Chapter 21
Charlie
The door opened to the ultrasound room, and Dr. Gregario walked in.
“Okay, let’s see how the babies are cooking in there.” He grinned.
I furrowed my brows at Marley because I felt this guy was a little off. I stared at the monitor as the doctor moved the wand across Marley’s belly. My heart started to race.
“Ah, look at those little beauties. Here’s Baby A and Baby B. Do you want to know if they’re identical or fraternal?” Dr. Gregario asked.
“Yes,” Marley replied. “I need to know in advance if my stress levels are going to rise because I won’t be able to tell my babies apart.”
I swallowed hard as I reached over and took hold of her hand.
“Your stress levels are going to be just fine, Marley. Your babies are fraternal twins.”
“Oh, thank God.” She sighed in relief, and I gently squeezed her hand.
“The babies look great and are growing on schedule.” Dr. Gregario grinned. “Keep up the good work, Marley. If you should experience any issues before your next appointment, be sure to call me. It’s better to be safe than sorry. If you haven’t already, I suggest you go and get some books on twin pregnancies. Knowledge is your superpower.”
“Thanks, Dr. Gregario.” Marley smiled.
He printed the ultrasound pictures and handed them to her.
“I’ll see you next month.” He walked out of the room.
“Are you heading home?” I asked her as we walked out of the building.
“I have a couple of errands to run.”
“I have another appointment to get to. I’ll have Mateo drive you, and I’ll take a cab.” I opened the door to the sedan. “Mateo, Marley has errands to run. Take her to wherever she needs to go.”
“Will do, Charlie.” Mateo smiled.
“I’ll see you later,” I told her as I shut the door.
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I texted Grant.
“I can meet now if you’re available.”
“Excellent. I’m actually over that way. I’ll text you the address.”
I hailed a cab and met Grant outside the apartment building. We took the elevator up to the sixteenth floor, opened the apartment door, and stepped inside.
“This one just went on the market this morning,” Grant said.
Tucking my hands into my pants pockets, I looked around. “It’s nice.”
“It’s a great neighborhood, has good schools, and great views. The owner’s job transferred him to their Los Angeles office, so he had to move rather quickly. It is available for immediate move-in.”
I walked around the space, checking out each bedroom and bathroom. A nauseous feeling filled my stomach as I stared out the window overlooking the city.
“Are you okay, Charlie?” Grant asked.
“I don’t know.” I sighed. “I really don’t.” I turned and stared at him. “I’m sorry, my friend, for wasting your time. As nice as this apartment is, it’s not right.”
“You’ve changed your mind about buying an apartment?” A smirk crossed Grant’s lips.
“Yeah. I have.”
He walked over and placed his hand on my shoulder. “I’m happy you’re not going through with it. Everything will be okay, Charlie.”
“Thanks, Grant.”
As I was walking down the hall, I stopped in Chase’s office and shut the door.
“What’s up?” He smiled.
“I went and saw that apartment.” I sat on his couch.
He stood up from behind his desk, walked over, and sat next to me. “And?”
“Marley had an ultrasound today.”
“Ah, so you saw your babies?”
“Yeah, and I heard their heartbeats. Everything suddenly became real.”
“What about the apartment?” he asked.
“I told Grant I’m not going through with it.”
“Thank God.” Chase sighed, placing his hand on my shoulder. “You’re overthinking this whole situation, Charlie. Just feel your feelings. Don’t fight them anymore.”
I inhaled a sharp breath as I stood up. “I’ll talk to you later.”
Marley
I finished my errands and had Mateo drop me off at Love At First Sip. Walking through the door, Olivia and Penelope looked up and ran over to me.
“How did your appointment go?” Penelope asked, grabbing my hand and leading me to a table.
I reached into my purse and pulled out the ultrasound pictures.
“Baby A and Baby B.”
“Damn, look at those little future troublemakers.” Olivia grinned.
“They already look beautiful.” Penelope smiled.
“So, how did Daddy McBillionaire react,” Olivia said.
“He didn’t say much, but I didn’t expect him to. He’s really good at hiding his emotions.”
“Sounds like someone else I know.” Olivia cocked her head.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m starving. Can you two escape here so we can go get some dinner?”
“You bet.” Penelope smiled. “Just give us a few minutes.”
My heart started racing as I stared at the sonogram pictures. The babies had grown since my last ultrasound and were beginning to look like real little humans. I started to question everything in my head. How was I going to take care of both of them at once? Would I be a good Mom? Would I fail them somehow? Would I know what to do if they got sick?
The girls and I went to dinner and walked around the city until it started pouring. We shared a cab, and the driver dropped me off first. When I stepped off the elevator, it was nine o’clock.
“Where the fuck were you?” Charlie shouted.
“I was at dinner with Penelope and Olivia.” My brows furrowed as I set my purse down.
“I tried calling you a million times, and it kept going straight to voicemail!”
“My phone died earlier. What is going on here? Who do you think you are speaking to me that way?” I stormed into the bathroom and started the bath water.
“I was worried something happened to you!” he shouted. “I couldn’t reach you, so I called Mateo, and he said he dropped you off at Love At First Sip hours ago.”
“Okay, then you knew I was with Olivia and Penelope,” I said.
“No, I didn’t know that, Marley!”
I’d never seen him as angry as he was. “You need to chill, Charlie.” I plugged my phone into the charger and set it on the nightstand.
“Don’t you dare tell me to chill. I was worried.”
I turned and stared into his angry eyes.
“Worried about what?”
“That something happened to you. I want you to share your location with me so I know where you’re at, at all times.”
“Ha, you’re crazy.”
“Do you think I’m joking?”
“I’m not discussing this now. I’m tired, and I want to take a bath.” I went into the bathroom and twisted up my hair.
“How could you be so irresponsible and let your phone die?” he asked.
“It happens.”
He walked over and gripped my arms. “You just don’t get it,” he spoke through gritted teeth as his eyes stared into mine.
At that moment, I saw something unexplainable in him. He let go of my arms and embraced me tightly. Bringing my hands up to his back, I softly stroked it, unsure of what was going on. I glanced over at the tub and noticed the water was at the edge.
“Um, Charlie? The tub is going to overflow any second.”
“Shit.” He ran over, turned the water off, pulled the drain, and walked out of the bathroom.
“What is going on here?” I walked into the bedroom and threw my hands up in the air.
“Just go take your bath.” He sat on the edge of the bed with his head lowered.
“Can’t now that you let the water go down the drain.”
“I’ll go refill it.” He stood up, and I grabbed his arm as he began walking away.
“Forget the bath. It’s obvious you’re having a meltdown of some sort, and I want to know what your problem is.”
“You really want to know what my problem is, Marley? I care. Okay? There, I said it.”
“Care about?” I cocked my head.
He inhaled a sharp breath as his eyes stared into mine.
“I care about you and those children you’re carrying.”
“You mean your children.” I arched my brow.
“Yeah, my children.” He sighed, running his hand through his hair.