Page 106 of There Are No Words

My sisters chuckled, Maria placing a hand over her mouth to hold back from full-on laughing, I was sure.

I threw my head back and closed my eyes. “Why am I not almost fully dilated? I don’t understand.”

Laughter filled the space as the door opened and Jade’s body appeared (her head was turned and craning in another direction). With one final wave, she fully appeared in the doorway and stepped in. “I just met the nicest man.”

Bianca looked to Jade and then me. “Here?” She gasped. “In a hospital?”

Perla snickered. “Looks like she’s taking over your role of picking up men everywhere, Bibi.”

Bianca swatted her arm, and Perla rubbed the spot. “Okay, you seriously need to stop doing that. Your fingers are like tiny weapons, and they hurt.”

She rolled her eyes. “Dad did tell me I should be a piano player with these fingers, but Knox says I should—”

I grunted. “Hello! Pregnant woman trying to get a baby out.”

Jade shrugged. “Maybe she’s comfortable and doesn’t want to leave.”

“That’s sweet, but a crock.” Brady wiped my forehead while Jade looked surprised at how blunt I was. Oh well, she’d have to get used to it. “I used to be comfortable when she wasn’t in here. I gave her a home for a while, and now it’s time for her to get the hell out.”

Brady laughed and offered me an ice chip, which I brushed off. I didn’t want ice. I wanted to deliver this baby.

“She’ll come out, don’t worry,” he said, trying to placate me.

“When?” I whined.

Just then the doctor came in and asked for everyone but Brady to leave so she could check my cervix. As far as I was concerned, she could do whatever she wanted as long as the nextwords that came out of her mouth were that I was ready to go to the delivery room.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Brady

“You can dothis, Allegra,” I urged, trying not to focus too much on the fact that I may not be able to use my hand after this with how hard she was squeezing it. Seriously, the pain was excruciating. But it was nothing, I knew, compared to what Allegra was going through.

She was a perfect, beautiful mess.

Tears were streaming down her face.

Her face was as red as could be.

Her lips were dry, as though she hadn’t wet them with that talented tongue of hers in a while.

And she was sweating. A lot. Her face and neck were glistening with sweat. So much so that sweat was actually dripping from her forehead, and I worried it would drip into her eyes and burn. So I leaned over and carefully wiped away the droplets with my free hand—you know, the one she wasn’t crushing.

“I can’t!” Allegra cried, bringing her knees even further into her chest.

The doctor lifted her head. “One more big push, okay?”

She turned her head to me and cried, more tears falling. “I can’t.” She paused before finishing, “I can’t do this, Brady. I don’t have it in me.” Her head fell back against the bed, and she closed her eyes.

Probably not the time to point this out, so I’d keep it to myself, but son of a bitch—Allegra had wanted to have a home birth. An unmedicated home birth. I hated to say it, but I wasglad she went into labor early, and we didn’t have time to argue about that idea anymore. It would have been a disaster.

I shook my head. “You can do this. I know you can.” I brushed the pad of my thumb over the top of her hand, trying to give her more reassurance. “But do you know why I know you’re going to do this? Because you want to meet our little girl. One more big push, and we get to meet her.”

She nodded. “Okay,” she croaked out.

“That’s my girl,” I praised, knowing that would help, too.

Then she pushed, giving it all she had, lifting her head up and crying out so loud I had no doubt every patient on the floor could hear her. None of that mattered, though, because then our baby girl let out a wail that rivaled Allegra’s cries from just moments before.

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