“Yep,” Drew wrapped his other arm around my middle. “I’m completely outnumbered. Even the dog is a girl.”
“And you love every single second.” I elbowed his stomach but fell back when a strong kick followed by a blinding cramp shot across my abdomen.
“What’s wrong?” Drew stepped back, clutching my shoulders in a panic. “You don’t look so good.”
“I’m fine.” I waved him off. “This one is a kicker. I don’t remember if Victoria was one—ow!” I clutched the edge of the booth in mind-numbing pain. Two more kicks were followed by a horrid cramping of the entire lower half of my body that set off my own panic. It was too soon; she wasn’t due for another three weeks. We didn’t even have a name yet.
“We’re leaving.” Drew grabbed his jacket. “Victoria can go home with Josh and Brianna.”
“Wait, maybe it’s just Braxton Hicks or whatever. It’s too soon for—fuck!” Another contraction hit me so hard, I tumbled over, unable to straighten without Drew’s help.
“They’ll tell Aida you left. I’m not playing, Sara. Let’s go.” I kept my mouth closed and waddled beside him as he led me outside, as this was the one time my husband’s overprotective alpha ways were a comfort not a nuisance.
“I’m scared,” I whispered when he piled me into the front seat of the car, lifting my legs because pain hindered every move I made below the waist.
“What do I always say? I’ve got you.Bothof you.” He leaned over and kissed my lips. “Everything is going to be fine. Relax, Gorgeous.” Drew massaged the back of my neck and gave me a wide smile.
“Okay,” I panted out, wishing I didn’t blow off those breathing classes as bullshit. “I trust you.”
Drew
I was fucking terrified.
I thought we had at least three more weeks. Sara’s age made this a high-risk pregnancy, so we played everything as cautious as could be. I knew she wanted to punch me in the junk at times for hovering, but that never stopped me. She was too important.Theywere too important. I wasn’t leaving a thing to chance, although chance was laughing its ass off at us right now.
“My wife is having contractions. She needs a doctor,” I blurted to the emergency room clerk as Sara folded into my side. The contractions were coming fast and furious.
“What’s her name? I need your insurance card.”
Cursing under my breath, I dug into my wallet and fished out the card. “Sara Kostas. Dr. Rodriguez is her doctor and we already called to let her know we were coming. Can someone please take her in?” I was past the point of pretending to be calm.
“Have a seat, sir.” The clerk’s gum snapped as she nodded to the waiting area with her chin.
“Have a seat? Are you fucking kidding me?” I took a leap forward, ready to pounce through the plexiglass separating us.
“Stop it,” Sara whispered as she pulled me away. “I’d like to not have my husband hauled off by security. Let’s sit without the ruckus, okay?” Her words were strained from pain, only adding to the terror pulsating in my chest. They had five minutes to call us in before I lost it.
“This is my fault,” Sara sniffled as she eased into a seat.
“What is, the baby? I was there too, Gorgeous. Not all your fault.” I smiled, willing myself to calm down and not add to her distress.
“I worked until almost the hour I had Victoria. I had contractions almost my whole shift and only left a half hour before it ended. When I made it to the ER, I was still in my waitress’s uniform. Now, at the age I am, I should’ve taken more precautions and I didn’t. I felt tiny cramps earlier but ignored it. I didn’t think and now what if she’s—”
“She’s fine, you’re fine,” I said as evenly as I could while offering that statement up as a prayer. “You’re a little woman with a lot of baby.” I glided my hand across the swell of her stomach, almost hoping my daughter would sense me and calm down. “I’m sure you’ve had little cramps and pains here and there for weeks; you can’t beat yourself up for that.” I cupped her cheek and kissed her lips.
“You’re all right, Kostas.” A laugh bubbled out through her watery smile.
“Right back at you, Kostas. And they have four more minutes before I make a ruckus look like a kid’s cartoon.”
“I love how you take care of me. Of us. This baby is a lucky little girl.”
“Mmm, I don’t know.” The side of my mouth tipped up into a smirk. “Not sure if you loved it so much the past couple of weeks.”
“Maybe,” she panted as she leaned forward. “But you were right, I should’ve been taking it easy. Aggravating, but right.”
“Unfortunately, that’s not something I can stop. You’re stubborn as hell and maybe sometimes I overdo it, but I love you too much. If anything ever happened to you, I . . .” I stopped, as I was already on the borderline of going apeshit on the ER clerk for not moving fast enough. “There’s no me without you. So, I’ll always be the pain in the ass, overprotective husband and father. Sorry.” I patted her stomach and dipped my head to whisper. “Sorry, baby girl. Daddy is a little nuts.”
Her head fell against my shoulder. “What would I do without you?”
