Page 67 of My Best Friend's Triplet Brothers

Chapter 26

Iignoredtheawful pains that shot through my lower body as I finished roughly shoving a tray of pastries into the oven. I slammed the oven door shut and doubled over. Braxton-Hicks. I’d had the faux labor pains a few weeks before, and there was no way I was being shuttled to the birthing center once again for no reason. There was too much going on.

After the wave of pain subsided a bit, I straightened and moved around the bakery, checking to make sure everything was perfect. The tables in the front of house were decorated with beautiful arrangements of fresh flowers, the display cases were full of fresh treats. Everything was coming together. If I could just keep the pain at bay long enough to get through the night, things would be great.

Cupcake’s was having a soft opening before the bigger grand opening in a week. I wanted to be sure everything was set to be show-stopping. I’d been obsessing over my old recipes and trying new recipes for months and I’d gotten them all perfectly written out and printed into two separate cookbooks for the couple who’d be recreating them while I was out with the baby.

The timing was shit. The triplets had been so eager to give me everything in the world that I could ever possibly want that they’d purchased a building and set up an account for me to build my dream bakery. They’d given it to me on our three-month anniversary, because they were so sappy that they believed in celebrating each month. They’d given me the keys to the building, and I’d given them the news that we were pregnant.

Instead of waiting to start working on the bakery, like Andrew had immediately insisted upon, I hit the ground running. I freely used the account to build the perfect little bakery for me, knowing that I would pay them back eventually. I had so much faith in the bakery. With my heart and the support of my men, anything was possible. Unfortunately, our babies weren’t willing to take a back seat to baked goods. The three healthy baby boys growing in my belly didn’t care about giving me time to finish things. They were already just as demanding and as bossy as their daddies.

I’d done everything I could. I’d worked myself nearly to death, at the cost of many arguments with my men. The bakery would be opening, and I had everything in line to run without me for a few weeks when I did have to go on leave.

Carl and Rita Holloway were experienced and professional bakers. They’d been in business for fifty years, in one way or another. They were also the sweetest people ever and had instantly become like grandparents to me. I loved them and I knew they were going to take care of my business baby while I took care of my baby babies.

Another stab of pain shot through me, and I cried out that time. The pains were getting stronger and closer together. That hadn’t happened the time before.

Rita appeared at my side, her expression tight. “That’s enough. I’m calling the boys.”

I winced. “Oh, no, Rita. Don’t. Please. They’re never going to let me stay for the opening.”

She wrapped her arm around my waist and helped me to one of the tables. Easing me into a chair, she shook her head. “Don’t guilt me, young lady. You’re going into labor and you’re about to have these babies on the kitchen floor!”

I cried out again even as she dialed. She and Carl had been accepting of the fact that I was in a relationship with all three of the Strickland brothers. Rita had almost instantly referred to them as the boys, or even her boys. That bond meant that whoever she was calling was for sure going to answer their phone. I was busted.

Carl came rushing out of the back and took one look at me before grabbing for his own phone. “I’ll call an ambulance. Whoever gets here first will take you.”

I didn’t hear much else. The contractions were stronger and only a few minutes apart. I was cursing the day I’d ever let one of the twins put their penis in me when the door to the bakery was almost ripped open.

Andrew was the first in. He took one look at me, went pale, and staggered a step before Lucas just about plowed him over. Warren, who had turned out to be the not so calm one when it came to my health, came running in after.

“It’s happening!” Lucas shouted into the air like he was alerting the neighborhood. “It’s happening!”

Warren knelt in front of me and felt my forehead. “Oh, god. You’re clammy. You’re clammy! Is that normal?”

“Let’s get this show on the road!” Lucas pushed Warren aside and bent like he was going to pick me up and toss me over his shoulder. Last minute, he froze and shook his head at himself. “Sorry, Momma. Let’s just ease you up instead.”

Andrew finally snapped out of his stupor and was back to being his old self. “This is why we should’ve moved into that house by the center. We would’ve been safer. And if you’d been home, instead of working—”

“Andrew Michael Strickland, if you don’t shut up and help me get out of this chair and to that birthing center, I’m going to have these babies right here in this bakery!” I’d quickly accepted that the contractions weren’t fake. They were definitely real. I could tell by the way my water had broken.

Warren slipped in the liquid as he went to grab me and gasped as he realized what it was. “Code red! Code red! The water has broken!”

Lucas grabbed me up and hurried me out to the car, his scariest expression keeping passersby away. “Babies coming! Stay away!”

Andrew was behind me, hurrying me forward. “Let’s go, let’s go!”

I was mortified at the commotion they were causing, but between the pain and concern for my bakery, I decided to yell at them later. I twisted my head back around to Rita and Carl and called to them. “There are pastries in the oven! I’ll be back as soon as I can be!”

Andrew growled as he helped me into the car. “You’re going to be the death of me.”

Lucas got in the driver’s seat and barely waited on his brothers to get in the car before taking off. He flew through the city like a maniac, but Warren and Andrew didn’t seem to notice. They were both obsessing over me.

Another contraction hit, and I screamed while twisting Andrew’s hand in my grip. It felt like I was being ripped open. My entire body was trying to kill me. Still, I tried to think of everything. “Did you call Macy?”

Andrew looked at Warren, who looked at Lucas. Clearly, they’d panicked. For a set of fully capable men that weren’t shaken by anything, they were completely useless when worried about my health. They would take down armed gunmen for me, but if I coughed a little too much, they were falling all over themselves to make sure I wasn’t dying. It would’ve been cute, if only they’d remembered to call their sister.

“Call her!”

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