by J. A. Low
“Yes, two little babies. Congratulations you are having twins.” Thank God I am lying down otherwise I think I would have fainted from the shock.
“Shit, twins,” Christian mumbles.
“This is your fault.” I kick him from where I am laying down, this makes him chuckle.
“I’m a twin.” He smiles at the doctor.”
“Well that explains it. Both heartbeats are very strong, it’s too early to know what sex they are, you will have to come back in a month’s time. I would say that you are about eleven weeks, so you will be due in June.”
Wow, this all seems so real now. June next year is a long way away. We will have not only one little baby arriving but two little Taylor babies coming into our lives. After the roller coaster year I’ve had, this is just the icing on the top. I clean myself up and the doctor talks to us about the extra pressures I will have on my body as I will be carrying twins. She advises me that I probably won’t make it to term as they like to deliver twins a little earlier. She prints off the photos of our little jelly beans and hands the photos to us.
***
Christian and I are silent all the way to the car.
“Fuck,” Christian says as he bursts out laughing. “Knowing my luck it’s going to be twin girls; I am so fucked.” He rakes his hands through his light brown hair.
“I don’t care what we have as long as they are healthy. It would be cool if we had a boy and a girl that way we don’t have to have anymore,” I add.
“What? You only want two kids?” Christian questions me.
“Well kind of, yeah.”
“I thought we were going to have four.”
“Four?” I squeal, settling into the soft leather of Christian’s car.
“Two boys and two girls,” he says confidently.
I burst out laughing, “Mr. Taylor you surprise me every day. How about we see how we handle the first two and then we can negotiate.”
“Let me see, let me see.” My mum accosts us as we arrive home. We got extra sets of the photos printed for this very reason. I hand them over to Christian’s parents.
“Oh my, twins.” Christian’s mum notices first.
“Twins?” Mum questions.
“Yep, right here, two little jelly beans.” His mum shows her.
“You are going to have two babies?” Mum’s eyes widen. “We are going to have two grandbabies.” She starts to cry.
“Yep, we sure are. Twins.” My brain is still trying to work it all out.
“Do we know if they are boys or girls yet?” Mum asks,
“Not until next month, after the wedding in the new year.”
“As long as they are healthy, sweetheart, I don’t mind.” She gives me a teary hug. “I never thought this day would come after everything you have been through.” It’s been a tough year; being diagnosed with the BRACA gene, having a double mastectomy, thinking I might not have children, and months later here I am getting everything I never dreamed possible.
“I am going to stay healthy for my little babies,” I promise her.
***
“Twins,” Derrick shouts as we sit around the dinner table at our regular weekly dinner catch up, this time at my house. Our parents are currently in Texas, Christian’s family wanted to show them their home state so they are visiting them for a week before we have to head to England for the wedding.
“Two little Christians running around, shit,” Axel curses as he sits down with his beer.
“Twice the fun,” Christian adds.
“I remember what it was like to be stuck with you, those poor kids,” he ribs him.
“Do you know what you’re having yet?” Isla asks, staring at the little image of our babies.
“No idea.”
“I hope they are girls, just to torture Chris,” Oscar announces and my husband flips him off.
“Yep, I think they will be girls too,” Isla adds.
“As if you’re a radiographer, you can’t tell from this image,” Finn argues with her.
“Whatever, I just have a feeling,” she grumbles back.
“I think Sienna and Evan are having a girl,” Stacey adds,
“Nah, I think it’s a boy, I mean my swimmers are pretty potent,” Evan adds. Chris throws a cushion at him.
“Are you saying my swimmers are not any good? Because I created two kids at once, I am so potent.”
“Jesus, they are arguing about who’s stuff is more potent. I do not need to know anything about my brother’s swimmers, thank you very much,” Charlotte groans.
“So when do we find out about the sexes of your babies?” Derrick asks.
“Doctor told us next month, so after we get back they should be able to tell, unless you have a blood test, like I did last time and found out,” Sienna explains.
“Okay, so we hold off on decorating the nursery then,” Derrick states.
“Hold on, decorating the nursery, isn’t it a little early to be doing that?” Christian grumbles.
“Um, no, there is so much to do and you now have two, Mr. Taylor, so twice the amount of work.”
“And twice the amount of money,” Evan adds.
“Hey, Mr. Moneybags, don’t you dare grumble about dollars because you loved how awesome Ryder’s nursery was,” Derrick argues.
“Yes, yes, it was pretty cute, but the bills were not.”
***
“Hey, Kim, how are you?” I pick up the call from Camryn’s business partner.
“It’s Cammie.”
My heart starts pounding. I can’t handle if something has happened to her. “Is she okay? What’s happened?” I grip the sofa beside me as Christian’s head pops up from where he is in the kitchen. He sees my death grip on the sofa and rushes over to help sit me down.
“Harris is a cheating bastard,” Kimberly swears down he phone.
Christian shakes his head in disgust.
“What? No, he looked so devoted to her.”
“Yeah, I thought the same until I saw it with my own eyes.”
“You saw him cheating on her?” I’m in utter shock, I never saw this coming.
“Damn right I did, and poor Cam was right beside me when I did.”
“What the...”
“We had a last minute Christmas party to organize last night, they were willing to pay mega bucks for it so we took the job. Big fools we were; the fucking party was Harris’ engagement party.”
“What the fuck?” Even Christian looks shocked.
“Cammie and I organized his fucking engagement party to someone else.”
“That fucker, that fucking fucker. How? Why? I don’t understand. How did Cam not know that Harris was with someone else?”
“Apparently he is quite good at keeping secrets. Why the hell would he do something like this to her? I don’t understand. Men can be such fuckers sometimes.”
“How is she?”
“She was holed up in her apartment, she’s a mess. But you know her, Cammie is going to put on a brave face, but it’s a little hard when his engagement is flashed all over Page Six, it’s the talk of the town. Their smiling faces are plastered everywhere; she can’t escape it.”
“I still can’t believe him. What the hell kind of game does he think he is playing? Does his new fiancée know about Cam?”
“Probably, from the gossip I have heard, it’s definitely not a marriage based on love and commitment,” Kimberly says with a sneer.
“Fucking bastard. Do you need me to jump on the next plane and come to New York? I totally can.”
“Actually, Olivia called and Cam’s decided to head to England a little earlier and help Olivia get things ready for your wedding.”
“I am in shock, Kim, I want to murder that fucker.”
“You and me both.”
“I should call her.”
“She’s on her way to the airport as we speak and has turned off her phone, Harris keeps calling her but give her a call when she lands. I’m sure she would love to hea
r from you.”
“Okay, will do.”
“I better go work is crazy, take care and see you soon.”
Then she’s gone.
“I want to pummel him.” Christian flexes his fist.
“Not before me, I can’t believe him, and he’s engaged. I just…”
Christian wraps his arms around my shoulders, comforting me as the tears start. “I don’t get it, Cammie is beautiful, successful, rich in her own right, she is a fucking catch. Not since…Lance has she opened herself up like she did to Harris.”
“I know, babe, I know. I don’t understand men sometimes.”
I give him a snort, “Damn right, men are confusing.”
“Yes, but most men don't sneak around with a secret woman while they are publicly dating an awesome one. Also they don’t ask their girlfriend to plan the engagement party.”
“I can’t believe he fucked her over like this.”
Christian rubs his hand along my tiny belly bump. “Babe, please don’t stress about it, you are carrying important cargo now.” He looks at me with concern in those whiskey colored eyes. He’s right, I don’t want to stress out our babies.
***
“Hey, how are you going, babe?”
“I’ve been better.” Camryn sounds defeated on the phone, I don’t blame her.
“Seriously, Cam, I want to downright murder that two-timing bastard.” This makes her chuckle.
“You and me both. I feel like a fool. Harris and I definitely didn’t hide the fact that we were dating, and now this. Two seconds later he is engaged to someone else. Was I not good enough?”
“What? No! He is the one that wasn’t good enough for you. He is a lying, cheating fuck face,” I tell her, feeling my anger bubble to the surface again.
“I should have seen it coming.”
“How? How could anyone know that their boyfriend was organizing an engagement party to someone else?”
Camryn lets out a big sigh, “You’re right, thank God I have your wedding to keep me occupied, otherwise I would be sitting on the couch at home feeling sorry for myself.”
“Camryn Starr never wallows on the couch over some boy. She picks herself up and tells him to go fuck himself then goes back out there and picks up an even hotter man to have some fun with him.”
This makes her chuckle. “All true, but this time, I don’t know, Ness. This time I feel like he has broken me and I hate him for it.”
My stomach sinks. “I know, babe, you thought he might have been the one, but isn’t it better to find out now after only six months together rather than a lifetime?”
She’s silent for a couple of moments. “Maybe you’re right, at least I have the knowledge that your wedding is going to be filled with hot rock stars to keep me entertained.”
“See, silver lining.” We both laugh, but I know it’s too soon for her to think about anyone else.
“Ivy is coming up to visit me.” Ivy is Camryn’s younger sister; she owns her own luxury interior design business in London; she decorates the homes of London’s elite. She even helped Olivia renovate the castle.
“Oh, that is fantastic. You don’t get to see each other much, I’m glad she will be there.”
“Yeah, me too, I better go, I’m shattered from my long flight. Thank you for checking in on me.”
“Anytime, I love you, okay.”
“I know, love you too. I’ll see you in a bit over a week.”
“Can’t wait to squish you.”
“Bye, Ness.”
“Bye, Cam.”
“Welcome to Alnwick Castle,” Vanessa’s friend Olivia greets us at the door of the imposing castle. Ness showed me pictures of it, but it’s so much grander than I had ever expected.
“Princess, so good to see you.” Derrick gives Olivia a big hug. Then turns to where Camryn is standing beside her. “Cammie, my Cammie, I am going to kill that man. I am going to pull his balls off and shove them so far down his throat that he is going to choke on them.” Camryn gives him a weak smile. He pulls her to him and gives her a hard, tight hug. When she pulls away her eyes are glassy.
Then it’s Ness’ turn. They hug each other and mumble things to one another.
“Come on inside, Sebastien and Yvette have just arrived,” Olivia advises us. We make our way into the imposing castle, a fucking castle, who would have thought I would be getting married in one. Olivia explains the history of her family as we enter her home. She tells us how she is now the caretaker of this place while her father is in ill health. This place seems kind of huge for one person to be living in, I am already lost. I really hope it comes with a map. How does she find the time to look after it? She must have help; how would you clean everything? You would finish one side of the castle and then have to start all over again.
Axel echoes the same sentiment. “You look after this all by yourself? No one else helps you? Don’t you have a sister?”
How does Axel know she has a sister?
Olivia’s cheeks pink as she responds to Axel’s direct question. “It’s my duty to help look after this estate; it has been in my family for four hundred years. I don’t want to be the one that destroys it’s legacy. It keeps me very busy. My sister chooses to pursue other opportunities.” Axel and Olivia stare at each other for a fraction longer than is necessary. I notice Axel’s nostrils flare; his eyes turn molten. What is going on there? I know my brother is interested in beautiful women, and Olivia is very attractive, of course not my type, but she is most definitely his type physically. Ness told me stories about their time in London and Olivia seems very proper, not all that wild, so I would doubt Axel is interested, other than appreciating a good looking woman.
“Where are all the hot men?” Derrick asks, pulling Olivia’s attention away from Axel.
“Maybe some in the village, but there are generally none around here.” She gives him a shrug.
“My poor little princess, now I understand why you needed to let loose in Monaco, you are locked up in the tower waiting for Prince Charming to come and save you, but there are none around for miles.” Olivia’s face pales then turns red in embarrassment with Derrick’s observations.
“D, now is not the time,” Sienna reprimands him, his eyes widen as he takes in all our families around us.
“Shit, sorry princess.” Derrick for the first time looks embarrassed by the scene he has caused. Olivia quickly waves her hand in the universal sign to not worry and continues on her tour of the large estate.
“Sebastien is currently in the kitchen testing it out and Yvette is setting up all the dresses in the parlor room. You all must be exhausted from your long journey, Camryn has your room keys and will escort you from here. I just have some business to attend to and will join you again for dinner tonight.” And with that she is gone, my brother’s attention following her until she is no longer in the room. I give him a look, but he just shakes his head. I hope he isn’t thinking of doing anything with Olivia, she looks way to innocent for his tastes and I don't need his antics to mess up my wedding, especially with Mom and Dad here. I narrow my eyes at him, silent communication settles between us.
“Don’t. It’s not what you think,” are the only words he mumbles to me, which surprises me. I shake my head because honestly I don’t want to know.
“To the happy couple, here is your key. You have the main bedroom which is up on the top floor, it is all ready for you.” Camryn smiles at us. I may have asked her to do a couple of things in the room before we arrived.
I grab Vanessa and swing her up into my arms making her squeal.
“Christian,” she yells, making everyone laugh.
“No way, wife, I am whisking you away to your turret my princess.”
“Oh role play, kinky, Christian,” Derrick calls out, again making everyone laugh. I shake my head, I’m pretty sure my parents don’t need to know I am whisking my wife away to have my wicked way with her. I ignore him and continue up the many flights of stone stairs.
“Babe, there are too many stairs.”
“I don’t care,” I heave. There definitely are too many stairs, but I am not wimping out. I finally make it to our room and Vanessa swipes the key to open the door. I continue on through into the room, trying not to hit things.
“Wow, this is, oh my God, there is a fireplace…and…Christian…” She says my name breathlessly as I place her feet back onto the floor. “You…” words seem to fail her at the moment.
Turning her in my arms, I hold her face in my hands. “I wanted to make this perfect, all of it. I wanted to do it right.” I take her lips between mine and slowly show her how much I love her. Vanessa’s hands grip my sweater as the kiss deepens. I unwillingly break the kiss, and she gives me a small whimper, which makes me laugh. “Don’t worry, Angel, there is more to come, I want you comfortable first.” I move her toward my romantic set up in front of the fire where a large fur rug has been placed. Around it is a scattering of plush cushions, to the left is a table filled with a platter of chocolate dipped strawberries and a bottle of sparkling apple juice. She’s off the hard stuff now that I have knocked her up. That thought still fills me with pride. Two large glass windows are on either side of the crackling fireplace, and I can already see the snow flurries begin to fall onto the gardens below.
I motion for Vanessa to take a seat on the rug, and move some cushions around to make her comfortable. She snuggles in next to me watching the snow fall. “This is so beautiful.” We lay mesmerized by the flurries of snow.
“Not as beautiful as you.” I kiss her temple which makes her smile.
“We got pretty lucky, didn’t we?” She turns to look up at me with those jade green eyes that I love so much.
“Yeah, we did.” I pause and enjoy the moment we are having before I take it to where I want it to go. “But not as lucky as you are going to be in a moment.” I give her a wicked smile.
“Is that so, Mr. Taylor?” she questions, cocking an eyebrow at me.
“Oh yes it is, Mrs. Taylor. Now I think you are getting a little hot under the collar sitting here, it might be best if you take something off.” I pull off my navy pullover and Vanessa quickly gets rid of her white one.
“Now what?” she questions me with a bright smile across her beautiful face.