughter as he said, “And this… this is Indie.”
I was standing there, coffee in my hands, stock still, as an unfamiliar ache spread through my chest. I wanted every bit of magic I was witnessing before me. I wanted Kelly in that bed, holding our baby. I wanted Declan’s smile, Paige’s tears, and fuck, I’d never been jealous of my brother before but I was now.
“So, what do you think, Uncle?” Paige asked through a smile.
Uncle.
“You guys make cute as hell babies,” I said as I handed Kieran the tray of coffee and she laughed.
“They really do.” Kelly’s voice startled me. I’d been too taken with the scene in front of me, I hadn’t even noticed she was in the room. She linked our hands and I brought my eyes to hers. The deep color was watered down with tears, her smile wet from the ones that had already fallen. “You guys, they’re perfect.”
“Can I hold her?” Kieran asked as he set the tray of coffee onto the side table.
Dex stood and walked around the bed. Kelly and I stepped over to the small sofa and sat down as Kieran took Indie from Dex’s arms, handling her as if she was made of glass. His face ignited as he settled her against his chest. That little girl had already wrapped him around her finger.
“Five pounds, eleven ounces,” Declan announced.
“She was lighter than her brother by one ounce.” Paige giggled. “I’m sure he’ll hold that over her head for the rest of her life if he’s anything like you guys.”
The room filled with laughter as Declan lifted Royal from Paige’s arms and brought him to us.
“No, that’s okay you—”
“Speak for yourself, give me that baby,” Kelly interrupted me and gladly took Royal into her open arms.
I was speechless as I watched her. Her smile ear to damn ear. She unfolded the blanket and played with his fingers and toes. “He’s so cute, look at all that blond hair.” She ran her hand over it. “Oh, my God, feel how soft.”
I hesitated, I was having too much fun in our private corner cataloging every flawless smile that parted her lips. I brushed my fingers through Royal’s hair and it was feather soft. I leaned down and kissed the top of his head. He smelled like powder, and I took a deep breath before I pulled away. His eyes were open, and the gray color of his irises tugged at my heart a little. It was like I was looking at Declan.
Kelly loosened the blanket and lightly draped it over his exposed limbs. “I don’t want him to get cold.” She tucked him away like she’d been swaddling babies her whole life and handed him to me.
I held him against my chest for a moment, and then placed him in my lap with a huge grin.
When I glanced up, Kelly’s smirk made me chuckle. “You look really sexy holding that baby.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Mm-hm.” She nodded her head and pressed her lips together to hide her growing smile.
Paige and Kieran were busy laughing as Dex hashed out the horrors he’d seen in the operating room. Kieran’s face almost made me laugh out loud as it morphed back and forth between fear and confusion.
“You’ve been quiet,” Kelly whispered so only I could hear as she stole Royal from my lap.
Kelly held him in her arms, her full bottom lip trapped between her teeth. She’d placed her hair into a messy knot on the top of her head earlier, and a few of the small pieces had escaped, falling across her forehead and around her temples. Seeing her like this, it was like she was dangling our future in front of me, but this time, I planned on grabbing it and never letting go.
My fingertips trailed across her cheekbone and then down her jaw as I held her chin. “Let’s get married.”
She puffed out a laugh. “Today?”
“Today, tomorrow, I couldn’t care less, as long as you say yes.”
I lowered my hand and cradled the back of her neck as I leaned in.
“You’re serious.” It wasn’t a question.
“I’m serious.” Her eyes welled with tears, and my pulse rattled through my heart, and if she didn’t say yes, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to breathe. I needed that yes. I needed it like I needed every fucking ounce of air in this room. “This…” I lowered my gaze to Royal and then back to her. “This is the only future I’ll accept. You’re all I’m ever going to want.”
“Liam…” Her voice cracked and her lips trembled. Each breath I took felt like my last as I waited her out, as I watched tears trickle past the curve of her cheek. I dipped my head and kissed her top lip and then her bottom.
“All I’ll ever want,” I whispered against her mouth.
“Yes.” The heat of her breath mixed with mine. “Yes,” she said again and the one word was all it took to break me open. The air I needed poured into my lungs as I kissed her soft lips.
Her answer… the sweetest fucking thing I’d ever tasted.
“Tell me your name,” I said in a low voice.
Her breath hitched and her eyes flashed with amber as her lips pulled into a sexy as fuck smile. “I am your queen.”
She could barely breathe as her mother pulled on the deep green satin ribbons that crisscrossed down her back and closed the bodice of her wedding dress.
“That’s good,” her mother murmured to herself, tied the ribbons shut into a tight knot, and then twisted it into a decorative bow.
Kelly reveled in the brief moment she had to look at herself in the mirror of the dressing room. The black dress wasn’t what she’d ever thought she would wear the day she said “I do.” But when she’d been looking for that perfect dress, this one stood out in a sea of white and ivory. Just like Liam stood out in a sea of mundane men, his painted skin, his perfect heart, they would be forever hers today.
The dress wasn’t too frilly, its corset was embroidered with delicate flowers, all made up of the same deep green thread as the ribbon in the back. Small emerald-colored bead work shimmered against the black satin bodice, and the skirts were made of black tulle. As she ran her hands down the center of her stomach, the material felt rich beneath her fingertips, and happy tears sprung into her eyes.
“Kelly, your make-up,” her mother admonished.
She met her mother’s gaze in the mirror and smiled. “Waterproof mascara.”
“I wish your sister could have been here today.” Her mother fussed with the skirts and averted her eyes.
“Mom, it’s fine, leave it.” Kelly turned and faced her. “I won’t let Tracey’s absence ruin this day. She’s never really been around much anyway, so unless you keep bringing it up…”
Her mother’s lips parted into a sad smile as she said, “My lips are sealed.”
Kelly gave her a half-hearted grin. “Thanks.”
Her mother fiddled with the skirts of Kelly’s dress a little more and then stepped back, her smile growing incredibly wide. “Kelly, you look…you look… like a queen.”
Kelly’s hair hung over her right shoulder in chocolate waves, and the top curve of her breasts were visible above the seam of her heart shaped bodice. She let her eyes linger along the four-inch scar on her face. Instead of trying to cover it, she’d left it clean, opting for just lipstick and a little eye make-up. Kelly had learned to look past the surface of who she was. The scar was a re
minder of second chances and, instead of hating it, she’d embraced it. She really did look like a queen, and felt worthy of the new ink Liam had placed above her only other tattoo. The words His Queen were written in elegant script on her right hip, just above the four-starred crown.
“Ready?” her mother asked, and she nodded.
Kelly’s fingers began to tremble as she made her way to the door on nervous legs and heeled feet. Not once in her entire modeling career had she ever felt this exposed. She and Liam had always been so private, and even though it was only his brothers and Paige waiting for her in the small reception room, she couldn’t stop her heart from lodging in her throat with every beat. She reached out and took her mother’s hand in hopes it would steady her own.
They paused just outside the large wooden doors. Her mother looked down at their interlocked hands and then back up at her daughter. “I don’t deserve to be here, I never…I never…”
“The past is gone, Mom. Once we walk through this door, a new life begins. And I don’t care what you did or didn’t do for me back then. The man waiting for me inside, he rescued me. He saved me from it all so you didn’t have to.” The syllables were gentle and lined with forgiveness. After all, what good could come from harboring grudges? She’d almost lost Liam to bottled up anger and years of unsaid words.
Her mother’s eyes glittered as she gave Kelly one last smile and opened the door.
Wall sconces lit the room in warm light, and, as Kelly stepped in, her eyes fell to a candlelit pathway on the floor. Paige had done an amazing job decorating. Little floor lanterns cast star-shaped shadows for her to walk on, and, as she raised her head, she noticed pedestals with vases of white roses at the end of the path. She was greeted with the handsome smiles of Liam’s brothers. Both in black suits, black vests, and green ties. Paige’s eyes were spilling over, but she looked gorgeous in her little black dress. You’d never know that she’d had twins less than three months ago.
Kelly took a step closer, looking for her groom, but it wasn’t until she’d almost reached the pedestals that he came into view. Her heart fluttered and stilled inside her chest, her lungs heavy with fire as she stole each precious breath. Her mother’s whispered encouragement to keep walking was the only thing to break the spell. Liam stood next to the officiant looking effortless in his flawless, tailored black suit with a matching black vest. His dark green shirt matched the ribbon of her corset, and he’d left the top two buttons undone, his colorful ink dripping down his neck. His freshly shaven face, his strong jaw, he was entirely too touchable. But, it wasn’t how he was dressed, necessarily, that had thrown her heart into an irregular rhythm. It was the way he was looking at her.
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