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“Ariana,” I spoke after a moment of thinking it over. “If we have more than one girl, that is. I’ve always loved the name and it just feels right.”
“Ariana is lovely,” Gabe replied, sitting back in his seat with a satisfied smile.
“Yeah, I love Ariana with Vincent and Lucia,” Ava added.
It was nice, sitting there, feeling part of the family, and thinking about the future. I placed a hand on my belly and felt the babies wiggling around inside of me. I loved them so much already, and I knew that Gabe and Ava did too.
12
Gabe
Bella yawned just as the credits appeared on the screen.
“I feel ya there,” Ava said. “And I have to be up super early tomorrow for a seminar.”
My sister got up from the couch and stretched, matching Bella’s yawn with one of her own.
“When did we get this old, where bedtime at ten p.m. is normal?” Bella asked with a laugh.
“Well, I’m a law student and you’re literally growing four humans inside of you right now, I think we both have valid excuses,” Ava said. “Do you need any help?”
“I got it,” I told her. “You can just head up to bed.”
I rushed to Bella’s side as she attempted to get up off the couch, helping her to her feet.
“Who knew it would ever get this hard to get off the couch,” she said.
“Four humans, remember?” Ava piped up.
“Trust me, it would be hard for me to forget,” Bella said with a laugh. She placed a hand on her lower back, so I did the same, offering her support.
“I’m going to help her to bed, then I’ll be back to clean up the mess.” I looked over at Ava.
“Don’t even worry about it, Gabe. I got it under control,” Ava said. “I think I can handle a few takeout boxes.”
“Thanks, sis,” I said.
Bella and I walked slowly from the room and down the hallway. I knew that the time was coming soon when she might need to be in bed all the time, and I knew that would be hard for her, but getting around was becoming more difficult by the day, too.
We made it to her room, and I helped her into bed. She was already wearing pajamas—she practically lived in them because they were more comfortable and easier to get in and out of.
I tucked her in then sat down on the side of the bed.
“You know, I mean it when I say I want you to be involved. I went with a known surrogate, rather than a random one, for a reason,” I said.
“And here I thought I had to convince you all along,” she said.
“Do you remember how quickly I jumped on your offer?”
“You told me you needed to think about it,” she reminded me.
“Only because you’re my sister’s best friend, I didn’t want to complicate your life or Ava’s. But the moment you came to me, I knew in my heart that you were the woman I wanted. You’re beautiful, intelligent, ambitious… everything I could ever want in the mother of my children.”
Bella let out a gasp that hung in the air. I couldn’t help myself, I placed a hand on her belly. I loved nothing more than touching her, feeling my babies kicking from inside of her. But it wasn’t just that.
In the dim light of the room, I could see the way she was looking at me, her eyes wide, taking me in. Another reason I hesitated with making the decision to have her as my surrogate was because I knew that at one time, she’d had a crush on me. I figured that had died down over the years, but the way she looked at me in that moment, I knew that the crush had turned into genuine feelings that had only grown stronger.
And it was mutual.
