Page 210 of Triplet Babies for my Ex's Best Friend

“I can send a car,” I say immediately. “Or a plane.”

“A plane?” she repeats. “Ethan, I’m not prepared to be kidnapped by luxury aviation.”

“It wouldn’t be kidnapping.”

“It would absolutely feel like kidnapping if a grief-stricken billionaire sent a private plane to collect me in the middle of the night.”

“I can arrange?—”

“I’ll get the next train,” she cuts in. “It’s Chicago, not the moon. Text me the hospital details. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet.”

I still.

Her voice softens, but only slightly. “I like you, Ethan. Against my better judgment, honestly. But Addy is my sister. If you hurt her because you’re scared, I will become a problem money cannot solve.”

“I know.”

“Do you?”

I look toward the closed office door. “I’m trying to.”

Luci exhales again. “Then try faster.”

To think that at the beginning of the night, the biggest fear I had was the demo not working. Now I have no idea what happened with it, and I really can’t force myself to care.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Addy

By the time morning arrives,I’ve cried myself into a state best described as damp raccoon in institutional lighting.

Not my finest era.

The hospital room is too bright, too beige, too quiet in the exact way that makes every thought louder. The kind of quiet where your brain says, Oh, excellent, no distractions, let’s examine every decision you’ve ever made and rank them by destructiveness.

Spoiler alert: sleeping with Ethan Strong on an airplane ranked high.

Sleeping with him again after becoming his live-in nanny also made a strong showing.

Falling for him? Gold medal.

I’m curled on my side beneath the scratchy blanket, one hand resting over my stomach like I can protect myself from information that already got inside me. The IV tugs against the back of my hand every time I move. My eyes burn, my throat hurts, my face feels swollen.

Basically, I’m glowing.

Pregnancy looks amazing on me so far.

There’s a soft knock before the door opens.

I expect a nurse.

Instead, Luci storms in wearing leggings, an oversized hoodie, sneakers, and the expression of a woman ready to fight hospital administration, Ethan Strong, and the city of Chicago.

Her hair is shoved into a messy bun. Her mascara is smudged under one eye. She has a tote bag over one shoulder and a paper coffee cup in her hand.