“They’re beautiful, man, absolutely beautiful.”
“Thanks.” He turns back toward the doctor. “Thanks, Doc.”
She smiles. “As I said before, Emma is in recovery, but you are more than welcome to go see her if you like.” She waits for him to answer, but frankly, I think he is too overwhelmed at the moment. “And there is no need to thank me, Caden. I was just doing my job. It’s nights like this one that reminds me why I love my work so much.” She pauses, looks down at the clipboard in her hands, and then says, “I’m gonna go check on Emma. Why don’t you come with me and you can see her?” She turns toward me. “Unfortunately, you will have to go back to the waiting room.” She points toward the doors we just walked through. “Just go out those doors and follow the hallway to the end. Go through those doors, and you will be in the waiting room.”
Ice follows the doc, and I head back toward the waiting room.
About thirty minutes later, Ice comes back and sits down.
“How is she?” I ask.
“Asleep, but the doc says she’s doing great. She should beawake soon.” He rubs his hands over his face and then trails his fingers through his hair,“Holy fuck, Sainte. I’m a fucking dad. And not to just one kid, two.”
“Easy, ready-made family.”
He laughs. “Man, thanks for being here.”
I pat him on the back. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” I motion to him that I’m gonna leave. “I’m gonna head back to the waiting room and give Honey a call. I’m sure she’s worried sick and wants to know what’s going on.”
He nods and turns back toward the glass.
When I get out to the waiting room, it’s packed full of people. I don’t have to call Honey ’cause she, the Vitalis, and the whole damn club are here.
She rushes toward me. “How is she? The baby?”
I smile.
“Hey, everyone, Emma and thebabiesare fine. They are proud parents of a son, Aiden.”
Everyone cheers.
“And a daughter, Cadi.”
“What?” Honey asks.
“Twins.”
Everyone laughs.
“The kids will probably need to be at the hospital for several weeks until they get stronger, and Emma is in recovery. Ice is visiting his kids now and should be out shortly.”
A few minutes later, Ice comes out, and everyone approaches him with their congratulations.
I sit back with a sigh of relief.Damn, that was the worst couple of hours of my life. I can’t even begin to image how Ice was feeling. I keep thinking over and over again: what if that was Honey.
Honey.I know I’ve told her I love her, but I never realized how much until I witnessed what Ice and Emma just went through. The doctor came out a few minutes ago to say Emma was awake, so Ice went back to see her. Honey is sitting next to me, and I look over at her.
“I love you,” I say. No teasing, no playing, just the facts.
She reaches for my hand and without any hesitation, she says, “I love you.”
Chapter 26
Sainte
Over the course of the next couple days, things quiet down at the clubhouse. Ice spends most of his time at the hospital. Between visiting his kids and Emma, he’s been pretty preoccupied, and I can’t say I really blame him. Michael and Zaira left the day after the kids were born. Ice asked me to take point on our newly acquired business. I briefly discussed my plans with him earlier, and he agreed with what I had in mind.
Once Ice agreed, Rebel called the boys in for a meeting. He gave a report on Ice, Emma, and the kids and then told them about my role with the new sex club. The brothers were all in agreement and pretty damn excited about the new revenues the club would generate.
