“Yes, you’ve mentioned that several hundred times,” I reply.
Our shopping adventure ended with bags of baby items. We spent three hours shopping and had to get two of everything. Dallas shoved my card away when I tried to pay and nearly threw my wallet out the window when I tried to give him half of it in cash when we got in the truck.
He wraps his arms around my waist from behind and drags me into his firm body. “I’ll give you the master and crash in the basement. I’ll be the nanny. I’ll get up in the middle of the night and change diapers. Feed them. Bathe them. Whatever you want.”
“Give you the master.”
The room where he freaked out on me.
No freaking thank you.
It’d help me physically with the babies but not emotionally. It’d obliterate my heart. Two babies is hard work, but I’d rather risk being sleep-deprived than take him up on that offer.
I’ll fuck him but not walk through his front door.
I’m a hot mess.
He scrapes his hands together. “You want to start setting everything up?”
“Can we leave that for another day? I’m exhausted, my feet hurt, and I’m sore everywhere.”
“You want me to give you a massage?”
“Can you do it with your tongue?”
He smirks. “I’d love to.”
Stella sits down next to me with a plate of cake in her hand. “Hudson said Dallas spilled the baby beans to Maven.”
We’re at Maven’s birthday party, and she’s started opening gifts. I showed up early, sat down so that the table would hide my stomach, and haven’t moved since.
Maven’s face lights up with excitement as she opens each gift, and she thanks the gifter before moving on to the next. Dallas is saving ours for last. I peek over at him and smile at the happiness on his face as he watches her.
He’s a good dad.
He might be broken, but he managed to repair part of his heart and opened it up for her. I’m hoping he’ll do the same with our babies.
Half of Blue Beech’s population is here, eating the food Rory, Dallas’ mom, made—which is enough to feed the entire NFL—chasing their screaming children around, and staring at me like I have a nip slip. Maven has attempted to drag me to the bounce house dozens of times, and it looks like Disney vomited everywhere.
“She figured it out herself,” I answer.
“No shit?”
“Apparently, I rub my stomach like some other pregnant chick around here does. She put two and two together.” I laugh. “Dallas broke the news because he couldn’t handle fibbing to a six-year-old.”
“Damn, kids are getting smart these days. I was still under the impression storks dropped babies off on doorsteps when I was her age.”
Maven squeals and jumps up and down when she opens Dallas’s gift. She screams again when opening mine, and then she runs over to give me a tight hug. “Thank you!” she yells, still jumping up and down. She sits down next to Stella and starts ripping open the doll box and all of the accessories.
Stella bumps my shoulder with hers. “You sure you don’t want to take a run in the bounce house? It’ll be a first time for me.”
“You’ve never been in a bounce house?” I ask, looking horrified. Who hasn’t been the kid who fell down and tried to get up while the others bounced harder to stop them?
“Nope. My mom considered having a childhood was an abomination, and all I needed to do was work.” She puts her hands together. “So, please.”
I point to my stomach. “No sudden movements, remember?”
“Oh, crap, I keep forgetting about”—she pauses and nervously looks around—“that.”
“She can’t go into the bounce house, Aunt Stella!” Maven shouts with a gasp. “She has to be very, very careful because there is a baby in her tummy.” She stops to correct herself and holds up two fingers. “I mean, two babies in her tummy because she and Daddy are having twins!” She slaps her hand over her mouth. “Uh-oh.” Her gaze sweeps over to Dallas with wide eyes. “Sorry, Daddy. I broke our secret. I’m so, so sorry!”
The noise in the backyard comes to a halt, and Rory’s cup falling to the ground is the only sound I hear before I freak the hell out.
Chapter Thirty
Dallas
Holy fuck.
This isn’t how I imagined this going down.
Willow looks like she’s about to vomit. My mom looks hurt. My dad looks like he’s ready to lay into my ass. Hudson is grinning like a motherfucker.
I clear my throat, ignoring every set of eyes on Willow, and bolt her way. I kiss my daughter on the top of her head. “It’s fine, May Bear. Why don’t you go show your new doll the bounce house, okay?”
“I’m sorry, Daddy,” she says again. “I’ve just been so excited.” She throws her hands out. “It just blurted right out of my mouth.”
I kiss her forehead. “It’s okay.”
Willow jumps out of her chair when her eyes start to water. She doesn’t want anyone to see her cry. “If everyone will please excuse me for a second.” Her voice breaks. “Or a few minutes. Possibly a few hours … or days.”
She turns and dashes into the house. Stella jumps up to follow, but I stop her.
“Let me have this one, okay?”
She stares at me with a hard look and hesitation before nodding.
As soon as I leave the crowd, I can hear the voices erupt into chaos. Question after question is being fired off, one after the other, to my family. I feel sorry for leaving them to the Blue Beech gossip wolves, but I have to make sure Willow is okay.
I find her sitting on the bed in my childhood room with tears in her eyes. I shut the door and bend down in front of her. I take her chin in my shaky hand and lock eyes with her.
“I’m so fucking sorry, do you hear me?” I whisper. “I made a mistake.”
She tries to pull away from my touch, but I don’t let her.
“Please,” I hiss. “Please don’t fucking run from me because of this.”
Willow is a pro at helping other people with their problems but terrible at facing her own. It’s easy for her to turn her back on situations she doesn’t want to deal with.
She sniffles. “This is humiliating. Did you see their faces? All the jaws dropping?”
“They were surprised, which we expected. I mean, we haven’t exactly been forthcoming about your pregnancy or this.” I signal between the two of us. To be honest, I’m relieved it’s out there. I wish it had happened in a better situation, like us sitting my parents down and spilling the news, but at least the secret is off my chest now.
“This?” she questions, scrunching up her face and reenacting my movement. “What do you mean, this?”
I get up and sit down next to her on the bed. “We’re doing something here. I’m as confused as you are about it, but we are. You’re the only woman I’ve looked at since I lost Lucy. I can’t …” I pause. “I can’t stop thinking about you. Whenever I leave your apartment or drop you off, the excitement from when I get to see you next keeps me high. Hell, I can’t wait until the next time I even get to talk to you. You’re something I look forward to every day. The thought of seeing you, talking to you, and spending time with you gives me so much fucking happiness.” My revelation only makes her cry harder. “What can I do to make this better? Anything. I’ll do anything.”