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“You’re close to perfect, but I have to keep you on your toes.”
He grabbed my hand and kissed it. “Are we really getting married?”
“Already having second thoughts?” I asked, curling my hand around the ring.
His eyes widened when he saw I was teasing him right back, and he pulled me closer. His hand moved down my hip to cup my bottom, his face turning serious when I tipped my chin up for a kiss. He rolled me onto my back and leaned over me, eyes full of mischief and promise.
He kissed down the side of my neck, his hand sliding down my front to slip between my thighs. “I think it’s my turn to be in charge,” he said.
“Absolutely,” I agreed, letting my arms flop to my sides as he worked his magic on my body. I had a lifetime of this to look forward to as well, and I couldn’t wait.
Epilogue - Leo
Six months later
Despite Sam’s grandmother’s cajoling and my father’s pressure, Sam and I still weren’t married. It wasn’t because we didn't want to walk down the aisle. Neither one of us could wait. But Samantha started showing fast, and she was determined to take that walk wearing the poofy white corset dress of her dreams. It was something she refused to compromise on, and since I’d do anything to make all her dreams come true, I was okay with putting the wedding day on the back burner.
She yowled in pain, and I snapped to attention, hurrying from my post at the window back to her side. I squeezed her hand as the nurse offered encouragement.
“You’re doing amazing, Sunshine,” I said.
She gave me a dirty look as she struggled to get comfortable through the contraction. We’d already been here for a few hours, and it was taking all my willpower not to go running through the halls demanding that someone do something. It wasn’t something I could control with logic or brute force, and it made me feel more helpless than in any other situation I’d ever been in.
The contraction passed, and she sank back onto the pillows. I handed her the cup of ice the nurses refilled, and she stuck one in her mouth and crunched it with vigor. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take,” she admitted. “They keep getting worse.”
“They’re getting stronger, not worse,” the nurse said. “Not much longer now.”
We both gave her a dirty look. She said the same thing an hour ago. “You can take plenty,” I told Sam. “You’ve got this.”
While she rested, I paced, keeping up a brave face and hiding my worry that something could go wrong, but mostly I was eager to finally meet my twin daughters.
Yes, twins. It was a complete surprise in the fifth month. Even with all the technology that showed us scans and let us hear heartbeats, one of them had been stealthy until we decided we were going to let them tell us the sex. At first, we thought a surprise would be nice, but Samantha couldn’t get behind the boring gender-neutral colors and didn’t want to decorate after they were born. I was thrilled when the ultrasound tech said we were having a girl, then paused, making us both hold our breath, fearful that something was wrong.
“And another girl,” she’d said. “Oh, this hardly ever happens, but you’ve got a shy one in there who just decided to make herself known.”
Poor Samantha had been shocked, but twins ran in my family, so I’d always been a tiny bit hopeful of hitting the jackpot. Evelina had been furious when she found I was the lucky one to get the two-for-one special and then went nuts buying up all the frilly pink girl clothes she could get her hands on for her nieces.
There was another noise from Sam, and I hurried back to help her through the next contraction, which lasted longer and had her red-faced and sweaty by the time it passed.
“We’re not ready for this,” she wailed, flopping back onto her mound of pillows. “Why did we think this was a good idea?”
She was lucky I’d read all the parenting books and knew her sudden bout of insecurity was normal. I patted her hand and let her get it all out. We were more than ready. We could have brought home four babies and been ready.
After throwing a hell of a lot of money at various handymen and contractors, the old fixer-upper in Long Island went through a stunning transformation to be officially fixed up. The seventy-year-old mansion now had every modern amenity while keeping as much of the original charm as we could without sacrificing comfort. I spent more money renovating it than the purchase price, but it was a showstopper now, even impressing my cousins, who lived in some of the best houses in Miami. After we set aside rooms for the babies, a separate playroom, and an office for me to keep up with my software side hustle, the house still seemed way too big for us.
I hadn’t wanted to step on anyone’s pride, but Sam’s sister Annie had taken to suburban life like a fish to water. She excelled at her online classes and didn’t care if she returned to her private school in the city. Sam’s Gran had found a doctor she loved who was able to get her treatment underway, and the medical center was only a short drive from the house.
One night at dinner, I just suggested that they live with us there, and it had been a hit. Gran and Annie didn’t even mind living there during the renovations, but I moved them into my apartment anyway, not wanting to risk an accident. We all moved into the Long Island house three weeks ago, just in time.
Sam had worried that Annie would become too much of a hobbit from being on her screen all day and never meeting other kids, so we signed her up to volleyball and dance at the local rec center, where she made lots of new friends. To be a good example of someone not being on the computer all day, I signed up for the men’s volleyball league. It’s been a real experience making friends who didn’t know a thing about me other than the fact I had a mean serve.
“We’re more than ready for these babies,” I told her, ready to list off all the reasons, but a new contraction came on, this one stronger.
The nurse did a quick exam and beamed at us. “I’ll call the doctor. This is it, Mrs. Morozov. It’s time to push!”
Even though it wasn’t official yet, I loved hearing them call her that, and my heart swelled with pride that she’d really have my name soon. Then I realized what the nurse had actually said.
“It’s time? Sam, did you hear that? It’s time.”
