Page 132 of Love Without Control

Makenna snorted, and I glared. “Would you please stop talking? She does not need to hear about our sex life, Dane.”

He pointed at my crotch. “She deals with that area, sweetheart, and I’m going to give her all the information about what has recently occurred in that area in case it’s important.”

My doctor patted Dane’s shoulder as her lips twisted in amusement. “Thank you for letting me know,” she said politely. “And no, you didn’t cause this. Sometimes babies are just very excited to meet their parents. Especially when they have great ones like I know you two will be.”

Such a diplomatic answer for someone who—I have no doubt—had been about two seconds from hearing the details of positions, pacing, and orgasm count from my husband.

“Will he be okay?” I asked.

“Your baby or your husband?” the doctor asked, and I couldn’t help but giggle, even through my nerves.

“Both.”

Her face turned serious. “Babies born at thirty-four weeks generally do very well. He might spend a few days in the NICU to make sure his lungs are strong enough, but I have every confidence your pediatrician will take good care of him. Dr. Bonner is very well-respected in our little medical community. My daughter is a nurse and uses him for her baby.”

That made me feel a little better. Dane and I had interviewed several pediatricians before settling on Dr. Jay Bonner. He was mature with a kind face and a direct manner. And he always wore funny socks and ties to the office to put kids at ease, though we would be long gone by the time our child was old enough to notice such things.

Three hours later, the most beautiful baby to ever grace this earth was born. He had black hair like Dane and blue eyes like my natural ones. He weighed five and a half pounds, and Dr. Bonner remarked that he probably would have been at least eight pounds if he’d gone full term.

We stood in the NICU, Dane on one side of the incubator and me on the other. We both had one hand inside, and our baby was holding our fingers. He had a nice, firm grip. Our other hands were clasped together on top of the glass enclosure that was keeping our precious gift safe.

My husband and I were both crying, but they were tears of joy. He was going to be okay. His lungs were slightly underdeveloped, but he was going to be fine.

We’d named our boy after my father and Dane’s maternal grandfather, one of the only good male influences in his life. My eyes dropped to the name card on the side of the incubator, and I smiled. The card listed his parents’ names, all his birth stats, and his name…

Paul Augustus Osbourne.

Chapter 45

NOLONGERHIDING

I walked toward the man I hadn’t seen in years, my heart hammering in my chest. My brother, Monty Bouvier.

God, he’s gotten big. Which was a silly thought because he’s a grown-ass man now, and the last time I saw him in person, he was only seventeen.

He stared at me with confusion on his face, and I saw the moment he recognized me. We simultaneously broke into a run, our arms entwining around each other when our bodies crashed together. He was so strong, lifting me from my feet with ease as my legs wrapped around his waist.

Tears. Nothing existed except for the tears of sorrow and regret that streamed down my face and soaked his shirt. I could feel his grief dripping down my neck.

We said nothing for the longest time, aside from murmuring each other’s names, his coming out as a question each time, as if to assure himself that it was really me.

“Evie?”

“Monty.”

“Evie?”

We went back and forth like that until he finally pulled his head from my neck and searched my face. His blue eyes mirrored my own, blue and extremely wet.

“It’s you.” His tone was awestruck and raspy as he touched my face and swiped at my tears. “It’s really you.” My brother’s voice was so damn deep now, but there were cracks between each word that I knew matched the cracks in his heart.

Because of me.

“It’s really me,” I promised him.

Monty shook his head back and forth, his expression a jumble of wonder and confusion as he set me down but kept his arms around me.

“Where have you been all this time? What the hell happened to you, Evie?”

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