Needed: One Convenient Husband(32)

Kyle gave her a narrow-eyed look, as if he suspected her of hiding something from him. As if.

He had a quick-fire conversation with the receptionist then finally  wheeled her in the direction of the bathrooms. She pointed at the  ladies, but he totally ignored her, wheeling her into the disabled  bathroom.

She sent him an outraged look when he didn't leave. "You can't come in here."

"You're in labor. You need help."

"No. I want to do this one thing by myself."

She might have been talking to a rock. With easy strength he helped her out of the chair.

When he saw the wet patch, he said another one of his cuss words. "Why didn't you say your waters had broken?"

Face flaming, she let him help her out of the wheelchair. "How would I know? It's not as if I've ever had a baby before."

Kyle's expression was grim as he helped her in the direction of the toilet.

When she was finished, Kyle helped her back into the chair and wheeled  her out into the corridor. Within seconds another pain hit, this one  severe enough that she was finally glad to be in the chair.

When Kyle wheeled her into her room, both a doctor and a midwife were  waiting for them. She was already in active labor, and the pain was  quite intense. Eva did her best to ride through the pain, silently  begging for the fastest delivery possible

It was forty-five minutes.

When Kyle, who had stripped off his suit jacket and tie and rolled up  his shirtsleeves so he could pace better, realized that she was in too  much pain to be even remotely interested in conversation, his face went  white. Stepping out into the corridor, he snapped out a curt series of  commands, including a demand for pain relief.

Within seconds the room was full of people. Another lightning  examination, this time by the midwife, and Eva found herself transferred  to a gurney and wheeled into the delivery suite.

With walls that were a soothing aqua, and soft background music  playing, it should have been an oasis of reassuring calm, but Eva barely  noticed her surroundings. All of her attention was focused on what was  happening at the center of her body and how much it hurt. Somehow, all  of the literature she had read had managed to gloss over this part.

Kyle's arm came around her, a hard-muscled band of strength that in  those moments she desperately needed. A cramp gripped her that was so  prolonged and intense she couldn't breathe. Kyle's gaze locked with hers  and for a precious few seconds they were bound together in  commiseration.

Her fingers tightened on Kyle's as a powerful tingling surge gripped  her, wiping her mind clean of anything but the sudden, irresistible urge  to push. There was a brief hiatus then another series of surges, which  squeezed all the breath from her lungs until, in a rush, the baby was  born.

Eva floated in exhausted silence, watching, dazed, as the midwife cut  the cord, wrapped her tiny baby girl in a cuddly white wrap and placed  her in Kyle's hands. His gaze bright blue and indescribably soft, Kyle  cradled their daughter as if she was made of fragile spun glass and  placed her in Eva's arms. Wonderingly, she looked into her baby's small,  perfect face, the tufts of damp hair clinging to her head, and fell in  instant love. The bed depressed as Kyle sat beside her. She felt the  warmth of his arm wrap protectively around her shoulders.

Reaching out a forefinger, he gently touched his daughter's cheek. One  tiny starfish hand latched around his finger, and Kyle froze in place.  Eva's heart squeezed tight at Kyle's careful stillness, the way his gaze  was riveted on the fierce grip of his daughter, and another wave of  pure love and connection hit her, this time for Kyle.

He would be a wonderful father. She had seen it in his patience with  her, his quiet tolerance of the mood swings that had hit her, his  absorption with all the aspects of her pregnancy. It wasn't just that  her hormones had been running riot. It had been an emotional time of  processing the past, of letting go and forming a new future together.

Another contraction grounded Eva with a thump. The midwife hurriedly  took their daughter. A few minutes later the unutterable gift that had  shaken them when cheerfully announced by her doctor months earlier,  their second child, was born. It was a boy.

The midwife placed their son in Kyle's arms and Eva gave herself over to joy.                       
       
           



       

Twins: a boy and a girl. Even though twins ran on both sides of their  families, it had been so much more than they had hoped for.

Kyle called his family to let them know the good news. He asked  everyone to give them some space, but that was like asking waves to stop  pounding on the beach.

The Messena and Atraeus families were like a force of nature. They  arrived throughout the day: Luisa with Sophie and Francesca; Gabriel and  Gemma; Nick and Elena; Damian and Sky; and a little later on  Constantine and Sienna, who had flown in from Sydney where they were  holidaying. They had all admired and held the babies and showered her  with beautiful gifts and filled her room with flowers.

Later on that evening, when everyone had left, Grace Megan woke up, her  cry distinctively high-pitched. Benedict Mario soon joined in, although  his cry was more of a bellow.

Kyle handed her Grace then cradled Benedict. Both babies were on the small side, around six pounds each, but they were perfect.

Closing her eyes, Eva whispered a prayer of thanks. Somehow, out of  Mario's well-meant interference, she had gained everything she had  wanted and more: a perfect husband and a perfect family.

* * * * *

If you liked NEEDED: ONE CONVENIENT HUSBAND, don't miss the other PEARL HOUSE books from Fiona Brand:

Business and passion collide when two dynasties forge ties bound by love!

A BREATHLESS BRIDE

A TANGLED AFFAIR

A PERFECT HUSBAND

THE FIANCÉE CHARADE

JUST ONE MORE NIGHT

Available now from Harlequin Desire!

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NEVER TOO LATE

Brenda Jackson





Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Excerpt from His Forever Family by Sara M. Anderson





Chapter 1

Twelve days and counting...

Pushing a lock of twisted hair that had fallen in her face behind her  ear, Sienna Bradford, soon to become Sienna Davis once again,  straightened her shoulders as she walked into the cabin she'd once  shared with her husband-soon-to-be ex-husband.

She glanced around. Had it been just three years ago when Dane had  brought her here for the first time? Three years ago when the two of  them had sat there in front of the fireplace after making love, and  planned their wedding? Promising that no matter what, their marriage  would last forever? She took a deep breath knowing that for them,  forever would end in twelve days in Judge Ratcliff's chambers.

Just thinking about it made her heart ache, but she decided it wouldn't  help matters to have a pity party. What was done was done and things  just hadn't worked out between her and Dane like they'd hoped. There was  nothing to do now but move on with her life. But first, according to a  letter her attorney had received from Dane's attorney a few days ago,  she had ten days to clear out any and all of her belongings from the  cabin, and the sooner she got the task done, the better. Dane had agreed  to let her keep the condo if she returned full ownership of the cabin  to him. She'd had no problem with that, since he had owned it before  they married.

Sienna crossed the room, shaking off the March chill. According to  forecasters, a snowstorm was headed toward the Smoky Mountains within  the next seventy-two hours, which meant she had to hurry and pack up her  stuff and take the two-hour drive back to Charlotte. Once she got home  she intended to stay inside and curl up in bed with a good book. Sienna  smiled, thinking that a "do nothing" weekend was just what she needed in  her too frantic life.

Her smile faded when she considered that since starting her own  interior decorating business a year and a half ago, she'd been extremely  busy-and she had to admit that was when her marital problems with Dane  had begun.

Sienna took a couple of steps toward the bedroom to begin packing her  belongings when she heard the sound of the door opening. Turning  quickly, she suddenly remembered she had forgotten to lock the door. Not  smart when she was alone in a secluded cabin high up in the mountains,  and a long way from civilization.

A scream quickly died in her throat when the person who walked  in-standing a little over six feet with dark eyes, close-cropped black  hair, chestnut coloring and a medium build-was none other than her  soon-to-be ex.

From the glare on his face, she could tell he wasn't happy to see her.  But so what? She wasn't happy to see him, either, and couldn't help  wondering why he was there.