Only when the news starts in with the weather—and the date—does it hit me.
“What’s today’s date?” I ask him, my heart pounding, though I try not to let it show. I don’t want to excite him. Don’t want to get his hopes up, not if I’m wrong.
Surely I’m wrong.
“The fourth,” he says, stretching his arms over his head and yawning. “Why?”
“No reason.” I snuggle back under his arm, and he leans his head against mine, sighing contentedly.
“Have I mentioned that I love you?” he asks sleepily.
“Not today.” I tilt my head up to smirk at him. “Why?”
“I’ve lost the remote,” he admits, then smiles at me, and glances at the TV.
I groan and swat his chest. “Lazy. You’re just using my love against me!”
“Fine, I’ll get it then.” He grumbles and moves to sit up, but I shove him back against the pillows.
“Not so fast. I’m not letting you guilt-trip me for this one.” I grin and swing over him, out of bed, and pad across the room to shut off the TV. When I turn back around, he’s blatantly admiring my ass, not even pretending otherwise. I put one hand on my hip, stand cockily in front of him, my whole bare body on display. “Oh, now I understand the real motivation.”
“Can you blame a guy for enjoying the view of his sexy baby mama when she bends over?”
I roll my eyes, though we’re both smirking. “Maybe you’re just using me for my body. And my TV-turning-off-skills.”
“Now, that’s just patently untrue.” He reaches for me, and I step right back across the room into his arms. Let him pull me on top of him and hug my body against his. “If anything, it’s your turning-on skills that I admire.”
Sure enough, he is hardening beneath me. I rub my body against his slowly, grinning. “Hmm. Well. Sadly, you’ll have to hold that thought.” I hop off him and pad across the room to grab a pair of sweats from our closet.
He stares at me, open-mouthed. “You tease.”
“Don’t worry. I just have a quick errand to run.” I wink at him. “Then I’ll be back for more, trust me.”
“Mm. Utter and complete tease,” he adds.
Honestly, I wouldn’t have stopped. But now that I’ve started to wonder, I need to know. I can’t wait to find out.
I can’t wait to tell him, if I’m right.
It’s a quick walk to the drug store. An even quicker walk home, and then just a few minutes in the bathroom. My stomach turns itself in knots the whole time, and I can feel my palms tingle with nervous sweat.
It’s fine, I tell myself. No matter what the results are, we’re happy. The twins, Cassius and I are the happiest family I could ever have asked for. The last 9 months with him have been the best in my life. I couldn’t ask for more.
But we might have gotten it anyway.
Sure enough, a couple of minutes later, the answer to my question lights up on the tiny white stick. Pink plus sign.
I breathe out slowly, my heart racing even faster now. I want to shout for joy. Jump up and down, punch the air, scream out our happiness to the world.
But first, there’s someone I need to share this with.
It feels different than my first time, of course. With the twins, I was ecstatic, thrilled beyond words that the procedure worked. But I saw it coming. I knew it was happening. It was planned, from start to finish—except, of course, for the double-babies rather than one.
Even so, it felt like a plan, something I went for. This, though, it feels like something else.
A miracle.
I pad into the room and find Cassius reading. He has his reading glasses on, which are sexy as hell on him. And good. Those will help.
I tiptoe up to the bed. Slowly climb onto it, until I’m poised over his hips.
“Hey there Daddy,” I say.
He glances up at me over the rim of the reading glasses. Hot professor look, right there. I could eat him up.
But he’s annoyed that I left him earlier. He’s going to make me work for this. “Welcome home, mama,” he says, but then looks right back at his book, pretending he’d rather read than fuck me.
But when I run a hand up his inner thigh, I find him already hard for me. I grin. “Playing hard to get tonight?”
“Turnabout is fair play,” he responds, turning the page.
“True. But I think you’re going to want to pay attention for this.”
His eyes flash to mine, playful, and he sets the book aside slowly. He leaves the glasses on. “Oh, am I?”
“Yes.” I reach up and slip the small white stick into his hand. “Daddy all over again,” I add.
His brow creases. He doesn’t seem to understand. He looks at me, at the stick in his hand, back at me. Then he sits up in bed, alert at once, and holds the stick up to the light.