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“Me too,” I confessed, though I couldn’t help the ripple of anxiety that coursed through me. “I always wanted kids, you know? Just never expected it all to happen so quickly.” My hand instinctively went to the swell of my stomach, the future we created together stirring within me.
“Names,” Tristan said suddenly, as if the thought had just occurred to him. “We need to think about names.”
A smile found its way onto my lips despite the nerves. “Any ideas?”
He paused, his gaze softening. “For our girl...What do you think about Catherine?” His voice held a note of vulnerability. “To honor my mum.”
The suggestion warmed me more than any blanket could. “Catherine,” I repeated, letting the name roll off my tongue. “It sounds lovely.”
His hand came to rest on my cheek, thumb brushing away an errant lock of hair. “You think so?”
“Absolutely.” I leaned into his touch, reveling in the simple comfort it brought.
For a long moment, we stayed like that, wrapped up in each other and the quiet anticipation of the future. I could feel his breath on my skin, the steady beat of his heart against mine, and something like peace settled over me.
“Your smell,” he said unexpectedly, a small smile playing on his lips. “I like it. It’s... calming.”
“Even now?” I joked lightly, acutely aware of how pregnancy had heightened my senses, made me more conscious of the scents and spaces around me.
“Especially now,” he confirmed, tightening his hold on me once more. And in the shelter of his arms, with the light of a new day creeping in, I believed for a moment that everything might just turn out okay.
The calm was shattered by a sudden jolt inside me, a flutter that caught my breath. “Tristan,” I gasped, grabbing his hand and pressing it firmly against the curve of my belly. “Did you feel that?”
His eyes widened, a mix of astonishment and joy lighting them up as he felt the movement under his palm. “They’re kicking?”
“Seems like it,” I laughed, the sound bubbling up through the surprise. The twins had chosen this moment to make their presence known.
“Which one do you think it is?” Tristan asked, his voice tinged with wonder.
“Probably both,” I said, smiling at the thought of our children already showing their feisty spirits. “It must be getting cramped in there.”
“Imagine sharing a room with someone constantly poking you,” he mused, the corners of his mouth twitching into an amused grin.
“Sounds like every family gathering at the Callahans’,” I teased, and we shared a light laugh, the sound mingling with the soft morning light that filled the room.
The laughter faded into a comfortable silence, and Tristan’s expression shifted into something more contemplative, his thumb caressing the skin of my abdomen in thoughtful circles. He checked in with me, his concern evident even as he tried to keep the mood light. “You know, Dr. Hawthorne mentioned you need to stay relaxed with everything going on.”
“Relaxed,” I echoed, the word feeling foreign on my lips. “With everything that’s happened, it’s been hard to find a moment of true calm.”
“I know,” he said softly, his blue eyes searching mine. “But whatever comes, we’ll face it together. For them,” he added, nodding toward my belly.
“Sometimes ‘together’ feels like a tall order when your world is a never-ending storm,” I admitted, resting my head against his chest, seeking the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
“Then we’ll be the eye of that storm.” Tristan’s voice was firm, resolute, as if he could will the chaos away with sheer determination. “For Catherine, for her brother, for us.”
I closed my eyes, allowing myself to lean on him, to believe in his promise, even if just for this quiet moment before the world rushed back in.
It didn’t take me long to come back down to reality.
I should’ve been used to the clangor of violence by now, but the sharp report of a gunshot still reverberated in my ears. Tristan had pulled the trigger, and Vinny... Vinny was no more. The image clung to me like a second skin, a constant reminder of the life I was entangled in.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Vinny,” I said. “I grew up around him.”
“Ade,” he said, his voice low and steady, “I’m sorry you had to see that. I truly am.”
My breath trembled as I fought back the chaos swirling within. I nodded, my voice barely above a whisper, “I understand why it happened. Vinny came for you, and it was him or us—but that doesn’t make it any easier to stomach.”
