Page 117 of Play the Game
I would laugh at his matter-of-fact statement if this whole situation wasn’t so entirely fucked up. When the pain subsides, I stand straight and Cooper does the same, cupping my face in both hands. His eyes on mine help staunch the terror that’s hitting me like a tsunami now that the adrenaline from the confrontation is draining out of me. “I just quit my job,” I whisper.
Cooper nods, smiling. “You did. It was pretty spectacular.”
“You’re going to come with me to Pierre, right? Milo said I could hire any lawyer I want to work for me, and I want you.”
His smile turns into a wide grin. “It’ll be so hot having you as a boss.”
“My water broke in the bathroom earlier, and I’m pretty sure we’re having a baby today.”
Cooper strokes his thumbs over my cheeks, leaning in and pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Your contractions are like four minutes apart, so I’m pretty sure we’re going to have a baby really soon.”
“You’ve been timing them?”
He shrugs. “I’ve been counting in my head, so it’s probably not exact, but close enough.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. “We should probably go to the hospital.” My eyes fly open. “Fuck,” I say sharply, panic gusting through me. “I thought I had more time so I didn’t pack a bag yet or even do any research about what needs to go into a hospital bag so I have no idea what I need and I’m supposed to be pregnant for three more weeks so what if it’s too early and something goes wrong and—” I break off, doubling over as another contraction hits, biting my cheek as hard as I can to keep from crying out.
“I’ve got you,” Cooper murmurs, sliding around behind me and pressing his hands to my lower back like he did in the conference room. The fact that he is so calm and seems to know exactly what I need even though I have no fucking clue cuts through my panic enough for me to breathe through the contraction. “I called my brothers when you texted me. Elliot and Amelia are downstairs waiting in El’s car to drive us to the hospital so I can sit with you in the back seat. Amelia packed your bag for you, and if there’s something you need that isn’t in there, Jo or Hannah can bring it later.” As the contraction ebbs, Cooper steps back around, bending low so we’re face to face, rubbing those calming circles on my back again. “The doctor said thirty-seven weeks is considered full term, so the baby is going to be fine, and so are you.”
“You’ll stay with me?”
Cooper leans his head against mine, and the feel of his warm, strong body calms me down the rest of the way. “Always and no matter what.”
I stand, pressing my hands to my back. “How did you know what my text was about? I just told you to come to the conference room.”
The love in Cooper’s eyes when he looks at me is so fierce that tears blur my vision. Setting his hands on my shoulders, he rubs them up and down my arms. “I love you, Rhodes. It’s myjob to know. To take care of you. Both of you,” he says, dropping one hand to my belly and smiling when the baby moves against it. “Ready to go?”
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly then nod. “Ready.”
Cooper picks my bag up off the floor, sliding an arm firmly around my waist. And together, we leave our office for what is probably the last time, heading straight into whatever comes next.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
COOPER
“Shit,” Evan moans, squeezing her eyes shut, her hand gripping mine as she bears down and the doctor counts to ten. With my free hand, I rub circles on her belly and eye the monitor showing the contraction spike, feeling like the most helpless human on the planet.
We were up in labor and delivery fifteen minutes after we left the office, and it’s a good thing because Evan was already eight centimeters dilated. Twenty minutes after that, she was ready to push. Stupidly, I kind of thought once you get to that point it just takes a few minutes for the baby to be born.
It turns out I didn’t know anything at all.
She’s been pushing for almost two hours, each contraction getting longer and more intense, and she’s doing it all entirely without pain medication because by the time she got into a bed and got hooked up to all the monitors, it was too late for that.
“I need a fucking epidural,” Evan snaps, collapsing back against the pillows as the contraction ebbs, her chest heaving. “That was literally my only birth plan, but Austin had to be a stupid asshole and hold me up, and leave it to a fucking man tofind a way to fuck this up for me. Forget pregnancy discrimination. I should sue him just for this.”
“The men really do ruin everything,” Dr. McCallister says with a grin, looking up at us from her position on a rolling stool between Evan’s legs. “Sorry, Cooper.”
I smile, stroking a hand over Evan’s hair. “Don’t apologize. We usually do fuck it all up.”
“Okay, here comes another one.” The doctor looks up at Evan. “Big push and hold for ten, okay?”
“I know what to fucking do,” Evan mutters. “We’ve been at this for a thousand years.”
Her entire body tenses as the contraction hits her, and she curls forward, her hand gripping mine. I lean down, my mouth next to her ear as the doctor counts. “I’m so fucking proud of you,” I murmur. “You’re a goddamn warrior.”
“I don’t want to be a warrior,” she spits out, her face screwed up in pain and her voice laced in frustration. “I want this fucking baby out of me. What’s taking so long?”
“You’re so close,” Dr. McCallister says. “It won’t be much longer now, I promise. Just hang in there, Evan.”
