Page 33 of Come For Me
Maryann showed them the baby’s arms and legs, measured its head and spine, counted the heartbeats, and all the while, Dain stared, rapt, at the fuzzy black-and-white image. Olivia split her time between him and the screen, fascinated by both. And then…
“Well, that’s interesting.”
Dain leaned forward, his anxiety palpable. “What? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong.” Maryann stared intently at the screen. “Though I don’t think I would’ve won if I bet on the sex of this baby.”
A muffled “What?” Filtered through the door, and then it opened. Saint stumbled in first, followed by an intent Elliot and a somewhat embarrassed King who kept his gaze firmly averted from Olivia’s belly. She swore she caught a faint touch of pink on the poor man’s cheeks.
“What are you three doing in here?” Maryann demanded.
But Olivia found she really didn’t care. In fact, at this moment, she realized it felt right to have Dain’s “other” family with them. Besides, she thought seeing their faces when they heard her news might be even better than only seeing Dain’s.
Dain made introductions. “Now, you were saying?”
Maryann looked to Olivia, who nodded. They shared a conspiratorial wink.
“I was saying the sex of the baby is interesting.”
“Yes, it is,” Dain practically growled.
From the look on her face, Maryann was enjoying this far too much. She lazily moved the wand over Olivia’s belly again.
The tension stretched, a cord about to snap. Finally it did—or Dain did.
“And?”
Maryann giggled. “Dain, I hate to tell you this, but I am under strict instructions not to tell you what the sex is.”
“What?”
Okay, that was more than a growl. Olivia giggled this time.
Dain turned on her. “Why did you tell her that?”
She shrugged. “I have to keep things interesting, don’t I?”
Thunderclouds gathered in Dain’s eyes. The team added their protests.
“You guys go around making bets on the sex of my child, and you think little ol’ Olivia has no say in the matter, don’t you?” She shook her head at them. “I have all the say. I’m the one in control, and I say I want the baby’s college fund to be as big as it can get, so keep betting. You’ve got at least twelve more weeks.”
Elliot was the first to laugh. It took the men a bit longer.
While the room was still in an uproar, Dain leaned over, his lips coming to rest a breath away from hers. She savored the feel of being overwhelmed by him, especially in this moment—even if the moment was a little more crowded than they’d planned. “Hey, husband.”
Dain glared down at her, but she could see the sparkle of amusement mixed in. “Keeping things interesting, huh?”
“Right. Ten years, you know. A girl only has so many secrets.” She tried to look mysterious and elusive, but knew she failed miserably. She could try all she wanted, but Dain was in the business of secrets. He always managed to ferret them out.
“You know I’ll get the information from you one way or another, right?”
Of course she knew, which was why—
“But you can’t get it out of me, Dain,” Maryann interrupted.
Dain’s eyes went wide. “She’s not— You’re not—”
“That’s right. She’s not telling me either.” Just twelve more weeks. What was twelve weeks when she might not get to savor having a secret from Dain for another lifetime?
This was going to be fun.
Dain leaned very, very close. “You know I’m going to punish you when we get home, don’t you?”
Excitement did a dance behind her too-full bladder—which she really needed to do something about. But first… “Of course I know. I was counting on it.”
If Dain’s kiss was anything to go by, the next few weeks were definitely going to be worth it, in every way.
∞
