It's Our Time (Carolina Rebels Book 4)

by Lindsay Paige

  “Congrats on the baby, by the way,” Lizzy says from her seat next to me.

  “Thanks. We just found out today. Please don’t tell anyone yet. We haven’t even told our family.”

  “We can keep a secret,” Sylvia tells me.

  I alternate between munching on the crackers and sipping the ginger ale. I try to focus on the game, but I’m tired once more. My eyes drift closed before I can tell the girls they should head home.

  “Bruiser?”

  “Yeah?” I glance at Noah, who is staring at his phone, while I put my shoes on.

  “Why the fuck is my woman at your apartment?”

  “Mine too,” Marco adds.

  “Sylvia’s there too,” Scotty says as he comes over.

  “What?” I pat my pockets, find the one that has my phone, and read my texts to see that Sydney texted me twice. One said she was coming to the game. The next one says that the trio forced her home. What the fuck happened? I grab my keys and start hurrying to leave.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Home. Something obviously happened.”

  Someone curses and then they’re right behind me. My heart hammers in my chest. Her leaving the game early isn’t what bothers me. It’s the fact that she apparently had an escort and that they haven’t left her. That means they must be worried. Which means something might have happened to scare them.

  I burst through the door of my apartment, the three stooges close behind me, to see Sydney asleep. She’s leaning on Lizzy, her feet in Meredith’s lap, and Sylvia was lucky enough to be in the recliner.

  “She okay?” I ask.

  “I think so,” Meredith answers. “She got sick and nearly fainted. Then, we found out she hadn’t eaten. She still hasn’t except for the crackers. She fell asleep eating those.”

  “What’s wrong with her?” Noah hesitantly asks.

  Sylvia snorts. “She’s having a baby Bruiser, but you can’t tell anyone yet.”

  Scott is standing to my left and he slaps my shoulder in a silent congrats. I feel two more slaps on my right from Noah and Marc.

  I move over to sit on the coffee table. “She worry you that much?” I look between Meredith and Lizzy.

  “She didn’t look all that great, despite saying she was fine. And she freaked me out when I saw her eyes start to roll. So, yeah.”

  “Thanks for taking care of her.” I reach out and shake her shoulder. “Babe, wake up.”

  She startles awake and then jumps. “What the hell happened to you?”

  “What the hell happened to you?” I ask right back.

  “Nothing.” She frowns.

  “Oh lord, you have a liar on your hands,” Sylvia says from behind me.

  Scott chuckles. “Stay out of it,” he quietly orders.

  Then, Sydney realizes her feet are in Meredith’s lap and that she’s leaning on Lizzy, so she sits up and places them on the floor. “I’m hungry,” she says, still not answering my question.

  Noah laughs. “Mere, let’s go, yeah? Sounds like Ian needs to cook and you’re done here.”

  “Same for you, Elizabeth,” Marc says right after him.

  “Don’t even try it, Scott,” I hear from Sylvia as the chair creaks.

  “Thanks for helping me,” Sydney says, glancing at each one of them. “Wait. I don’t have my car.”

  “We’ll get it,” I tell her.

  There’s some more goodbyes said and then our guests are gone. Sydney leans forward and gently touches my face and the fresh cut under my eye.

  “Fight?”

  “Yeah. Bastard got me good, but I gave as good as I got. What do you want to eat?”

  “You’re not going to ask what happened?”

  “The girls told me before I woke you up.” I stand and head to the kitchen. “Want anything in particular?” Hearing her footsteps, I whirl around. “What the fuck are you doing?”

  “You should go to bed. You have another game tomorrow and I’ve had plenty of sleep today. I can cook myself something.”

  “Babe, put your ass back on the couch.”

  She levels a stare at me, but when I don’t back down, she rolls her eyes and parks herself on the couch. “Fix whatever you want.”

  “Breakfast? Maybe some eggs, french toast, and sausage?”

  “No eggs, please.”

  I start on her meal. “How worried should we be about these near-fainting spells?”

  “It’s happened once. I haven’t eaten since this morning.”

  “Sydney,” I begin, but she cuts me off.

  “I know. But I woke up, we ate, I called my parents, Carey came over, then I went to buy the test, we took our nap, and I went to the game. I didn’t wake up until it was time to go, so I went straight there. Trust me, I don’t need the lecture.”

  “Okay.” As I cook, I start thinking about how things will change. “So, we’ll still be able to have sex, right?”

  Sydney starts laughing so hard, I hear her snort. I glance over to see her clutching her stomach and wiping tears from her eyes.

  “What is so funny about that?”

  “There’s a human growing inside of me, I’m currently feeling miserable, and your second question about this is about sex?” She falls over, her laughter taking over again. When she calms down enough to speak, she says, “Yes, we’ll be able to have sex. How often it happens once I’m further along is a different story.”

  There’s a knock on the door and Sydney is practically running over before I can step away from the stove.

  “Zane?”

  “Hey,” I hear him say as I glance over my shoulder to see him step inside. “I heard a bunch of the guys left in a rush to come over here. I wanted to make sure everything was okay. I tried calling, but Bruiser wasn’t answering.”

  “Everything’s fine,” I say.

  “Are you hungry?” Sydney asks. “Ian’s making French toast.” Without waiting for an answer, she says, “Make some for Zane, Ian.”

  “So, nothing’s wrong?” Zane asks as they take a seat at the dining table.

  “No. They were worried about me. I was sick and lightheaded is all. Meredith, Lizzy, and Sylvia were here, so it brought their men here too. Oh!” She giggles. “I don’t know why, but Savannah named her new stuffed animal Z.”

  “She did?” Zane sounds surprised.

  “Yes. You’ve made some kind of impression on her, I guess. You’ll have to come over at some point and see if she’ll introduce him as Z or not. Plus, I’m sure she’d be happy to see you and give you a fist bump.”

  “She’s a cool kid. Is she still taking skating lessons?”

  “Those are on hold until her arm heals. She misses it, though.”

  They talk back and forth until I’m placing a plate of food in front of each of them. Zane seems a bit embarrassed, but he’s never one to turn down food.

  “You didn’t have to come all the way over here,” Sydney says as she scarfs down her food.

  Zane shrugs. “Just wanted to be sure nothing was wrong. I thought it might be Savannah.” He winces. “I mean, I thought it could be you, but I…”

  I laugh. “No one cares that you were more worried about Savannah, Z.”

  “Thanks for breakfast,” he says. His phone chimes in his pocket and he checks it, a smile quickly lighting his face and then disappearing just as fast.

  “That Deanna?” I ask.

  “Who’s Deanna?” Sydney curiously gets interested.

  “Yeah,” Zane answers. “She’s just some girl I see every now and then.”

  “Oh! We should totally go on a doub—”

  “Babe,” I interrupt to stop her, the warning in my voice causing her to glance at me in confusion.

  “Yeah,” Zane cuts in. “That’s a nice thought, but it’s not like that.”

  “Oh.” Sydney seems disappointed. She pats Zane on the shoulder. “Been there, done that,” she says quietly. “Maybe she’ll come around.”

  I doubt that. Zane nods his he
ad, but I wonder if he really thinks she’ll come around.

  “You should start coming over for dinner some,” Sydney tells him.

  Zane laughs. “I think Bruiser sees me enough. He probably doesn’t want me coming over when he’s supposed to spend time with you and Savannah.”

  “No one cares what he wants anymore.” Zane is confused by this, but I laugh, so he lets it go. “Come if you want, Zane. You’re more than welcome,” Sydney adds.

  “Thanks. I should get going. Glad you’re okay, Sydney, and I hope you feel better.”

  She thanks him and I walk him to the door. I feel bad about not telling him right away what’s going on, but I’m following her lead. She didn’t want to tell people just yet anyway, I remind myself. Not until she goes to the doctor and we tell our family. I need to find out how her family reacted to the engagement, too.

  “Hey, you okay?” I ask Zane before he can get too far down the hallway.

  He turns around. “Yeah.” He keeps walking without giving me a chance to ask whatever that text from Deanna was about.

  I step into the apartment, lock the door, and don’t see Sydney anywhere. Maybe she’s getting ready for bed. As I go about cleaning up the kitchen somewhat, I think back to earlier today. I still can’t believe she’s pregnant.

  “Ian! Come to bed already!” Sydney shouts from down the hall.

  I drop what I’m doing to do as she asks. She’s lying in bed already and eyes me as I go around, getting ready for bed. When I crawl in next to her, she rolls on top of my body, kissing me soundly just once. She’s completely naked, which tells me where her mind is. Sydney never comes to bed naked.

  “I love you.”

  “Love you too, babe. Hey, how’d it go with your parents and Carey?” Having my clothes between us helps and I need to ask before I get too distracted by her lying on top of me like she is.

  She hesitates for all of a second. “They’re happy for us. Carey and I are good again. She says he’s changed, so I hope she’s right.”

  “They’ll be happy to hear about the baby?”

  “I think so.”

  “What really happened?” I ask because she still sounds a bit unsure.

  “Okay, promise that you’ll let it roll off your shoulders because it doesn’t matter and she’s getting over it?”

  Shit. “It’s your mother again?”

  She nods. “I made the mistake of telling her about our last argument.”

  “So?”

  “So, I told her how you said, ‘Fuck you, Sydney.’” I raise an eyebrow because I don’t see the big deal. I was pissed at what she said. “She thought it was pretty harsh and that you shouldn’t talk to me like that. Anyway, after today, she’s getting over it. She wasn’t sure if she should be happy at first, but she is now.”

  “How am I supposed to win that woman over? Seriously.”

  “I think if I could keep my mouth shut, you could do it.”

  “Then shut the hell up, gorgeous,” I tease with a grin. Part of me wants her mom to like me, and then the other half doesn’t really give a fuck. She doesn’t live close enough for her to be a problem. My hands are on her waist and I give it a squeeze. “Not that I mind, but what’s up with you lying on me naked?”

  “Just felt like it.” She grins and giggles a little. Her head dips to hide in my neck, where she presses a quick kiss. “Are you tired?”

  “Why?” Now, I’m a little confused. Why is she still talking?

  “Because I’m feeling better and there’s something I’ve been thinking about since last night.” Her voice has gone soft and a little timid.

  Holy shit. This is about sex. Sydney outright asking for something sexual is a rare occurrence. Usually, she finds nonverbal ways to drop hints about what she wants, but sometimes, she starts talking about it. She hasn’t even said anything and I’m already hard and ready to fuck her.

  “What is it, gorgeous?” I ask quietly. I roll us over, hovering over her and begin kissing her neck to make her more relaxed. We’ve been having sex for a long time, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t get a little anxious here and there.

  Her fingers run through the hair on top of my head. Wordlessly, she starts pushing my head down her body and I know instantly what she wants.

  I push her hand away. “Message heard loud and clear, babe, but I think I’ll take my time getting my mouth there,” I say right before I lower my mouth on her left breast while my hand slides down her stomach and between her thighs. She groans so loud, I’m extremely thankful we have the apartment to ourselves.

  June

  Yesterday, we were watching the final game of the season and saw one team win the best trophy in all of sports. Obviously, it wasn’t the Rebels since Sydney and I were watching the game. We made it to the second round this year and were out in four games. Today, one city is celebrating the fact that they are champions.

  Me?

  I have something just as exciting to celebrate. We’re going to find out if baby Rhett will be a boy or a girl. Sydney was a little further along than she thought she was. This entire pregnancy, while it may not always be fun for her, has been a dream for me. Sometimes, it doesn’t even seem real. Right about now, Sydney is going on a craving spree. The woman is hungry all the damn time. She’s putting all the guys on the team to shame with her appetite.

  We still haven’t gotten married. She pushed it off because of her graduating, us getting Savannah’s last name changed, getting my name on her birth certificate, and she wanted us to find a new place to live first. We’ve only been settled into our home for a week, but we’re getting married this weekend. Things have been really good for the past three months, ever since we found out she was pregnant. She’s been moodier than ever and she’s given me the silent treatment only once. That’s a true testament to how good things have been.

  And now, we’re going to find out what our baby is.

  I’ve been to every appointment so far because I make her schedule them when I can come, even the ones she says aren’t that important. It hasn’t been too much of an issue since I’m in my off-season now. This is probably the first time that I’ve loved summer. I’m getting to spend every second with Sydney and Savannah. I get to take Savannah places, to the park, to her skating lessons, and sometimes, just over to Zane’s.

  How is this my life?

  How do I finally have the woman I want? Not only that, but we have a beautiful daughter and another beautiful baby on the way.

  How is this possible?

  “Pinch me, babe.”

  Sydney glances over at me and squeezes my hand, somehow knowing exactly what I’m feeling. “It’s crazy, isn’t it?”

  Just then, the door opens and it’s time. They’re talking, but my eyes are focused on the machine. At one point, Sydney told me that she almost waited to find out if she was having a boy or a girl with Savannah and that we could do that with this baby. I shut that down real quick. There’s no way I can wait until October to find out. It doesn’t make a difference if it’s a boy or a girl, we’ll be happy either way, but I need to know. I want to experience this.

  My breath is stolen as an image of our baby appears and his or her heartbeat drifts into the air like the sweetest lullaby. I relax a little at hearing this, as it always calms me. The woman is talking again, but it’s not until I hear the word “boy” that I start paying attention. She smiles at us and Sydney squeezes my hand in a death grip.

  “Ian?”

  I look at her. She’s managed to get even more gorgeous, but right now, she looks worried. “The baby is a boy?”

  “Yes,” the woman answers.

  My eyes are still on Sydney who hasn’t stopped looking worried. Smiling, I tell her, “You were right for once.”

  She laughs. “About time, huh?”

  Wow. A boy. Now, I have to start thinking of names. Sydney says since she named Savannah, as long as she gets final approval, that I can name our second child. Which really means I’m doing all the
hard work of searching for names and she gets the easy job of saying yes or no to those on the shortlist. I don’t care, though. I’m excited about doing it.

  The rest of the appointment is a blur and as we walk outside, Sydney has her nose in her phone.

  “Who the hell are you texting?”

  “Meredith. Marc and Lizzy are eloping.”

  “What?” We stop walking between two rows of cars.

  “Yep. She’s all excited because she’s the first to know and she wanted to tell me. Noah and Meredith are the only ones going with them. She also wants to know if we’ll keep Leo for her. Apparently, they aren’t telling Scott and Sylvia until they get back for some reason and they normally watch Leo if it’s not Marc or Lizzy.”

  “Leo?”

  “Her dog,” she reminds me.

  I frown. “If we keep a dog, Savannah is going to want one.”

  Sydney laughs. “Are you saying you don’t know how to tell her no?”

  “Yes,” I answer with a nod.

  “I can tell her no for you, Ian.”

  “What if you want a dog after we keep it? I can’t say no to you either. And doesn’t she know we have our own wedding to get ready for this weekend?”

  Sydney rolls her eyes. “Let me call her.” I take her free hand and keep walking to the car while she calls to find out more details. We’re going to eat next because it’s been four hours, so I know she’s starving.

  We’re in the car and on the way to the restaurant when Sydney says, “We’ll do it.”

  “Babe!” What happened to discussing it with me?

  She glares my way. “No, he’s fine with it. He’s just worried we’re going to want a dog and that y’all won’t be back before our own wedding, but we have that settled, so we’ll watch Leo. I’ll text you when we get home and you can bring him on over.” They exchange a few more words before she hangs up. “What the hell, Ian? She heard you.”

  “Why did you say yes?”

  “Why would I say no? Marc and Lizzy want their best friends to be at their wedding and they need us to watch Leo. I’m not about to say no and get in the way. Besides, Meredith said that they’ll be back Friday.”

  “Babe. We’re getting married Saturday.”

  “Yes, and our wedding is so small that we won’t be running around. They’ll pick him up on Friday. We’ll get married Saturday. It’ll be fine.”