He’s grinning from ear to ear like the bastard he is, his chest puffed out with pride even as his face keeps the sickly green cast I’d seen on him when he walked into the house and kidnapped me.
I can tell he’s as uneasy about all this as he is proud, and that thought settles me enough not to hurl all over the place.
Three. Three little Lucians currently reside inside me, sucking me dry and turning me into a whale, and yet I can’t be as upset as I want to be because honestly, how can I be cheesed when the thought of it makes me so giddy?
“Bed rest, young lady. I’ll set up the nurse for you and tell Jan to give you my emergency numbers. I don’t see anything too concerning right now, but I’d like to keep you as comfortable as possible. The longer they stay in there the better it’ll be. Can’t have them being too underdeveloped.”
Seriously? He’s going to tell me that in a sing song voice that has my hackles rising even as Lucian cups my face and plants a gentle kiss on my brow?
“No more donuts for you, love.”
Aw, shit. And here I thought he’d go easy on me, since he’s hitting the kid jackpot.
Chapter Thirty Five
“Three! Oh my goodness, three! The things we can do with three babies. First we’ll get them all matching outfits, and then we’ll get them mini sneakers!”
I snort as the girls all converge on me where I’m lying on the sofa in the entertainment room, their happy, cheery faces making me feel feral and not altogether sane.
I’ve been lying on this thing for one freaking day and I’m ready to lose my damned mind with boredom. There’s only so much TV I can watch before I feel my brain trying to trickle out of my ears, so I’d turned the thing off and proceeded to stare at the walls as Becky the nurse bustled around me and chattered to her heart’s content.
I don’t have the heart to tell her to shut up, but the chatter is seriously wigging me out. And now these four puloozas are jumping all over my fat ass to, what? See the terrible trio through my skin?
“Oh, calm the heck down. They’re not the next Jackson Five, you crazy coots,” I mutter, stifling a smile when they all drop down one by one and start naming my kids, as if they have any say.
“FYI, I’m not naming any of my kids River, Hope, or freakin’ Jamal, so you idiots can just stop right there.”
“Oh, but River is such a lyrical name,” Cammy pouts, trying to flip up my top to get to the goods.
“Stop that! I feel like a freaking side show the way you clowns are going on. As if Lucian rubbing himself all over me and talking to them like I’m not here isn’t enough.”
Okay, so what if it’s a little endearing?
I’m not allowed to have sex anymore, so having him touch me and rub all up over me is not putting me in the best of moods, either. Add to that the fact that I can’t see over my stomach, and Lucian’s taking the doctor’s advice and feeding me everything but sugar, and, well, I’m pretty raw right now.
“We should have known there was more than one,” Nat mumbles, digging through her bag for a candy bar.
When she unwraps it and licks her lips, I lose what’s left of myself and shriek.
“Eat that thing in front of me and I’ll rip your throat out!”
The silence is deafening as I watch her flinch and slowly push the uneaten bar back into her designer purse, her eyes holding mine, her movements slow, like I’m pointing a gun at her.
“’Kay, Ash, just take a deep breath and calm the heck down. There, see? It’s gone, sweetheart,” Viv mururs reassuringly, sending Nat the stink eye. “He told you he’d be pissed if we upset her. Just don’t talk or make any sudden movements till she calms down.”
She hisses this out the side of her mouth like I’m a wild animal or a snake coiled to strike.
“I’m pregnant, not deaf! Now give me the candy bar.”
I see four faces freeze, and almost chuckle when they look between each other, their eyes darting to the door as if some miracle is coming in to save them or something.
“Uh, you’re obviously not in the mood for company, darling. Maybe we should just…” Cammy murmurs.
“Hold it right there, you traitors!” I yell when they make a break for the door. “Come back here and—”
“Tut tut, love, shaking them down for candy? You’re worse than the children.”
Crapsickles.
I press my lips together and watch as he strides in, greeting the girls with a smirk before bending down to kiss my mutinous lips.
“You heard what the doctor said. We don’t want you overloading on sugars and salt. Now be a good girl and eat the lunch I’ve brought you,” he says, placing a tray on the coffee table and hoisting me up gently.