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A guy the size of a refrigerator walks in, and I quickly recognize the doe eyes and round cheeks. It’s Rick, and he’s short of breath and slightly limping, a frown drawing a deep shadow between his brows. “Damn, I got myself winded back there,” he gasps, then frantically looks around, remembering why he’s here. “Is she in there?” He points to the birthing suite door. Olivia’s umpteenth scream has him going pale as paper.
“Yeah,” Zara says. “Have a seat, it might take a while…”
“Is she okay?” Rick asks, then looks at me. “Wait, I know you. You’re the boss. What are you doing here?”
“I’m the father,” comes my senseless reply.
It’s enough to get him riled up. I clearly wasn’t thinking. “You prick!” he’s about to sock me in the eye but Zara jumps in and gets between us. “I know you broke her heart. She thinks I’m not aware but I know how hard she’s been crying over you. What the hell are you doing here, huh?!”
“I’m trying to make things right.”
“Come on, Rick. Sit down,” Zara insists, pulling him away from me while I take a couple more steps back. We may become friends someday, but right now, Rick would be happier to just snap my neck like a chicken, and I would probably deserve it. “They’ll come out and get us…”
Rick shakes his head, his fury tempered as he takes a seat next to Zara. She’s barely a wisp compared to the guy, yet I imagine she’s fiercer by nature, somehow.
“You have no idea how badly you hurt her,” Rick says, unable to look me in the eyes. “She’s a good girl, she’s got a heart the size of the frickin’ city. The smartest to ever come out of our family, not to mention the prettiest… I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but you messed up, dude.”
“I’m sorry. I know. But I will spend the rest of my life making it up to her if she’ll let me,” I say decidedly. “And even if she doesn’t want me anywhere near her, I’m still gonna be around. Maybe someday you’ll want to sit down and listen to what I have to say. Maybe then you’ll at least understand and find it in your heart to forgive me. Because I swear I never wanted to hurt Olivia. It was never my intention.”
Rick looks ready to say something else—and I can tell he’s a hard man by nature, never quick to forgive—but Dr. Rhodes comes out, taking her mask off. In an instant, the three of us are standing, wide-eyed and holding our breaths as we wait for her to tell us what’s happened. She stares at me for a hot second, her lips stretching into a gentle smile.
“You have a boy and a girl, Mr. Bucklow,” she says, making me weightless all of a sudden.
“Yeah!” Rick exclaims, laughing happily while Zara lets a heavy sigh out.
“They’re both healthy and pretty big. My guess is their mother’s womb was getting a little too tight and they decided to get out of there early.”
I shake the doctor’s hands most vigorously, laughing as tears come up to my eyes. I’ve never felt this way before. It’s an incredible sensation as my heart swells three times its size. “Thank you, doctor, thank you so much. What about Olivia? How is she?”
“We gave her an epidural,” Dr. Rhodes says. “She’s doing well, albeit exhausted. She’ll need a while to recover—twins are quite the challenge on a first-time mother. Of course, she also had you by her side. Which is to say, better late than never, but I think your presence certainly helped, Mr. Bucklow.”
Rick comes over. “Can I call the rest of the family now? Can they go in there?”
“Sure, but give her a couple of hours first, so she can sleep. Poor thing, she’s exhausted,” Dr. Rhodes replies, then looks back at me. “You should go in and meet your kids while Olivia is still awake.”
My chest feels tight.
My breathing is erratic.
I’ve been drifting through life thinking I had a handle on it. Boy, was I wrong…
CHAPTER27
OLIVIA
Exhaustion feels like a warm blanket. That epidural was a gift from the heavens. Without it, I doubt I would’ve been able to push as hard and as much as I had to in order to bring them into this world. My whole body is soft, my legs weak but my heart so… so full.
I never thought it would feel this way. So beautiful and intense… Our souls are connected. We’re bound forever, the three of us. My babies are cleaned up and swaddled now, half-sleeping in my arms. The girl is on the left, the boy on the right, and I’m at the very center of our little family unit. I love them so much, it hurts.
How am I going to live out the rest of my life if not inextricably bound to them in one way or another. Oh, the years ahead… the many milestones… I’m gonna get to watch them grow up and become wonderful people, better people than we’ll ever be. That’s the whole point, right? Or maybe they’ll just wade through the years like the rest of us and make wonderful memories along the way. That’s good, too. Healthy. I could cry right now, but I’m so tired…
They’re perfect little bundles. Mom’s gonna shriek when she sees them. They’ve got the MacArthur noses, all right. My babies…
I drop kisses on their tiny foreheads, hoping that they might feel my love in every kiss and every touch I ever give them. Wishing that they might feel me always with them.
The door opens, and my heart jumps even higher when Will comes in, clad in blue scrubs to keep us safe from any outside pathogens. I didn’t dream any of it. He really did stay. He really did promise never to leave us. I’ve wanted to hear those words for so long.
He walks over, careful in his stride as he tries to take the whole image of us in. The corner of his mouth twitches into a fascinated smile as he reaches us, staring at his daughter and his son.
