“Dr. Ridley said it should start happening soon.”
“That was on Tuesday,” I reminded him.
“I guess when she says soon, she means really, really soon,” he replied, chuckling when I narrowed my eyes at him.
He just ignored the glaring daggers I shot his way and pulled the list back out of his pocket and carefully jotted something down.
“What did we forget to add?” I asked.
“Nothing, I was just making note of the date and time of their first flutter so we can add it to their baby books,” he explained, damn near melting my heart in the process.
“The first flutter,” Leo said, having to squirm a bit to wiggle into a good position to kiss my belly. “Sounds almost like poetry. I’d try to write one for you, but stringing words together has never been my strong suit. I can’t wait to take dozens of pictures of you though.”
“Like you’ll stop at dozens,” I said, sitting up fully so I could reach the food on the coffee table. “You took over a hundred and fifty photos of us playing in the snow. When those little onescome, you’re gonna shoot for a record number of photos, I just know it.”
“Guilty,” he said, getting one last kiss from Briar before he stood and headed for the door. “The first year, especially. I don’t want to miss a single milestone.”
“I still can’t believe we’re both having twins,” I said. “I thought it was going to be my turn to faint when she made that announcement.”
“Yet somehow you’ve managed to be the only one of us to not be stunned into a rushed meeting with the floor,” he replied.
I winked at him before digging into my food. “Just lucky, I guess.”
I’d only eaten a couple of bites when my thoughts circled back around to the whole double set of twins bit. Talk about kicking parenthood off with a bang.
“I’ve been thinking about the discussion we had the other night,” Leo said, “about the nursery?”
At least I wasn’t the only one whose head was stuffed full of all the things we needed to accomplish between now and delivery day. “Have you come up with any ideas for arranging it, ‘cause I sure haven’t.”
“I think so,” Leo replied between bites. “What do you think about removing the doors between the two bedrooms across the hall from our room that open into the walk-in closet and making one room where they sleep and the other a play space? We can still use the walk-in for their clothes and shoes and bedding, but there is plenty of space in the room across from ours for two double cribs, since I really like that idea better than separating them into four singles.”
“I love it,” I said. “Two double cribs would still leave plenty of room for a changing table, two dressers, and a pair of rocking chairs. Plus, we can turn the extra bedroom next to ours into a guest bedroom for when your dads come to visit. Something tellsme they’ll be up as often as possible, not that I can blame them, these being their first grandchildren and all.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me if they talk to your mom about finding them a place up here,” Leo said. “I heard my dad talking to your Uncle Bastian about them looking for instructors at the fire academy. I think he’s finally ready to move from eating smoke to teaching others how to combat the flames and get out safely. He’s more than done his time in the line of danger.”
“When they’re ready to make that jump to living up here, I’m sure she’ll find the perfect place for them,” I said. “The kids will love getting to have sleepovers at all of their grandparents’ houses, which will give us some much-needed time alone. Though our alpha kitty is gonna have to learn to wrap it before he taps it, at least for a while.”
Sputtering, he snorted tea and pressed a napkin to his face, eyes alight with merriment as he laughed behind it.
“He better be thankful we’re not requesting the ‘ol snip-snip after this,” Leo said once he’d gotten his laughter back under control again. “Our mate clearly doesn’t shoot blanks.”
Now it was my turn to laugh, picturing Briar the way he’d been bent over us, roaring every time he came. “Great, now all I can imagine are roars of triumph and subtitles reading, ‘A baby for you and a baby for you. Oh, what the hell, let’s make it a double shot of baby batter for both of you.’”
I’d heard Leo laugh plenty of times since the day we’d met, but never once had I heard him cackle the way he did as he threw his head back and laughed up at the ceiling.
“Dude… I can’t believe you… You just called it… and we…he’s making pancakes tonight… Now I can’t… I’m never going to be able to….”
I couldn’t unthink it now, nor could either of us stop laughing. It was certainly better than being curled up on the bathroom floor. In a few short months, I knew it would be morethan worth it when we got to hold our babies in our arms. Though if we did wind up with morning sickness every day for the rest of these pregnancies, that whole snip-snip idea Leo had mentioned might just become a reality before I’d let that potent fucking alpha of ours mount me again, ‘cause damn, what if next time he shot for three?
Chapter 19
Briar
“You stay right where you are, and I’ll get the rest of the ingredients for you,” I told Maverick when he went to get up for the third time since he’d sat down at the table to work on his newest creation.
“I just need a couple, well, maybe a handful of things, and they aren’t even in the cabinets,” he protested, slowly beginning to leverage himself to his feet only to be stopped when Leo shot him a look of disapproval until he lowered himself back into his seat.
“Even if you need a dozen, Briar is perfectly capable of getting them for you,” Leo said sweetly, far too sweetly, since he was parroting what Maverick had said to him just the other night as he’d been working on matting photos for an upcoming craft fair.
