Page 143 of The Payback

“Just wait, man. Jesus, patience has never been your virtue,” Dimitri gripes.

“No, but I make up for it in other ways.” Nik stands from his crouch and shoots a wink at me.

He’s not wrong.

But then, I see it—the faintest hint of a line on the cheap test. The expensive one still has that infuriating loading bar on the little window.

Nik’s eyes are wide as he stares at the simple test. “I don’t know if I’m willing that line into existence or if my eyes are playing tricks on me.”

Dimitri says nothing; he waits the appropriate three minutes, and when the electronic test’s window changes, he falls to his knees.

“Two to three weeks,” he mutters, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me closer.

Earlier this month, Nik was on a job with Olivia for the better part of two weeks. I didn’t know when I ovulated, and I’d been with both of them before and after Nik got home, but the timing on the little window means the bun in the oven is half Dimitri.

He lifts my shirt, exposing my still-flat belly. “Hi, baby,” he coos, his voice breaking and his hands trembling as he puts one just below my navel.

Nik is smiling down at Dimitri, nothing but love shining in his eyes. They reconciled long ago, and their relationship is stronger than ever as we learn to navigate our new lives together as a group.

He claps a hand on Dimitri’s shoulder and pulls me in for a kiss, wiping the tears of joy from my face with his callused thumbs.

“A family of five,” he says with awe and wonder in his tone.

Dimitri’s shoulders shake as he holds me, his sniffle so uncharacteristic that I reach for him and pull him to his feet.

“Are you okay?” I ask, staring into his ice-blue eyes, so full of emotion and excitement that I know I’ll never get the image of them out of my head for as long as I live.

His smile wavers as he holds back some of the emotion threatening to break free. “I’m so good, my Sabre.Thank you.” He kisses me, punctuating his sentences with pecks all over my face. “Thank you for helping me. For loving me. Thank you for being ours and bringing us together. Thank you for our life.”

He wraps his arms around me, hugging me tightly and resting his face in the crook of my neck, whispering more words of love.

Nik keeps a hand on my back, rubbing small circles until he suddenly freezes.

Curiously, I look at him, and his face has morphed from joy to fear.

“What is it?” I ask. Dimitri hears my concern and looks over at Nik.

“I just... what do we do? I can start the boat and get us to a doctor. Who’s going to watch Bella? We need to get the bedroom ready. Oh fuck, what if they’re lactose intolerant? How do you feed a child allergic to milk?” His voice raises in pitch as he continues talking. “And Bella! What if she thinks we’ll love the new baby more than her? We need to work on her sharing! Oh God, and do you have a birth plan?”

I can’t stop the laugh as it bubbles up.

“Nik, honey. Take a deep breath.”

He does as I say, the sound stuttering through his panicked body.

“Now let it out and listen. I will make an appointment to go to the doctor next week for extra confirmation. Olivia and the guys will watch Bella if needed, you know that. At least one of them always stays behind when they go on jobs. There is a specialised formula in case of a dairy issue. She will love her new sibling. And we can teach her to share in the next eight-ish months. My birth plan is the same as when I had Bella, but this time, insisting the two of you be in the room with me.”

Nik steadily exhales as I finish answering his questions, and he looks remorseful.

“I’msosorry I wasn’t here the first time. There’s so much, and you did it all alone. I’ll never be able to get that time back, but I promise I—” Dimitri clears his throat loudly, levelling Nik with a gaze. “Wewill be here for all of it.”

“I know. If you weren’t, I’d put Olivia on your asses to drag you back here and handcuff you to the delivery bed.”

“Unnecessary,” Dimitri says. “We’re in this, and we’re excited.” He punches Nik’s shoulder. “Right?”

Nik shakes out of his momentary panic and nods, his eyes on my stomach. “So in this.”

“Good,” I say, cocking my head to the side. My phone is ringing in the kitchen, and it’s Olivia’s ringtone. “I gotta get that. We got a request while you were away, and I think you’ll both want to know about it.”

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