Page 72 of Storm

Miriam shakes her head. “I think that ice cream did me in for the night.” She leans her head back and turns it toward me with a tired smile. “Thanks for this. It was a great way to end a sucky day.”

Leaning toward her, I press my lips to hers softly, tasting the flavor of her ice cream on her lips. It’s a slow kiss, but neither of us pushes it further than just a connection.

As I pull away, she licks her lips and breathes out, “Should have gotten the chocolate.”

Giving her a quick wink, I put the car in the drive to take her home. “If you need another taste, just let me know. I’m so here for it.”

CHAPTER 33

MIRIAM

“Twenty weeks! You ready for this, Miriam?” my doctor asks.

“Not really,” I mutter unhappily. “I have to—” I cut myself and look around the room. All four of the men are standing as close as possible and it’s overwhelming.

Ezra shifts from side to side excitedly. “You have to what?”

I have to pee!

“Nothing,” I huff, making eye contact with the ultrasound tech. She nods in understanding when I cross my arms and stare at the ceiling to pout.

She pats my arm, then sits down to explain what she’s going to do. “Alright, so this will probably take a bit of time, just so you’re all aware. I’m going to do a ton of measurements as long as the baby is cooperating, then, if you want Miriam, I can see if this little peanut will let us find out if he’s a he or she’s a she. Did you want to know, or is it going to be a surprise?”

I swear to God, every single head turns to me for a decision. Feeling particularly annoyed, I wave at all of them. “Well, do you want to know?”

“You’re cranky, petal.” Ezra is grinning from ear to ear, and he leans over my head so I’m looking at him upside down. “Want me to make you less cranky?”

“I’m not?—”

“Ez, man. You’re not supposed to tell a woman they’re cranky!” Tatum scolds, setting a hand on my shoulder, but I shift so he’ll let go.

“I’mnotcranky,” I say again after being so rudely cut off. “I have to freaking pee.” Shifting around on the table to get more comfortable, I sigh because it’s useless. “And I’m uncomfortable.”

Kevin moves around to the top of the bed, pressing his fingers into my shoulders to massage them. This time, I don’t move away and simply enjoy the pressure. “This will be over before you know it.” He nods to the ultrasound tech to begin, and I hiss when she squirts the cold gel on my stomach. Kevin leans down to whisper, “Close your eyes and rest for a bit.”

I bare my teeth at him, but don’t argue. Instead, I focus on his fingers digging in and ignore everything around me and the way the tech is pushingdirectly on my fucking bladderas she starts clicking away on her keyboard.

Ezra is standing behind her, continuously asking, “What’s that?” until finally Richard kicks him. I know he did because they had a heated, not so under their breath argument. I crack an eye open to look at the tech and see her glancing at the two of them, but she keeps going with the ultrasound as if she’s on autopilot.

Finally, we finish up. “Okay, head into the bathroom to take care of your business. After that we’ll get a few more measurements, then find out the baby’s sex. Sound good?”

“More than you know,” I mumble, attempting to sit up on my own, but fuck this bed and lying flat on my back. Kevin slides his hands under my shoulder blades and helps me sit up. I eye both Richard and Tatum as their hands shoot out to help me stand, but I brush them off until my head stops spinning. Neither ofthem moves, so I grab both and stand up, then rush off to the bathroom.

This time, as I get back on the narrow bed, I feel so much better and relaxed. “Now you’re not cranky anymore!” Ezra cries out. Thankfully, Tatum smacks him for me. The tech giggles, seemingly more at ease as she gets more gel and we start again.

“Oh, wow. Your baby is apparently feeling much better too.”Click click click.Then she says, “Just a couple more photos, then I can get pictures for you to keep if you’d like.”

“Yes, please,” Richard says. It’s the first time he’s spoken out loud, aside from the lecture he gave Ezra. I’m surprised he’s the one that says it, but I don’t want to make him feel uncomfortable by staring at him in shock.

“Ready to know what you’re having?” she asks me, clicking again on her keyboard.

I can only nod, all of a sudden extremely nervous. It feels as if this is going to change things. Not that it wasn’t real before, but it feels like the baby is getting an actual identity now.

Then a thought pops in. “Wait!” Everyone looks at me, but I only have eyes for the tech. “Is everything okay with the baby? Like, no major concerns or missing limbs or something? No issues you can see?”

She gives me a warm smile. “I have to give these to your doctor, but what I can say is that from what I can tell, nothing concerning stands out.”

I blow out a breath in relief and smile. “Thank you.”

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