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Her voice on the other end is strained but determined. "Gray, it's time. The babies are coming."
"What? No, no, we're not due for two more weeks."
The ridiculousness of what I just said hits me as she lets out a sound that's somewhere between a groan of pain and a burst of laughter.
"Well, they don't really seem to care about our schedule, Gray. Meet me at the hospital, I-ah! God, that one really hurt."
A surge of adrenaline shoots through me, and I drop everything, racing out of the store without a second thought. The drive to the hospital is a blur, the world passing by in a haze of worry and anticipation.
"Sir, you can't run in here," a nurse admonishes me as I dart down a hallway in the hospital, and I come to a sudden halt.
"Sorry, I'm just, I'm looking for my fiancée. She's gone into labor; I don't know where she is."
Mercifully, she shows me the way, and soon after, I'm bursting into a changing room, where I'm given a hospital gown and a cap to cover my hair. Tyley is lying on the hospital bed, her face twisted in pain but her eyes bright with determination, a picture of resilience and beauty. I rush to her side, taking her hand in mine, offering whatever support I can.
"I'm here, Ty. I'm here." I kiss her forehead, hating feeling so helpless. There's nothing I can do now, nothing but watch her bring our children into the world. "I love you."
She offers me a strained smile, groaning through another contraction before responding. "I love you too."
Hours blur together, a whirlwind of emotions and moments that I can barely grasp as Tyley goes through labor. The doctors warned us that, with twins, we might be facing a Cesarean, but somehow it all went right.
"It's a girl!" the doctor announces, but there's no time to bask in the happiness that one of our little ones is finally here. He quickly turns his attention to the task at hand, instructing Tyley to push. "The second one is coming; come on, one last effort!"
And she does, pushing as hard as she can, squeezing my hand so fiercely I wonder if it'll break. That's a price I'd be all too happy to pay.
"It’s a boy. Congratulations, Mom and Dad, you've got yourself a pair."
Tyley's exhausted, but her radiant smile mirrors my own as we gaze down at the tiny miracles in front of us. The nurses place them on her chest, letting mother and children connect for the first time outside of her womb, and it's an image that’ll warm my heart for years to come.
“Look at that,” she whispers, caressing the chin of one of the babies with all the tenderness of a proud new mom. “You were right after all. They’ve got your chin.”
I laugh at her silly reference, thinking back to the first real conversation we had about her pregnancy so many months ago. Their chins are tiny and precious, like every other inch of their little bodies, and they look nothing like mine, hers, or anyone else's, but I still nod, kissing the top of her head lovingly.
“And your nose. But I got one thing wrong—they got your hair after all.”
Tyley chuckles an exhausted yet gleeful little sound that fills my heart to the brim. She looks up at me, and I kiss her once more, this time on the lips.
“I love you,” she whispers against my mouth.
“I love you too. All three of you.”
thirty-one
Epilogue
Two years later
I take a moment to just soak in the sight before me—the way Grayson's eyes light up with pure adoration as he plays with our children, Annie's curls bouncing with each twirl, and Owen gleefully asking for one more spin. It's moments like these that make every doubt, every fear, completely worth it.
"Whoa there, speedsters!" I call out, unable to contain my laughter. "You three are going to break something."
Grayson sets the kids down, and they immediately scatter off in different directions onto new adventures. He plops down beside me on the couch, draping an arm around my shoulder and pressing a warm kiss to my temple.
"I was thinking about taking them to the park later. What do you say, Ty? Wanna tag along?"
I glance at Gray, my heart swelling with love. Somehow, he's become a hundred times sexier ever since he became a dad. "I think that sounds like a perfect plan. Just let me finish my coffee first, and then we can head out."
I take another sip and then stare down at my cup, hesitating. "Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something."
