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“Minnow asked if you’d like to come in and meet them.”
“I... is that what she wants or is she just being polite?”
Severin cupped my elbow and urged me toward the forbidden door. “She asked me to come out and get you.”
The room on the other side of the door was busy, but calm. Minnow looked angelic, but the sight of her looking tired and weak had my heart in my throat. No wonder Severin got so frantic every time she had a baby.
I approached her carefully. She reached for my hand, and when I squeezed hers, she gave me a tired smile. Her eyes were alert and shining.
“Did you see them?”
“I wanted to check on you first.”
“I’m surprisingly good. How are you holding up?”
I rolled my eyes at her, but still felt shaky with relief. “When am I not fabulous?”
She pressed her lips together in amusement, but I could tell she didn’t buy it. She knew me too well.
“I was right outside the door the whole time, and I didn’t hear so much as a swear from you, let alone hours of screaming. I feel like movies have been lying to me.”
“She’s a machine,” Rodrigo teased, kissing her forehead.
She smiled up at him. “Go check on him, Ro?” she whispered.
My brother-in-law went to where Severin was hovering over the babies, and the medical staff checking them over. The two of them stood next to each other for a moment, then Sev wrapped an arm around Rodrigo and kissed his temple.
Minnow squeezed my hand again. “You were worried, too,” she observed.
I nodded. “I kept it together for Sev, but of course I was worried. This family is a house of cards, with you as its foundation.”
She pulled me down to her and kissed my cheek. “You’ve turned into such a sweet man.”
“With you and the children, maybe.” I shrugged uncomfortably. “What would I do if anything happened to you?”
“I’m sure the five of you—no, the seven of you—would figure things out.”
Severin and Rodrigo returned to us then, each of them holding a tiny, wrapped bundle.
“No wonder your back was killing you. They’re huge!” Rodrigo said, chuckling.
“They look so small compared to Frog and Conk.” I said, studying their very different tiny, scrunched faces. If I were to guess by their features, each of them was holding the other’s biological child. I’d have to look up whether that were possible.
“Do you want to hold him?” Severin asked.
“Absolutely.”
He placed the sleeping child he was holding in my arms, and although I had a moment’s panic thinking I’d forgotten how to hold a baby, my body remembered. “Which one is this?”
“Tiberius.”
I crooned to him, feeling my eyes prick with the swell of emotion it sent through me. “Welcome to the world, beautiful soul. I’m your weird uncle, Loïc.” Not wanting to hog him, I handed him back to Sev.
“What do you think, Uncle Loïc,” Rodrigo said, handing me Aurelius next. “When are you going to give our kids some cousins?”
I gazed down at the little one in my arms. “As soon as I possibly can.”
Chapter Twelve: Tarryn
