Love Me Like You Do (Love Me, I'm Famous Book 6)

by M. H. Soars

  “All right. Show us what we need to sign. I think our little guy is bone tired.” I look at him, already falling asleep on Liv’s lap. My irritation simmers a bit as I take in the scene. It’s almost like Liv has always been his mommy.

  We sign everything, listen some more to the social worker’s instructions, and finally head back to our house in Hermosa Beach. Liv, Kimmy, and Saylor went nuts decorating little Sebastian’s room, and it looks like we’re inside a spaceship. The ceiling has a painting of the cosmos and the stars glow in the dark. But little Bas is so tired, he barely pays attention to the décor. He makes a beeline for his spaceship-shaped bed and asks if it’s his.

  “Yes,” Liv answers. “Do you like it?”

  He nods, then turns, hugging us both in one go. “I love it. Thank you for saving me.”

  With happy tears in her eyes, Liv helps him change clothes, and after he brushes his teeth, she reads him a story about pirates and hidden treasures. I watch everything from the door with a big smile on my face. I only notice I’m crying when I feel moisture on my cheeks.

  Liv kisses little Bas’s forehead when he falls asleep, then turns off the light. I pull her into a hug and kiss her softly. We both turn, glued at the hip, and stare at the boy who sleeps peacefully in his new bed.

  Our son.

  My heart is so full, I’m afraid it will explode. They’re right about parenthood. It changes everything.

  For the better.

  Thirty-One

  LIV

  We don’t receive the adoption papers until December 22nd, just in time for Christmas. Little Bas had been counting the days for it, and he had even asked that to be his present from Santa. Sebastian and I were freaking out, naturally. What a disappointment it would be if we didn’t get the papers in time, but we did, and now we’re going to make our little boy very happy.

  Two months living with little Bas taught us so much. It’s one thing to spend a few hours playing with a kid, quite another to raise one. Despite being a sweetheart, our son’s condition makes things a little harder sometimes, but nothing we can’t handle.

  Sebastian and I have never been closer, and parenthood truly helped me prioritize things in my life. No more working late hours, no more missing important occasions on account of work.

  This year we’re celebrating Christmas at our new home, and besides my family, we’ve invited the Renegades crew as well. Remi and Sticks had plans already with their families and couldn’t come, but Tabatha and Allan are there, plus Saylor, Ollie, the twins, and Harry.

  Since leaving the hospital, the twins have grown by leaps and bounds. Little Bas proclaimed himself the official nanny and won’t leave their side for one second. I watch him from a distance while I fix some hors d’oeuvres in the open kitchen. He’s listening to Oliver intently while our friend proceeds to change one of the twin’s diapers on the couch. My guess is that Ollie is already training our little dude for diaper duty.

  “You lucked out. You got a kid who’s already potty trained and will be the perfect nanny for when you decide to pop a baby out,” Saylor says next to me.

  “He’s so sweet. He’ll be a great big brother.”

  “Oh man, I love that kid. I’m calling dibs on his babysitting days,” Kimmy chimes in, grabbing a snack from the tray I just arranged.

  “No way, Jose. That kid is mine.” Saylor throws a piece of salami at Kimmy, who dodges just before it hits her chest.

  “What are you girls fighting about already?” Owen comes in, making a grab for another plate of hors d’oeuvres. I bat his hand away.

  “They’re already trying to steal my son from me.”

  “Ah well, Kimmy, if you want to go for the second one. I’m ready.”

  My sister runs her hand over her smooth belly. “I just got my figure back. Let me enjoy it for a while longer.”

  “Well, we can practice.” He wiggles his eyebrows up and down, turning Kimmy’s face bright red.

  “Gah. I don’t know who’s worse, you two or Blue and Ollie boy.”

  “Don’t hate if you’re not getting any,” Saylor replies.

  Placing my hands on my hips, I glare at her. “I’m getting plenty, thank you very much.”

  I pick up the tray, leaving the kitchen in a huff.

  Sebastian comes to me as I’m setting the tray on the table and places a hand on my lower back before whispering softly in my ear. “What’s the matter, my love? You look flushed.”

  “Saylor and my sister were picking on me.”

  “Oh no. Should I tell them to stop?”

  I turn to him and smile. “No, but we can prove them wrong later tonight. I know what I want for Christmas.” I brush my hand over his crotch, and Sebastian gets my meaning.

  “Oh, someone wants to be naughty tonight. I’m down for that.”

  He kisses me softly with just enough hint of what he has planned for me later. A zing of pleasure travels down my spine, but I put a lid on it. Now it’s time to play the perfect hostess, not have lustful thoughts about my husband.

  The evening progresses smoothly. What a difference this is from the same time last year when we didn’t know if we would still have Saylor around with us. Now she’s thriving with two beautiful babies in her arms.

  Little Bas tries to stay awake until midnight so he can catch Santa delivering the gifts, but he’s struggling; his eyes have glossed over, and all the candy in the world can’t help him now. Right before he falls asleep completely, Sebastian kills the music and calls everyone’s attention. The commotion has Bas a little more awake. He rubs his eyes and sits up straighter on the couch.

  “I know it’s not midnight yet, but me and Santa Claus are best buds, so he did me a solid and delivered a present to someone very special earlier,” Sebastian says.

  Our son’s eyes widen as he leans forward. “Who? Who?”

  “Well, let’s see what the envelope say.”

  Sebastian makes a big deal out of reading the name printed on the envelope. “Well, it says Sebastian. Now I’m confused. Could this gift be meant for me?”

  “Nooo! You’re too old to receive gifts from Santa.” Little Bas laughs, delighted with Sebastian’s show.

  He frowns. “Are you sure? I thought you were never too old to receive gifts from Santa.”

  “Unless you were naughty. Were you naughty this year, Coleman?” Owen asks, and no one misses the innuendo—except the kid, mercifully.

  “Oh yeah, I was very naughty.” He winks at me, and heat rushes to my cheeks.

  “Okay, I better leave the room. I can’t deal with this.” Dad stands from the couch, shaking his head. All part of the performance.

  “See? Then the gift is for me.” Our son grins.

  Sebastian rolls his eyes. “Oh, I guess you’re right. Here.”

  Little Bas grabs the envelope with eager hands, tearing the paper impatiently.

  “Careful now. You don’t want to rip Santa’s gift to shreds too,” I say.

  When he finally manages to pull the certificate from the envelope, he stares at it with wide eyes and a big smile.

  Sebastian crouches in front of him and asks, “Do you know what this is, Bas?”

  “My adoption papers?” His tiny voice is filled with emotion; it makes my eyes blurry.

  “Yes, buddy. You’re now Sebastian Coleman, Junior.”

  “You’re our son, officially now,” I say.

  Little Bas looks down right before his entire body starts to shake. Sebastian touches his shoulder, trying to see what’s wrong. “Hey, buddy. What’s the matter?”

  Without saying a word, little Bas throws himself at his dad. “Nothing. I’m so happy.”

  Crying too, I kneel in front of them and hug the most important men in my life.

  “Ah, bloody hell. Now I’m crying too,” Oliver says.

  “Group hug!” Jeremy yells, and a second later we’re engulfed by our friends and family.

  I wait a couple of beats before I warn them I can’t breathe. The pr
essure disappears, but our little family remains surrounded by the people I love the most.

  Later that night, after everyone is gone and little Bas is tucked in bed, it’s time to give Sebastian his gift. I tell him to turn on the TV while I go put on something more comfortable. He pulls off his shirt and pants in a flash, keeping only his boxer shorts on and jumping into bed. Before I disappear into the bathroom, I push Play on the video in my phone. I had already synced the device to the TV screen.

  “What the heck. No way!” Sebastian says, making me laugh.

  I quickly change clothes, putting on the same dress I wore when Sebastian and I went on our first date. The video Sebastian is watching is of the prank my parents pulled on him.

  “Jesus, I look like I was about to pass out.”

  I decide to make my grand entrance then, leaning against the doorframe and striking a seductive pose. “Hi there.”

  Sebastian peels his gaze from the screen only to let his jaw drop when he sees what I’m wearing. “Is that the same dress?”

  Walking slowly, I reveal what I had hidden behind me: an ice cream cone. Without taking my eyes off him, I lick the already-melting butterscotch ice cream. “Hmm, so good.”

  “Come here, you temptress.” Sebastian grabs my wrist, pulling me to him. Part of the ice cream topples over and falls onto his lap. “Oh shit.”

  I’m hit with a case of hysterics, unable to stop laughing. I meant to smear ice cream all over him, but not like that.

  “You think this is funny? I’ll show you funny.” He pulls me all the way onto the bed and then rubs ice cream across my face.

  “Uh, you’re going to ruin my dress.” I try to escape his assault in vain.

  “No I’m not.” He licks the dessert from my face before prying my lips open with his tongue.

  I stop offering resistance and stop caring about the dress. I let him kiss me until my toes curl and my breathing becomes erratic. Then I push him off me to straddle his legs. The ice cream scoop fell right on top of his boxer shorts. “You know I can’t risk you getting ice cream all over my dress. Mom will kill me. I’d better help you clean up.”

  I lean forward, licking a good chunk of the melting mess off him.

  “Fuck, this is hot,” he moans.

  Looking up, I say, “Confession time. Did you imagine I was doing this while I was eating that ice cream with gusto on our first date?”

  “Of course I did. You were always so fucking sexy. I had a boner just from watching you.”

  I smile. “Well, my love, watching time is over. Merry Christmas.”

  There’s not a trace of ice cream left by the time I’m done with him. An hour later, after we’re fully spent and satiated, I lie in Sebastian’s arms, my head resting on his chest. I’m utterly content just listening to the sound of his heart beating.

  “Bas, can all of our days be like today?”

  “I don’t know, my love, but we can sure try. And if they aren’t, well, we’ll just weather the storm together.”

  “There’s no other person in the whole world who I want by my side during a tempest, Bas. You are it. Forever.”

  “Forever.”

  * * *

  *** THE END ***

  Continue reading for extra scenes featuring Saylor and Oliver!

  Thirty-Two

  SAYLOR

  UNEXPECTED NEWS

  The toilet bowl feels cold against my sweaty palms. Taking deep breaths, I wait for the next wave of nausea to hit. I never thought morning sickness could be this awful. I tried skipping dinner a few times in the hopes that if I had an empty stomach in the morning, there would be nothing to expel. It turned out to be a worse experience. Puking pure bile left the inside of my mouth raw.

  “Sugar, how are you hanging in there?”

  “I’m dying.”

  “It can’t be that bad. Can I come in?”

  “No! Go away, Ollie.”

  “I can hold your hair.”

  “I swear to God, if you don’t move away from the door, I’m going all Exorcist on you.”

  “Okay, I’m leaving. Don’t forget we have a doctor’s appointment in an hour.”

  Like I’m wasting time here in the bathroom on purpose. I would give him a piece of my mind, but bile rises up my throat again and I get busy. There’s not much left, so at this point, I’m just dry heaving. I feel the nausea recede, so I think it’s safe to start getting dressed.

  Fifteen minutes later, I’m showered and ready to go. I find Oliver waiting for me in the living room slash Renegades office. It’s before nine in the morning, so Allan isn’t here yet. I heard Harry snoring when I walked past his room, so we’ll have some peace and quiet for a while longer.

  Oliver has a cup of chamomile tea and saltine crackers in front of him, the most boring breakfast known to man but the only thing I’ll be able to hold down for now. I miss bacon and eggs.

  “I don’t want to eat.”

  “Sugar, you know if you don’t eat, you’ll be a she-devil in the next hour. I’d like to not be murdered today.” He pushes the plate in my direction.

  Grumbling, I take a seat next to him and shove an entire cracker in my mouth. Holy fuck, I shouldn’t have done that. It’s like eating sand. I drink a couple sips of tea. It turns the cracker into a disgusting blob, but at least now I can swallow it down.

  Oliver stares at me with amusement in his eyes. If he weren’t so stinking cute while doing that, I would’ve smacked that crooked grin right off his face. At least he’s not eating something delicious in front of me.

  Pushing the plate away, I announce I’m done. Oliver’s amusement changes into an expression of reproach.

  “One cracker is not enough, sugar.”

  “I can’t eat right now. And like you said, we’d better get going or we’ll be late for our appointment.”

  I stand and head for the stairs before Oliver can start an argument. Resigned, he follows me without saying another word about my poor breakfast. If I weigh less than at my previous visit, there will be hell to pay.

  When we returned from the UK, I insisted on going to my regular ob-gyn, Dr. Zimmerman. I’ve been going to her my entire life, and I couldn’t even imagine another doctor delivering my baby. It’s not convenient since her office is in Littleton, but she’s also an attending doctor at the Children’s Hospital in LA. Today we’re not going to Littleton though, but to an ultrasound appointment here in the city. I brought a bottle of water with me because I need to have a full bladder for the exam. The water almost hurts when it hits my empty stomach, but I manage to drink the entire bottle by the time we arrive at the hospital.

  We’re ten minutes late, and they still make us wait another twenty minutes. When the technician finally calls my name, I’m on the verge of peeing my pants. This baby better be worth it, because being pregnant sucks balls.

  The ultrasound room is cool and dark. By a miracle, Oliver doesn’t crack any jokes, just scans the room in silence. He looks nervous.

  “Are you okay?” I ask.

  “Of course, sugar. I’m fine.”

  The technician asks me to lie on the examination bed and pull my pants down until my lower abdomen is completely exposed. Then she smears cold gel all over the area and begins the ultrasound. A black-and-gray image appears on her monitor, the picture of my womb. She glides the probe across my belly, applying more pressure in certain areas.

  “Huh?” she whispers, more to herself than us.

  “Is that our baby?” I ask when she doesn’t elaborate.

  She looks at me and then finally at Oliver. “Not baby. Babies. You’re expecting twins.”

  There’s a moment of stunned silence in the room. I keep staring at the screen while my brain processes the news. Not one baby, two babies. Oh my God. I was already dreading the labor part, but now I’m fucking panicking. Not one baby to push out of my vejay but two. I’m going to die.

  “You aren’t bloody joking?” Oliver finally asks.

  “See this here?�
�� She points at the monitor. “Here’s the head of baby number one, and here’s the second baby.”

  Oliver turns to me sporting the biggest wolfish grin in the world. “See that there, sugar? We made two babies. This is bloody epic!”

  “Easy for you to say. I’m the one who has to give birth to two babies instead of one.”

  Oliver leans down and kisses my forehead. “You’ll be fine, sugar. You’re a warrior. You can handle anything.”

  “That’s sweet,” the technician says, earning a glare from me. “Do you want to hear the babies’ heartbeats?”

  “Fuck yeah,” Oliver answers before I can.

  I’m still reeling from the unexpected announcement, but when I hear the sound of two strong heartbeats, my worries vanish as an emotion stronger than anything I’ve ever felt takes control: pure and overwhelming love. Oliver holds my hand, bringing it to his lips. There are tears in his eyes as he smiles at me. My own eyes prickle too.

  “We’re going to have two babies, Ollie. Two.”

  He crouches so his face is at the same level as mine. “Double points for being such awesome people.”

  “You’re silly, but I love you.”

  “I love you, sugar. You’re going to be a great mum.”

  “We are going to be great parents.”

  “You got that right. The best.”

  Thirty-Three

  OLIVER

  A BLOODY FUCKING SCARE

  I’m about to crawl out of my skin or burst a vein in my forehead. If the fucking cab driver doesn’t find another route to the hospital soon, I’m going to commit murder. Why did I think it was a good idea to fly across the country when Saylor was so close to her due date? It’s common knowledge that twin pregnancies have a higher chance to be shorter. The doctor warned us about that very possibility.