My eyes sting again, but I force myself to breathe as Dr. Lynch lifts my gown and squeezes blue gel onto my stomach.
I flinch as it hits my skin, and Ronan grips my hand tighter as Dr. Lynch picks up the handheld device.
This is it.
I glance anxiously at Ronan.
“Everything will be okay,” he mouths to me.
I want to believe him, but there’s no way I could be lucky enough to walk away from this with my family intact. People in my world don’t get happy endings. Not without a cost, at least.
The machine starts to hum, and I hold my breath as a fast rhythmic thumping sound fills the air.
“Oh, my god…” I whisper. “Is that the heartbeat?”
I’m not sure Dr. Lynch hears me; her attention is laser-focused on the screen as she moves the wand back and forth over my abdomen. Her eyes narrow as she tilts the wand, and my heart nearly stops.
Why isn’t she saying anything?
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. Quite the opposite, actually.”
She turns the screen so Ronan and I can see, but I’m not sure what I’m meant to be looking at.
She smiles. “Congratulations. There are two heartbeats.”
My brain short circuits, and from the sharp inhale to my right, so does Ronan’s.
“T-two?” I squeak.
“You’re having twins. And they both look on track in terms of size for being twelve weeks along.”
My jaw drops as I glance at Ronan, whose eyes are wide with a mix of amazement and panic.
“Holy shit,” he breathes.
Suddenly, I’m laughing—hysterical, breathless laughter that feels like it’s clawing its way out of my chest.
“Twins?”
The doctor smiles again as she wipes the gel off my stomach before getting to her feet. “I’ll give you two a moment.”
When the door clicks shut, Ronan and I stare at each other in stunned silence.
“Twins,” I whisper after a moment.
“Twins…”
I frown. “Are you okay?”
He lets out a stunned laugh. “I barely wrapped my head around one baby, and now we’re doubling it.”
“Yeah, well… I’m the one who has to push them out.”
That earns me another laugh, and soon I’m laughing too.
Ronan grins as he climbs onto the bed beside me, wrapping his enormous body around me like a human blanket.
