by Delisa Lynn
“Well, it must be an Ellis thing because Kade did it and we aren’t even having sex. He just did it. I had to wear a scarf to work today. Who wears a scarf when it’s this hot outside? People thought I was crazy.”
“Okay, on a serious note, do you two think Evan should be in here while I deliver? Liam says he doesn’t care, but what if the baby isn’t Evans? He shouldn’t be in here if that’s the case. Isn’t that odd? My ex-lover and my husband both in here, watching me give birth?”
“I hope you shaved. You wouldn’t want them seeing any bushes.”
Meg laughs. I throw my ice chips at her and stick my tongue out.
“Yes, miss hickey, I did. You see my beautiful Band-Aid right here on my knee?” I say, holding my leg out. “There was no way I was coming here looking like a gorilla. You never know who is looking at your hoo-ha.”
“Well, I’ll have to remember that when I go into labor,” Nikki says.
“Girls, I don’t know what to do. I think he should be in here, but then I feel it would be wrong to Liam. Why couldn’t I just keep my panties up? None of this would be happening. I’ve ruined everything. Oh fuck, these contractions aren’t stopping. Oh my God, they hurt and it feels like they are coming faster and harder. Please get the doctor and Liam.” They both stare at me in shock, as if they have no idea what to do. “Go now, please!”
“Okay, I’ll go. Nikki, you stay here with her,” Meg says. She runs out of the room.
“Can I get you anything, sweets? You need more ice?” Nikki says as she rubs my back.
“No, I just need to deliver Greyson. Oh Nikki, the contractions hurt. Where is the doctor?” I ask just as Dr. Brewster, Meg, and Tatum walk in the room. Why did Megan bring Tatum?
“Okay, Lila. Looks like your little man is ready to be welcomed into the world. The only problem is he is ready and your husband is on the other side of the hospital, having his test performed. We will have to start without him.”
I grab Nikki and Megan’s hands. Tatum is standing in the doorway. “Umm, can my friends stay with me?”
“Come on, young lady, get in here. We have a baby to deliver now,” Becky says to Tatum.
“Lila, should I stay or go? It’s your call, darlin’,” Tatum says. Fuck, I just want my husband.
“Yes, get in here,” I say.
She runs over and stands next to Nikki. Meg looks over at Nikki and all three of them look at me with smiles on their faces. “Okay, bitches. If you had a baby getting ready to be pulled out of your hoo-ha, you wouldn’t be smiling like that.”
They all start laughing. Tatum wets a rag and lays it on my forehead, and I have a death grip on Meg and Nikki’s hands. They aren’t going anywhere.
“Lila, I’m going to count to three and I want you to give me a good push, okay?”
I nod my head at the doctor.
“One, two, three,” the doctor says. “Now push.”
“Oh my God, where is my Liam? I need him. I can’t do this without seeing his handsome face.”
“Look at me,” Nikki says with tears streaming down her face. “You have to do this, love.”
“I need Liam. He said he wouldn’t leave me,” I cry.
“I can see his head. Just a couple more pushes and we will have us a baby. Okay, on the count of three again: One, two, three. Push, Lila, push.”
“I can’t, it hurts! Oh my God, Liam,” I scream.
“Look at me. He will be here,” Meg says as she runs the rag over my face. “You are breaking my hand, girlfriend. Now deliver my nephew so I can spoil his ass.”
“Okay, one more pu-push,” I whimper.
“Yes, Lila. One more and he will be here. Who wants to cut the cord?” The doctor asks.
I look at my friends. They all just stare. No one answers.
“I will, if that’s okay?” Tatum says.
***
Liam
“Evan, come on. They just told the nurse Lila’s in labor. I have to get back over there.”
“Oh fuck, let’s go. I think we are finished here.”
We both run as fast as we can. Lila’s room is on the opposite side of the hospital. The elevators are slower than molasses. We almost knock people over trying to get to Lila. She will kill me if I miss the birth of our son.
***
Lila
What the hell? Why does Tatum want to cut the cord? Oh well. If she really wants to, and Liam or Evan aren’t here, then I guess it’s okay. Kind of weird, considering this may be her future husband’s baby. Oh, maybe that’s why she wants to do it, so she can be closer to Greyson. At this point, I’m just ready to hold my son. I don’t care what else is going on.
“O-okay,” I cry.
“One, two, three. Push, Lila!”
“Holy hell and all things pineapple, I’m never having another baby. I can’t do this again.”
Then I hear my baby crying. He is here. My baby is here. The doctor lays him on my chest and I forget about all the pain I just went through. He has a full head of blond hair and the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. He stares into my eyes.
“Welcome to this crazy world, Greyson Lain Ellis,” I say. “I love you more than you will ever know.”
“Okay, ma’am. If you will cut the cord so we can get this little guy cleaned up and weighed for his momma,” Becky says to Tatum.
She takes the scissors from the nurse and smiles at me, then cuts the umbilical cord that’s attached to my son and me.
“Thank you,” the doctor says. She gently takes Greyson from me. “I’ll give him right back, Momma, I promise.”
I look at the door and see a very out of breath Liam. “Lila, baby, I’m here. I’m so sorry we went to take the test. I didn’t think about you going into labor. I missed our son’s birth. I am so sorry,” he says with tears in his eyes.
“It’s okay. I was upset, but these three ladies made everything okay. Tatum cut the cord.”
I look at Tatum and smile. She, Nikki, and Meg are standing with Becky and Greyson. Seconds later, there’s a knock on the door. It’s Evan.
“Come in, he is here already. You can stay in here.”
He walks in and kisses Tatum. It doesn’t even bother me. He is hers and she is his. I am Liam’s and I finally realize that.
“Okay, get all of your loving in on this handsome, little ten-pound and three-ounce fellow. He is twenty-two inches long. I need to take him for his DNA test, then he is all yours. He is perfect, Mr. and Mrs. Ellis. And umm, everyone else, congratulations,” Becky says.
“He is so beautiful, Li. Congratulations,” Evan says. Tears form in his beautiful brown eyes.
“Thank you. Why don’t we let him have his test and then you all can hold and kiss all over him,” I say to everyone. They all look at me and nod their heads.
I’m so tired. I think I may have dozed off a little because, when I open my eyes, only Liam and I are in the room.
“Hey. You went to sleep so everyone else stepped out. The nurse said Greyson’s test went fine and they will have all of our results in the next hour. How are you feeling?” he asks, kissing my forehead.
“I’m okay. I feel hungry, though. Can I please have some caffeine? A pop, tea, or latte…anything.”
“Actually, Nikki went to get you some food. I’m pretty sure she has a surprise for you.”
“Of course she does. She knows what I like and I have a feeling she is bringing it to me.” I giggle.
“Oh, so what is it that you like, Mrs. Ellis? I thought you liked this.” He leans in and kisses me.
“I don’t like that. I love that, and I’m hungry. If Nikki wants to stay my best friend, she best be bringing me a burrito and a large, caffeinated tea.”
“Hmm, maybe she will. But right now, I want your lips on mine. That’s one beautiful son we have, you know. I know he is mine. His eyes look just like mine.”
“I think he is yours too. I can feel it. I love you, Liam Anthony Ellis. Thank you for everything.”
“I lov
e you so much more, and I always will. Thank you for giving me three beautiful children. I’ll be ready to start on the fourth as soon as you are.”
“Trust me, you don’t want to go anywhere near that area right now.”
He smiles. “I think I should be the judge of that.”
Chapter Twenty
Liam
I can’t believe I missed the birth because Evan and I were on the other side of the hospital, taking that test. I finally got to tell Evan what I thought of him while I was over there. I was nice, but only because everything Lila and Tatum said made sense. I know they loved each other at one time, but I still think it’s fucked up that they had sex with each other four years later.
Life is short and anything could have gone wrong in that delivery room. Thank God I have a beautiful, healthy wife and a healthy baby boy.
If the test comes back and says Greyson doesn’t have my blood, we will get through it. We will overcome this just like every other obstacle we overcame. He will be one lucky little boy. He will have two sets of parents that love him very much. I know Evan and Tatum will take care of him just as well as Lila and I will. Evan agreed that Greyson can have my last name so the girls won’t ask questions. We will tell them the truth when they are older, but they are too young right now.
Becky gently taps on the door and walks in.
“Excuse me, Lila. We have the test results. Would you like for me to call Evan in here so everyone’s here?” Becky asks.
“Yes, please. Thank you, Becky.” Lila grabs my hand.
Becky walks back in with Evan and Tatum. They stand next to us, hand in hand. Lila is holding Greyson in one arm and holding me with the other. It’s finally time to find out if we have to share our little man with another family. I’m nervous, sad, and anxious. I don’t want to share our baby, and I know that Lila doesn’t either.
“This test was performed here in our secure lab, and these results are ninety-nine point nine percent accurate. With that being said, I will open the letter with the results and I will hand them to Lila. She can announce to everyone and I will step out to give you privacy. If you need anything, just press the call button and I’ll be back in. Good luck to you all.”
She hands Lila the folded results and leaves as quietly as she entered.
Lila hands me Greyson. I hold him up to my chest and place a kiss on his forehead just before I whisper in his ear, “I’ll always be your daddy. The love I have for you doesn’t mean you need to have my blood running through your veins. I will always take care of you.”
She slowly opens the test. Her hands are shaking and I can see the tears in her eyes. She looks at me, and then at Evan. She takes a deep breath and unfolds the results.
She gasps and starts crying. She put her hand over her mouth. I knew it! Evan is my baby boy’s father. I can’t fucking believe this shit. Their one night of passion has turned our worlds upside down and around.
I hold Greyson close to me and whisper in his little ear, “I’ll always be here for you, little man. No matter what that paper says, I’m your daddy. You are mine.”
I kiss his little forehead and sit next to Lila.
“Liam, please don’t cry. I’m sorry. These tears aren’t sad tears, baby. They are happy tears.”
“You’re happy Evan is Greyson’s father? What kind of fucked up shit is this, Li?” I yell.
“No, you are the father. Look, he is yours. I was just so happy and shocked. I didn’t know what to say. He is ours; he is an Ellis baby. God, Liam, I love you so much and I am so sorry I hurt you. Please look at me.”
“Jesus, you almost gave me a damn heart attack. You scared the shit out of me.”
I lean over and kiss her, but I’m still shaking.
“Evan, Tatum, sorry we brought you into all this. We wanted to do the right thing and let you know the possibility was there. Here, you can look at the test,” Lila says. She hands the test to Evan.
“Liam, I’m glad you are the father, not that I wouldn’t have been happy if he was mine. But I know this is the best for all of us. Congrats to you both. I hope we can put this all behind us and we can all be friends someday.”
“Thanks, Evan. I think that is a great idea. Would you guys like to stay for the baby shower?” I ask as I extend my hand to him.
He shakes my hand. “We better get back, but thank you. We will see you next month at the wedding.”
***
Watching my beautiful wife sleep while I hold our son in my arms makes me the happiest man in the world. Greyson looks just like an Ellis. Lila and I sure do make some beautiful children. The girls are on their way here and they can’t wait to see this little guy.
After the test results, Evan and Tatum went home, but they’ll see us next month at Nikki’s wedding. They congratulated us and brought in some gifts. After learning Greyson is mine, I was fine with seeing them.
I know Li fucked up. Hell, we all make mistakes. No one is perfect. She vowed to never do it again, and I believe and trust her. Other than her little escape, she is the perfect wife. I will spend the rest of my life making sure she is happy and taken care of.
I’m finally doing something I wanted to do and that’s working at Ellis Boys Investigations as a private investigator with my two brothers. Of course I’m working at the Wine Venue too.
“Hey, you. Quit hogging my baby boy and let his momma love him,” Lila says. “Isn’t he the cutest little boy you’ve ever seen?”
“I hope you slept well. The girls are with Meg, shopping. They are going to bankrupt me before they’re twenty.” I laugh.
“We sure are in for a bumpy ride. Good thing they have a little brother to keep them in line. Oh, and I’m sure AJ will be right there with Greyson, protecting them and running all of their boyfriends off. Did Eric call you? He wants to know something about a guy Kaylin used to hang out with. I think he wants you to use some of your P.I. skills.”
“Yeah, we talked. I’m actually working on it now. I just put the laptop down so I could hold my precious baby boy. I can’t believe how much he looks like me. The girls have always looked like you, so looking at him and seeing me still amazes me.”
“He is going to break all kinds of hearts with those eyes of his. I can’t believe he will be two weeks old tomorrow. It doesn’t seem like we have been home that long. You ready for the baby shower tomorrow?”
“Yes, ma’am. I think Megs and Nikki have pretty much covered everything. Hell, it’s not like we need any gifts. I think, between the two of us and our mothers, we have everything.”
“Yeah, we do. But it’s about showing this little guy off and spending time with family and friends. I think Nikki and Brody are going to stay in California until after the wedding. She shouldn’t be traveling much since she’s pregnant. She mentioned staying at the hotel on the boulevard, so they’ll be close to here.”
“That’ll be good. That gives you ladies plenty of time to finish getting everything together. And that gives you some girl time and me and Greyson some man time.” I wink at my beautiful wife.
“Speaking of girl time, I need to get out of this house. Take me out today, or I can see if Megs wants to hang out. I just need to get some fresh air and maybe shop a little.”
“You just had a baby. You need to relax and get some rest. The next couple of weeks will be busy enough for you. How about I cook you lunch, and you do some online shopping? Sound fair enough.”
“I guess. Don’t cook, though. Order Chinese. Sweet and sour chicken from Hunan. They deliver here, don’t they? I think I will do some online shopping.” She tosses a pillow at me. “Oh, and I’ll be getting that tattoo I wanted. I was thinking I would get it after Nikki’s wedding. You getting one too?”
“You still want one? I thought the whole tattoo thing was a pregnancy hormone. Of course I’ll get one. You aren’t getting one alone. You know, you should let Ash do it. He is really good. He had a client last week and I stopped by and watched him. I think he found his calling.�
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“No way in hell is he coming toward me with a needle. You can let him give you yours, but he isn’t touching my wrist.”
“Okay, fine, have it your way. I will let him do mine, though. I trust him.”
Chapter
Twenty-One
Lila
I’ve never seen Liam cry as hard as he did when they gave us the results. They were happy tears, of course, but you would have thought he just won the lottery. I could see the joy in Evan’s face when they said Greyson was Liam’s. Not that Evan didn’t want him, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Evan and I never belonged together. My heart was always Liam’s and his was always Tatum’s. We see that now. He told me he would always love me, but he could never love anyone the way he loves her. I have to admit, she is a wonderful girl. I never thought I would like her, let alone be friends with her.
Some may find it odd, hanging out with their ex-fiancé’s new fiancée, but we are okay with it. She knows Evan and I are finished and she has his heart and soul. Nikki is happy about Tatum and me becoming friends because the two of them have become really close. She felt like she was betraying me by being her friend. At first I was pissed, but after meeting and getting to know her, I think their friendship is great.
Today is our baby shower, and I’m so excited to finally show Greyson off to everyone. Nikki and Megan have been planning this huge event for weeks. I’m okay with that because I’m planning Nikki’s bachelorette party. Watch out ladies, there will be strippers and penis decorations everywhere. I’m evil sometimes. They will thank me later.
“Lila, where are you. You ready to go pick up the cake?” Nikki yells through the house.
“Hey, sweets. I’m in the nursery.”
I’m holding my beautiful son and looking into his eyes. I see his daddy in him. He is going to be a heart breaker, just like Liam.