Page 37 of Flirt

When I reached Luna and Sami’s room, I knocked on the door, then pushed it open enough to stick my head in. Luna and Sami were sitting up in their beds. Ghost was leaning a hip on Luna’s bed while Speed sat on Sami’s. Ally stood between the beds looking into the hospital bassinets.

“Hey, up for a visitor?” I asked when heads turned toward the door.

“Of course. Come in, Brie,” Luna said.

“You got here just in time before the room fills up. Mac went to the waiting room to let the gang know they could visit,” Sami added.

I pushed the door open a little more and walked in, then partially closed the door again. Making my way between the beds, I stopped and looked down at the three little bundles. “Oh my God, look at those handsome little faces. Nice job, ladies.”

“Uh, Ghost and I contributed, too.” I chuckled at Speed’s affronted tone.

“Why, yes, you did. How rude of me to not include you on a job well done.”

“Thanks,” both Ghost and Speed replied with big grins on their faces.

“Oh, yeah, they had a part. They got to...” Luna paused when Ghost coughed and lifted his chin toward Ally. “...tickle their fancy and Sami and I ended up carrying the results, dealing with puking, heartburn, swollen feet, backaches, then pushing the fruit of their loins out of an area that defies nature by stretching to the size of a grapefruit,” Luna said, making Sami and I laugh.

“What’s tickle their fancy?” Ally asked as she joined Sami on the bed.

“Never mind what it means,” Sami said and kissed Ally on the top of her head.

“It means Luna sounds like an eighty-year-old woman for talking like that,” Ghost said, then stepped back out of reach when Luna slapped at him. “You better behave, or I’m going to tell Ally how many curse words passed your lips in the delivery room.”

“How many, Uncle Ghost?”

“If you tell, you’ll never get the chance to talk me into having more kids,” Luna said and laughed when Ghost glared at her.

“Daddy? Did my momma say any bad words?” Ally asked and looked at her dad. What I saw when Speed looked at Ally was a man who would never deny his daughter even at the expense of having his ol’ lady irritated.

Speed snorted, then grinned when Sami’s head jerked in his direction.

“Kane, don’t you dare,” Sami said.

Even after getting to know and spend time with the women and men from Black Hawk, it still took me a second every time one of the men’s given names was used versus their club names. It’d taken me quite a few times around the couples to realize the men’s given names were only used by their wife or ol’ lady.

“Would I rat you out, baby?” Speed asked and winked.

“I don’t have to worry about getting ratted out. I didn’t curse,” Sami rebuked.

“Pretty sure,‘I’m going to twist your damn balls off and shove them up your fucking ass,’contains a few words that are construed as bad.”

“Oh, Momma,” Ally said as she looked at Sami and shook her head.

I glanced at Luna and saw she had her face buried in Ghost’s chest while her body shook. It took every ounce of my own willpower not to burst out laughing.

One thing I quickly learned being around the group of men and women was I smiled and laughed a lot more.

“Why don’t I take Ally to get a few snacks and some juice. With everyone here, I can watch the kids while the grownups are visiting,” I said, hoping to distract Ally for Sami’s sake.

“You don’t have to do that. Mac’s letting the kids come in since there are only three moms on the floor right now. Us and one other lucky lady who decided to spice up her Friday,” Luna said as she shifted around to adjust the pillow behind her back. It had fallen out of place when she had leaned forward to muffle her laughter.

“Can I hold Archer again before everyone comes in?”

“Let him sleep, baby. He can’t be held all the time. It isn’t good for him.” Speed stretched his arm around Sami, and between his response and the gentleness in the way he ran his hand down Ally’s hair, had tears forming in my eyes on behalf of my daughter. Sawyer had never gotten the chance to experience the feeling of being cherished by a dad’s touch or words.

I remembered how it felt with my dad as a little girl and even still as an adult. Nero Agassi had never failed to show his two daughters, Victoria and myself, that he loved us. If I closed my eyes, I could even picture him doing it. He had even done the same thing to Enzo, my brother, at least until he reached his teen years and decided it was embarrassing to have your dad hugging you.

When Sawyer and I had lived close to family, my dad had done the same with her, but nothing replaced the touch of a dad or the bond between a little girl and her father. Not even a grandpa’s touch.

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