Page 111 of Sweetest Sin
She glances at me with tears in her eyes, and I swear my heart has never been so damn full. This woman is truly the light in my dark world.
“It’s strong and healthy,” the doctor says. “And based on the size, you’re about nine weeks pregnant with a due date of May 23.”
“Really?” Peyton asks. “But I had some bleeding last month.”
“It happens,” the doctor says. “But everything appears to be normal …” She continues clicking and then grins. “Well, lookee here.” She points at the screen. “It seems someone was hiding.”
I’m holding Peyton’s hand, so when she squeezes it, I glance down at her in confusion.
“Who’s hiding?” I ask.
“Holy shit,” Peyton gasps. “There’s two?”
“There is,” the doctor says. “You’re pregnant with twins.”
“Oh my God.” Peyton laughs. “Apparently, you don’t do anything half-assed.”
She smiles at me, but I’m too shocked to smile back because, holy fucking shit, she’s pregnant with twins. That’s not only one baby to protect, but two. And she’s going to have to carry them both.
“Is that healthy?” I ask, realizing how stupid I sound once the words are out.
“It’s perfectly healthy,” the doctor says with a small smile. “The goal will be to get as close to term as possible, but withtwins, sometimes, it’s normal for them to come sooner. Since you had a C-section with your son, we’ll be able to schedule one for this pregnancy. For now, I’m going to prescribe you a prenatal vitamin. Keep the stress to a minimum, eat healthy, and drink plenty of fluids, and we’ll see you back in four weeks.”
She hands the probe to the nurse, and then she prints out black-and-white photos of the two tiny little dots that represent our babies. Then, they excuse themselves so Peyton can get cleaned up and dressed.
“I can’t believe we’re having twins,” Peyton says with another laugh. “You sure you still want to be a stay-at-home dad?”
There’s a twinkle in her eye, and I can’t help but pull her into my arms and kiss her hard. This woman has given me everything I could ever want, and now, she’s about to give me two more babies.
“I’ll be whatever the hell you want me to be,” I murmur against her lips, “as long as I can be with you.”
“You have me, Dominick,” she says, wrapping her arms around my neck. “Until death do us part. And even then, I’m sure you’ll find me in the afterlife.”
“Damn right I will,” I tell her, kissing her soft lips. “And then I’ll drag you from heaven to join me in the pits of hell. Because you, Peyton soon-to-be Antonov, will always be my sweetest sin.”
Peyton
Eight Months Later
As I lieon the couch with my family surrounding our two precious little bundles of joy, I can’t help but feel so blessed. Thispregnancy was a mixture of sweet and rough. Dominick gave in and let Damien go back to school—with the agreement that not one, but two guards would be on the premises at all times. Thankfully, they blend in, and the kids don’t think anything of it.
We got married on Christmas Eve, and the wedding was beautiful. Only our close friends and family were there, in a small church, where we exchanged our vows and then signed the papers for Dominick to be added to Damien’s birth certificate and for both of our last names to be changed.
He surprisingly let me work, but when I hit six months pregnant and my blood pressure was a bit high, I was forced to quit to go on volunteer bed rest before it turned into mandatory bed rest. With that news came Dominick’s need to delegate.
We’ve yet to replace Martha, though I don’t believe she could ever be replaced. But he insisted on having someone come in and cook healthy meals for us, and then he hired a nurse to come daily to check on me. It was a bit over the top, but I quickly realized it was the only way he would calm down, and the last thing I wanted was for my husband to have a heart attack.
Brielle offered to throw me a baby shower, but the truth is, our circle is so small that it would’ve just been us, so instead, we went shopping and to lunch and then spent the afternoon setting up the nursery. We decided to wait to find out the genders of the babies, so we had the room painted in soft yellows and greens and blues and bought enough clothes to last until we could go shopping.
I made it to thirty-six weeks and then my water broke. So, we went in, and they performed a C-section. Then, we got to meet our beautiful, healthy little boys.
Yes, I gave birth to twin boys, and Damien is absolutely beside himself. They aren’t identical, but at only a few weeks old, it’s hard to tell them apart.
Justin—named after my mother, Justine—seems to be calm. Adam—his name was picked by Damien—is cranky and demanding, reminding me of his father.
Since we arrived home, everyone has been so helpful. Brielle has been making sure that Damien is taken care of while Larisa helps with the babies. Even Martha has come by several times to visit.
We’ve hired a nighttime nanny to help because breastfeeding two babies is not easy, especially while recovering from surgery. But Dominick and I still take turns getting up.
