“I’m going to have to have a C section.”
I nodded. “No way Dr. Gomez will even try for a VBAC. Not with your history.”
“There could be twin to twin transfusion, or growth restriction, and they’re gonna be so little and—”
“Breathe. We aren’t going to borrow trouble. We’re going to take each day as it comes and deal with whatever comes up.”
Demi needed to hear it. Just my words allowed her to breathe, so she wasn’t on the verge of hyperventilating anymore. Her grip was still so tight that I was worried my hands would bruise, but that was okay.
“Luke’s ecstatic. But I could get preeclampsia or gestational diabetes or placental abruption—”
“Hey,” I said, cutting her off again. “What did I just say?”
Her smile was a little watery. “No borrowing trouble.”
“That’s right.” I adjusted my position because my legs were cramping. Once I was settled on my knees, I got her to let go of one of my hands so I could smooth her curls out of her face. “We know the potential complications. We know the risks. We’ve got this.”
Demi gulped air and then her head shot up. I turned to look at Mom too, who was hovering just outside of our little twin bubble. Demi held out her free hand to Mom who took it fast. Demi’s inhale was shuddery.
“Mommy, I’m gonna have three babies. At once!”
Mom laughed, and her eyes were wet, as she swooped in to hug Demi. “My darling girl, you always did outshine me.”
“I didn’t want to do it this way!” Demi yelled, and then a second later she was laughing, the good kind of soul healing laughter. I knew this wouldn’t be the last time her worries would overwhelm her. But for the moment, things were better.
Her laughter was infectious, and soon we all joined in. It took a few minutes for us to get ourselves under control. Demi hiccupped a few times, which set her off again, and then finally she could breathe again.
“This is just ridiculous. I’m yeeting the tubes when they cut me open, I swear to god.” Demi shook her head, but her smile was much more like her regular one. “Chances were higher that it would be a multiple, but freaking triplets?”
Ville cleared his throat, and when I looked up at him, his eyes were soft. “I think that if it was going to happen to anyone, it was good it happened to you.”
Demi tilted her head. “Why’s that?”
Vile stared right into her eyes. “Look at this wonderful family you have. The best support system. You will never have to worry that you don’t have good people to rely on.”
Demi squeaked, bounced to her feet, and threw herself into Ville’s arms. He looked stunned for a second, then wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. And I knew just how good those hugs were for putting you back together. Ville excelled at shoving me back into my body, and right now, Demi needed that too.
Seeing them together made my heart melt. This man, whom I cared about so much. More than that, maybe, though I wouldn’t even allow myself to think about that. And he was holding my twin together, just as he would me.
I was going to fall apart when our time was over and he left. There was no doubt about it.
Chapter 17
Ville
The Thursday before the wedding was filled with activity. People had started to arrive and there’d be a rehearsal dinner in the evening for the family and the happy couple’s closest friends.
Luke’s family had arrived earlier in the week, and while his parents were staying at Demi and Luke’s house, their friends would mostly stay on the ranch in high-end RVs that had been rented for the occasion. Mike had murmured something about maybe it was time to start thinking about building more permanent accommodations with the family expanding, and I agreed with him on that.
Speaking of expanding families, Wren had heard the news about the triplets, and he’d immediately gotten on the phone with his money guys and told them to put together future fundsfor each of the Harrington kids—including Payton—and any future kids that might come along.
He'd set it up so that the kids could use the money directly for tuition, whether it be for college or trade school. After that, once they turned twenty-five, they could then have full access to use it however they wanted or needed.
“Is it too much?” he asked as he outlined what he’d done while we sat in Hawk’s office in the training barn.
I shrugged. “If I said yes, would that change anything?”
“Nothing whatsoever.”
