Page 56 of Risk

“But what about school? I don’t know if—”

He cups my face in his big hands and bends at the knee so we’re eye to eye. “Like I already told you, I got you, Beautiful. I got all of us. We can do this.”

His smile is so beautiful and so openly happy that I can’t help but feel his words and let them soothe me.

“How about you get back up on the doc’s bed and let her carry on with this ultrasound, so we can get a look at our kids?”

I take in a deep breath and then blow it out. “Okay.”

I let him lead me back to the bed, and I hop up onto it, lying back down. Kaden stays standing this time.

“Sorry I freaked out,” I say to Dr. Adams as she gets the bottle of gel, squirts some onto my stomach, and presses the wand to my tummy. “And for blaming you for the fact that I’m having twins.” I cringe as I say it because I know how stupid it sounds.

“It’s fine.” She gives me a warm smile. “I’ve had way worse said to me in the delivery room.”

She chuckles, and I find myself relaxing and laughing along with her.

“Okay, so here we are.” She turns the screen around for me and Kaden to see. “You see here and here?” She uses the mouse cursor to point to what she wants us to see. “Those are your babies.”

There are two little funny-shaped blobs on the screen. But they’re my babies. Our babies. I blindly reach out for Kaden, and he grabs my hand. I look at him, and his eyes are wide with wonder and awe, fixed on the monitor. He tears them away and stares at me. His mouth curves up into the biggest, happiest smile I have ever seen on anyone, and of course, my eyes get watery again.

Frigging hormones.

“Everything looks good. Both babies are the right size, and both heartbeats are strong. I’m just going to get the ultrasound printouts for you,” Dr. Adams says, putting the wand down. She presses a few buttons on the screen, and it makes a beeping noise. Then, she wipes my stomach clean with some paper towels. “I’ll leave you two alone for a moment.”

I don’t even acknowledge her leaving because I can’t take my eyes off Kaden.

“This is really happening, isn’t it?” he says to me in a low voice.

“Yeah, it’s really happening.”

He leans down and presses a kiss to my forehead. Then my cheek. He pulls back a little, mouth mere centimeters from mine. His thumb presses to the corner of my lips, and I suck in a breath.

I think he’s going to kiss me. And I want him to. I really, really want him to.

But I shouldn’t because it’s all too complicated.

Kaden might want me sexually, but he doesn’t want a relationship with me, and going down the sex road with him will only make things messy.

I’ve only slept with him once, and look what happened.

Two frigging babies.

I can’t even imagine what would happen if we had sex again.

He’d probably perform a miracle and impregnate me again with another set of twins, and I’d end up having to push four babies out of my vagina.

Okay, I know that is highly improbable.

Okay, it’d never happen. But I’m allowed to be a bit overdramatic right now.

“Right, I’ve got your ultrasound pictures.” Dr. Adams comes back into the room, and I’m relieved that she breaks the moment.

Kaden moves away, but slowly, and he takes my hand in his again. I take the pictures from Dr. Adams, and I hold them out so that Kaden and I can both look at them.

I can’t believe I’m having twins.

With Kaden.

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