Page 93 of Twins For My Bestie's Brother

It’s been too early every other time. But now, Jackson inhales sharply and his eyes widen as he looks at me. “That’s—”

I beam. “You can feel?”

“Yeah, I can. I can. I . . . ” Jackson slides his hand back and forth, following the movement. He drops to his knees, loops hisarms around me, and nuzzles his face to my stomach. “All mine. All of you.”

I glance at our reflection in the mirror.

I’ve never seen anything so beautiful. And the fact I’m in this picture shocks me. That I am a part of something so beautiful.

ThatIam beautiful.

All thanks to Jackson loving me the way I deserved.

Chapter 30

Epilogue

I’d never understood exactly what they meant by birth being a miracle until the birth of my children. Being in the room, at Lily’s side, giving her all the strength I could while she did all the fucking work, was an experience unlike any other. And she did it twice.Twice. After the relief of the first, I thought we’d achieved it all until Lily grabbed my hand again in desperation as the contractions started again.

And then we were four. Our family doubled in the blink of an eye.

Okay, not the blink of an eye. Sixteen hours plus days leading up of false alarms.

But they’re here now. And everything has changed. Even the love I have for Lily. My wife. It has not doubled but quadrupled. More than that, probably.

The second our first child was laid onto her chest, and Lily burst into tears of joy, the earth shifted on its axis.

Once both are earthside and swept off for all their tests and checkups, Lily is finally able to see me clearly again. It’s not thatI disappeared. All her focus had to go into the moment before her. Now, though, she sees me, and her tearful face lights up. “I did it,” she says, clutching my hand.

“You did,” I reply, smoothing my hand over her forehead, moving away the curls that have been stuck there by sweat. “You did so good, baby.”

Lily beams.

I kiss her, clutching her hand to my chest. Her engagement ring digs into my chest. I like the discomfort, the reminder that we belong to one another as much as two people possibly can. After my impromptu proposal, I made a more formal one, and just a few weeks later, we married at the courthouse. Man and wife, Jackson and Lily Roy.

“I feel so empty,” she says with an almost childlike level of shock.

One of the nurses attending to Lily’s IV giggles. “That does tend to be the case.”

I place my hand on her belly, soft under her hospital gown. “Still perfect.”

She smiles up at me. She’ll have to learn to trust me again, just as she did through the first part of our relationship. Learn that I always mean what I say, and that my words will never be used to hurt her. Not like anything that happened before us.

“Ten fingers, ten toes, all perfect,” a nurse announces as she and another nurse come back to the bed, each with a baby bundled in their arms.

They hand both to Lily, one tucked into each elbow. They’re almost carbon copies, the only difference being their hats, one pink, one blue. More baby than any person knows what to do with. “Oh my gosh, you’re real.” She laughs at her own words and smiles at me. “They’re real.”

I can hardly believe it either. It’s all real.

My life, this lifeis real.

“Hi,” Lily says. “It’s Mommy. I missed you while you were gone.”

I have to hold back more tears as I watch Lily talking in her small voice that’s always been saved for our children, even while they were in the womb. It’s different now. Because now we’ll start to see just how our love impacts them as they grow up and become their own people. It’s all overwhelming.

“And Daddy’s here too. He was here the whole time,” Lily says. “We’re so excited to meet you.”

I lean closer, though I’m nervous. I’m so nervous that I’m shaking. I lay my arm against Lily’s, shoring up her cradled arms with my strength. Both of them seem to be waking up from a long nap, eyes squinting open, unsure of their surroundings.

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