Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
TWO WEEKS LATER
Willa
I hung the last of Daisy’s clothes in the closet and stared at the room now cleaned, organized, and completely perfect—a room fit for a beautiful little princess.
Stepping out of the room, I entered the kitchen where Damien was leaning against the counter, sipping his coffee and looking as sexy as ever. Last night was a sex-fest, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I couldn’t get enough of him and even woke him up at three a.m. to go another round.
He placed his hand on his cock and adjusted himself.
“You okay down there?” I smiled.
“Just a little sore from last night. You were a wild animal.” A smirk crossed his lips.
“Hormones, baby. Hormones.” I grinned. “Besides, I hope you enjoyed it and got your fill because soon, we won’t be able to have sex for a while.”
“Not physical anyway, while you’re healing. But your mouth and hands will still do the trick.” He tipped the cup to his lips.
I narrowed my eyes at him as I made a cup of tea.
“What?” He chuckled.
“You’re a sex-craved lunatic. I hope you know that.”
“Only for you, sweetheart. Only for you. I have to get going. I’ll see you tonight.” He kissed my lips. “And I will talk to you later, little one.” His lips pressed against my belly. “I love you girls so much.”
“We love you, too.” I smiled. “Oh, wait. Vince just texted me. He’s downstairs. I’ll walk down with you.” I grabbed my purse and felt a strong agonizing pain in my belly. “Oh.” I stopped for a moment, resting my hand on my overly large bump.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Damien asked.
“I’m fine. Just a little pain. It’s gone now.” I smiled.
The shop was packed with customers. I was giving a demo of the Blocked & Bathing bath bomb to a group of thirty-something-year-olds and one heartbroken divorcee when an excruciating cramp hit out of nowhere. I froze mid-sentence, one hand gripping the bath bomb and the other gripping the shelf.
“Are you okay?” one of the women asked.
“I’m totally fine.” I forced a smile. “I just ate some peanut butter pretzels, and I don’t think they agreed with me. Now, back to what I was saying about the bath bombs.” Another cramp hit, this time harder than the first. By this time, I was hunched over, gripping the counter.
“Nope. Not the pretzels,” one of the other women said. “That right there is a bona fide contraction.” She grinned. “Yay. You’re in labor.”
“I’m not due for another two weeks,” I said.
“That doesn’t matter. When babies are ready to be born, they come. They don’t care about due dates. My daughter was three weeks early.”
Natalie, one of my sales associates who was restocking the Tears & Bubbles bath bombs, looked at me.
“Wait, you’re in labor, Willa? Do you want me to call Damien?”
“No,” I said, gasping. “Yes. Maybe. I don’t know. I’ve been having little fake ones for days. It’s like my uterus is auditioning for Broadway.”
“Oh my God. This is so exciting,” one of the other women spoke. “Do you have a birth plan? Because a birth plan is very important.”
“I do. Step one: Do not have the baby here.”
Another contraction hit. I slammed my hand on the counter and accidentally knocked over someone’s Emotionally Overdrawn box on the floor, contents spilling out everywhere.
“Oh my God,” one of the patrons in the store shouted. “She’s going to give birth next to the heartbreak candle display!”
“I am not. Oh God, maybe I am! Natalie, call Damien now!”
“Here, try this,” a woman handed me a peppermint lip balm from the Mama Needs A Minute box.
The bell above the door jingled, and when I looked over, I saw Damien. He ran over to where I stood and hooked his arm around me.
“How did you get here so fast? Natalie called you like two seconds ago.”
“I was already on my way to see if you wanted to go to lunch. I was right down the street. Come on. We have to get you to the hospital.”
“Oh God. Wait.” I screeched, gripping my belly.
“You’re going to be okay, sweetheart.”
He had no idea what this felt like. So, for him to say something he had no idea about irritated me. I stared at him through the contraction as I broke out into a sweat.
“You did this to me,” I growled. “With your stupid face and your emotionally unavailable hands.”
“Sweetheart, I think you mean?—”
“Don’t finish that sentence if you ever want to have sex again. Because right now, I will kill you if you even think about touching me. Can someone get my purse? Some drugs, and a uterus evacuation plan? Because I need this kid out of my body right NOW!”
We arrived at the hospital and were immediately taken to the OB unit. After changing into a gown, the nurse hooked me up to the fetal monitor. Another contraction hit, and I was done.
“I changed my mind,” I gasped, gripping the side rail of the hospital bed like I was about to rip it off. “I’m not doing this.”
“You can’t just—” he paused. “Not do this, Willa. The baby is coming.”
“Did you just mansplain labor to me?” My eyes narrowed.
“No. Not at all. I’m offering you support, sweetheart.”
“You’re offering me nothing, Damien!” I reached inside the Styrofoam cup, grabbed a few ice chips, and threw them at him.
The doctor walked in. “Thank God, you’re here,” Damien said.
“Everyone is having fun, I see.” Dr. Cassidy smiled.
“She just threw ice chips at me,” Damien said.
“She’s in labor, Mr. Blackwood. She could throw a chair that’s on fire and still be legally allowed to yell at you.” She smirked.
“Tell him again, but louder!” I shouted through another contraction.
“Let me examine you and see where we are,” Dr. Cassidy said. “You’re dilated to nine centimeters already, which is too late for an epidural. But, we’re almost there.” She grinned beneath her mask.
“Nine centimeters? I read where ten centimeters is when the baby comes out,” Damien said.
I gripped his hand and squeezed it as tightly as I could. “Yes, Professor of Biology! Ten is when our little tax deduction rips through my body like a wrecking ball!”
“Okay. Tell me what to do,” Damien said. “This whole thing is giving me anxiety.”
I knew he just didn’t say that.
“Dr. Cassidy, if he passes out, do we leave him on the floor or have the nurse dump his body in the hall?” I asked.
“That depends.” She smiled. “Do you want him in the first family photo?”
Damien went to say something, and I squeezed his hand again. He was wise and closed his mouth.
“Here we go, Willa. It’s time.” Dr. Cassidy smiled. “Push, Willa.”
“I am pushing!” I screamed.
Damien stood holding my hand and a cold compress in the other. I had no idea why he wasn’t putting it on my forehead.
“You’re doing amazing, sweetheart,” he said in what he thought was a soothing voice because I once told him that his voice sounded like a meditation and was comforting and relaxing.
“Don’t you dare use your meditation voice on me right now!”
“Right. Sorry, sweetheart.” He placed the cold compress on my forehead. “You’re so strong. Brave, beautiful, powerful. Just breathe with me. Inhale the?—”
“I swear to God. If you say inhale the love, exhale the fear, I will murder you and deliver this baby alone.”
The nurse snorted, and the doctor coughed. But I knew that cough was to hide a laugh.
“Got it. No love inhaling,” he said.
“Push, Willa. Come on,” Dr. Cassidy said.
“You did this to me!” I screamed and gripped his hand with a strength I never knew I had. It was like I had superpowers.
“I know! I was there!” he voiced loudly.
“One more push, Willa. I see the baby’s head.”