Reluctantly Royal(89)

“What?” Her eyes widened.

“Marry me, Meredith.” I didn’t realize I was holding my breath. I hadn’t thought those words would ever leave my mouth.

“Is this one of those times where you blurt out something and then realize you didn’t mean it?” She gripped the blanket with white knuckles. “Is it?”

“Well, I blurted it out.” I smiled sheepishly. “But I really mean it. I was going to ask you later, somewhere romantic, but I blurted it out.”

“But . . . but . . . you can’t . . . we’ve only had a week!” She looked at me like I’d grown a second head, and I was starting to think that maybe I was crazy. “You’re only doing this because you feel sorry for me.”

“What?” I frowned.

“You feel bad for me.” Her eyes wouldn’t meet mine.

I pulled her to me so that our foreheads were touching. “I want to marry you, Meredith Thysmer. I want Marty to teach me how to fish. I want to watch him grow up. And I want to sit in the wings, out of the spotlight, while you sing. You, me, and Marty. It’s that simple. I don’t feel sorry for you. How can you feel sorry for the strongest person you know? I just want to be part of your life every day. The good and the bad. Forever.”

She looked into my eyes, and tears lined her eyelashes.

“I wasn’t trying to make you cry.”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Yes I was trying to make you cry?”

“Yes, I’ll marry you, you idiot.” She gave me a watery chuckle. “Yes. Yes. Yes.”

“I love you.” I leaned forward and kissed her. She fell back on the bed, pulling me with her.

“I love you too.”





EPILOGUE

I HATE HIM,” SAM declared loudly.

“No you don’t,” I said.

“I do. I hate him.” She glared over her shoulder at Alex. “And his stupid penis.”

“It’s going to be worth it.” I pushed her IV as she walked around the large birthing suite.

“I want to put his penis in clamps.” She grunted and bent over a bit. Alex was on his feet in a heartbeat but I waved him away.

“Breathe, Sam.”

“I’m . . . breathing.” She stood up once the contraction passed. “What was I saying? Clamps. Industrial clamps. That’ll almost make it even.”

I winced at the thought and had to consciously force myself to not fondle my goods. Looking toward the door, I wished that Meredith or Cathy were here to deal with this, but both had been hours away when Sam went into labor.

So, here I was, with my very pregnant, very angry sister-in-law. Anytime Alex took a step in her direction she would growl. And honestly, seeing how much pain she was in, I didn’t blame her.

“Have you picked a name yet?” I asked as we started walking again.

“Ha. I’m not telling you. You just want to win that stupid bet.” She glanced at me.

“Nah. I’m just trying to distract you.” I kept pace with her slow waddle. It was like walking with a giant penguin. A giant, pissed-off penguin.

“Where are Cathy and Meredith? You look too much like Alex.”

“They’re on their way.” Please, God, let them get here soon.

“I brought a birthing ball!” Chadwick walked into the room with a giant rubber ball. It looked like something from a yoga studio.

“What?” Sam turned to look at her assistant.

“You sit on it and bounce. It’s supposed to help.” He put the ball down next to the bed.

“I’ll try anything.” Sam waddled over to the ball. I grabbed one arm while Chadwick grabbed the other. “I feel like I’m going to fall over.”

“The instructions said to lean forward a little.”

“Don’t let me fall,” Sam told us.

“Yes, ma’am,” I said.

“Don’t patronize me.”

“Sorry.”

“Now, just bounce gently. It’s supposed to help get the baby in position and lessen some of the pain,” Chadwick told her.

“Okay.” Sam closed her eyes as another contraction hit her.

“We’re here!” Cathy announced as she, David, and Meredith walked through the door.

Sam tried to stand up, and that was the moment her water broke. It dribbled down her legs onto the ball, the floor, and my shoes. It took some doing, but I was able to keep my face blank.

“Are you okay?” Alex was by my side before I could comprehend what had happened.

“Whoa.” Cathy’ s voice sounded small.

“Oh no.” Sam’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m so sorry, Max, Chadwick.”

“It’s okay.” I leaned forward and kissed her head before letting Alex take my spot.