Page 141 of Stolen Voices
A simple “Hey,” is all I croak out as my brain fizzles, lost in a Callie haze. She’ is so fucking pretty. All I want to do is rush to her, wrap my arms around her, and kiss her. “You’re breathtaking.”
“Thank you.” Her cheeks
“Aww… Ow!” Rylann lets out an almost guttural growl as she bends over, and a splash of water hits the floor between her legs. “Oh, shit.”
I slide Callie to the side as Jace leaps over the couch to get to his wife. “Fuck, Sunshine. Your water broke.”
Callie shoves me out of the way and grips my sister-in-law’s hand. “Oh my god, Rylann, are you okay? What can I do to help?”
There’s a flurry of commotion around us as Scarlett and Emery gather the hospital go bag. Jace barks orders at Levi to get Rhys. Mason, who is holding Sariah, is told to call all the grandparents.
“You can”—Rylann grips Callie’s wrists as she breathes through a contraction—“go on your date and then tell me all about it when you come to visit us at the hospital tomorrow. It takes a couple of hours to have a baby.”
“Are you sure?” Callie asks, worried.
“She’s sure,” Jace interrupts, taking Rylann’s hands. “Come on, Sunshine. Let’s go have a baby.”
“Let’s go have a baby,” Rylann whispers with a loving smile. She gazes up at Jace, and tears prick my eyes.
The love coming off them as they stare at each other is palpable. A shred of jealousy hits me in the chest as I watch Jace bend and lift Rylann into his arms before carrying her out the door.
I look over to find Callie wiping away a tear before her gaze lands on mine. My mind molds the picture, replacing Jace and Rylann with me and Callie, her stomach swollen with our baby as we lovingly stare at each other and share a kiss before we welcome our son or daughter into the world.
Fuck, I can see it all, and I can’t wait for that to be us.
Cheeks flushed pink, Callie grins at me like she can see what I’m thinking. My throat swells, and I choke back my tears.
“I know that face,” Scarlett croons, making us all laugh. “Why don’t you two lovebirds head out? We’ve got this covered.” Scarlett nudges Callie in my direction, urging her to move. “Please go doallthe things I would do if I wasn’t on babysitting duty.”
Callie laughs as she approaches. Her sweet flowery scent fills my nose, and my heart thunders in my chest.
I lift the bouquet I forgot I was holding and hand it to her. “These are for you.”
Callie brings the flowers to her nose and sniffs. “Thank you. They’re beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful.” I kiss her cheek.
We say our goodbyes, and I lead her out of the house to our waiting chariot. I open the door for her to slide inside the car. Both of us are silent as I drive back to Cam’s house.
I pull into the driveway and turn off the ignition. “That was exciting,” I huff, the tension in my shoulders dissipating.
Callie chuckles, and the sweet sound fills me with warmth. I love hearing her melodic laugh.
“It really was.” Callie places her hand on my thigh, shooting me in the heart with her dark eyes as they happily sparkle in the deep-orange sunset. “I really like your family.”
“Good, because they really like you too. Probably more than they like me.”
“Probably. You can be kind of a dick sometimes,” she retorts with a laugh.
“Ouch.” I feign hurt, clutching my chest. “I’m going to remember that, princess. Now, stay put.”
I hop out of the car, make my way to her door, open it, and help her out. Callie clutches her bouquet in one hand as I wrap the delicate fingers of her other around the crook of my arm as I lead her to the door. Pressing my thumb to the reader, I unlock the house and freeze with my hand on the knob.
“This probably isn’t your typical first date, but with everything going on, I can’t exactly take you out and show you a proper time.”
Callie places her hand on mine, stopping me from opening the door. “I’m going to love anything you did for me because it’s you.”
This woman.
