Chapter Nineteen #2
"Let's go to Vegas," he said. "Let them plan their wedding; they want us to have it, but we will have the ceremony we want."
Prince grabbed his arm and pulled Finn out of the house just as he heard Hunter and Bevin's voices get louder.
Prince opened his eyes and raised his hand to rub the sleep from his eyes, and stopped when he caught the glint of the platinum band on his finger, making him smile.
He and Finn got married three weeks ago, and Prince couldn't be happier.
They had told Bevin and Hunter, who were furious with them but then changed course and started planning a reception for family and friends that would fall on Finn's birthday.
Prince was also planning a few surprises for his husband on that day.
Another reason Prince was smiling was that he and Finn had a doctor's appointment today and would be seeing the baby for the first time.
His cellphone on his nightstand vibrated, pulling Prince from his thoughts.
He quickly picked up his phone and quirked a brow when he saw Lucas's name on the screen.
Prince wondered if it had anything to do with the information that he'd sent him weeks ago about the Ashford family.
Nothing had happened yet. He had been so lost in his own happiness he had forgotten about Roderick.
Carefully easing out of bed so he didn't wake Finn, Prince went into the other room to answer his phone.
"Lucas, what's up?"
"Sorry it took so long, but fuck, man, these people had their hands in everything. The files you gave me weren't enough to bring them down, and I'm not sure how you got those files, but once we started digging, we found they were on the Seeker's most wanted list, but under a different name."
Prince wasn't sure if it was just dumb luck, but it’d happened at a business conference.
While considering a cooperation deal with the Ashfords and a few others, he had picked up the wrong USB.
Days later, when he finally looked at the files, he’d realized what he had.
It was a plan to bring down a rival family through corporate espionage.
At first, Prince had no idea the contents belonged to Ashford.
He sent a message to the family anonymously, with the file, and left it at that when he heard nothing about it in the news.
But he kept the file secured, and it wasn't until they were at the resort that Roderick mentioned a business that had been in the files.
"But we got them. Much more than espionage. Their son, Roderick, isn't clean either. He has dirt on his hands. So watch the downfall, and it will be of their own making," Lucas told him.
"Okay. And thanks."
"Any time."
Finn was in the kitchen, humming and preparing a cup of ginger tea.
He smiled, thinking Bevin had gotten it wrong that Prince would be the clingy one, although Prince was somewhat overprotective.
It was Bevin who had taken to watching Finn's diet, like sending him tea for nausea that hit without warning, and even made sure Finn was eating on time at the office.
Feeling Prince's presence, he leaned into his touch when his husband embraced him, placing a protective hand on his stomach.
Husband.
Finn hadn't imagined this would be a word he would say so soon. He figured it would be years after getting his career off the ground before he would be married, expecting, and not thirty yet.
"Our appointment isn’t until later. How about we do something fun?" Prince suggested.
Finn had taken the day off just for the appointment. They were going to meet their little one today, and he was really excited.
"What do you have in mind?" Finn put his tea cup down and turned in Prince's arms.
"It's been a while since we've been on a date. How about a movie and lunch?"
"Sounds good." Finn smiled and nuzzled Prince's neck. "I know I took the day off, but I want to call into the office."
"Don't work too hard," Prince said.
Finn quirked a brow. "Are you seriously telling me that, Mister I work from home but still fly around the country to close deals."
"That was only a couple of times. Well, five. I've been on five trips. I have not gone on a trip for two months," Prince defended, making Finn smile and shake his head at his workaholic husband.
"That's because the last one was cancelled. They signed the deal without you having to get on a plane."
"Fine, you've made your point." He chuckled and kissed Finn. "Go take care of your business so we can have our date."
"Yes, sir."
Finn picked up his tea cup and went to Prince's office, which he used whenever he decided to work remotely. He switched on the television for background noise while he worked. Seeing it was some breaking business news, Finn didn't bother to change the channel.
"Federal agents raided the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ashford. And along with their oldest son, Roderick Ashford, they were arrested on multiple charges, one being murder; if true, they will spend the rest of their lives in jail, my official sources tell me. Their bail..."
What the fuck? Finn stared at the television screen in complete shock, not hearing the rest as questions swirled in his head.
What the actual hell?
Getting up from the chair, he went to find Prince, who was still in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, staring at his phone.
"Prince, did you hear?" he said, getting his husband's attention.
"Hear what?" Prince looked at him.
"Roderick and his parents were arrested."
"Yeah, I just read about it."
"How?" Finn didn't know how to ask the question.
Granted, he didn't like the guy, but Roderick and Prince were friends.
"How do you feel about it?" Finn stepped closer to Prince. "You guys are friends."
"Honestly, I don't feel any way about it. Roderick and his family were dealing in bad business and got caught."
"They think murder was involved. Do you think Roderick could have killed someone?"
"I really don't know. Maybe the person I thought was my friend was all a facade." Prince cupped Finn's cheek. "I'm good, baby."
"Are you sure?" Finn stared at Prince.
"I am." He leaned in and kissed Finn on his brow. "Now go finish up your business so we can enjoy our date later."
Finn nodded and went back to the office. The news sat with him longer than he wanted it to, until he decided to put it to the back of his mind. Roderick's family issues had nothing to do with him, so why should he worry about them?
Prince stared at the picture on the screen and couldn't stop smiling.
He was looking at his and Finn's baby, which brought back the day he stood next to Nova, staring at the screen in awe.
But even though the situation was the same, the feelings were different.
When Nova got pregnant, it was a joyous time, but there were so many uncertainties, especially after Nova lost one of the babies.
At one moment, there had been two heartbeats, and in the blink of an eye, there was one.
He and Nova mourned the baby, but it caused them to hold on to Bevin so tightly that he was given most pleasures some kids his age shouldn't have.
He and Nova went on to have new, rich lives.
Nova, who married Reece and decided not to have any children.
And now, he and Finn were welcoming their first child together.
Prince didn't care whether the baby was a boy or a girl, as long as they were healthy; that was all that mattered to him.
"Are you okay?"
Prince looked at Finn, who was still lying on the exam table, with Doctor Vicki Hunt still looking, tapping away at the screen.
He leaned down and kissed Finn on the lip. "Yeah, I'm good." He smiled.
"Well, I knew there was something else," Doctor Hunt said, getting his and Finn's attention.
"What?" Prince said, as a feeling began to grow in his heart that he didn't want to say the word. "What's wrong?"
The doctor was silent for a few minutes, staring and tapping at the screen.
Finn grabbed Prince's arm, and he wanted to comfort him, but the fear of losing another child plagued his heart.
Just as Prince was about to yell at the doctor, she turned to them with a smile that didn't instantly set his heart at ease.
"Mr. and Mr. Sullivan, I'm happy to inform you that you're having twins."
She turned the screen and pointed at it, and Prince gasped, seeing the second child hiding behind the other, their back to them.
"Twins," Finn said in awe beside him, but he didn't look away from the screen.
"Yup." The doctor looked at the screen. "It's still too new to tell the sex of the babies, but you are having two little ones. Congratulations."
Prince didn't know whether he was standing or sitting; all he knew was that his legs were shaking, or maybe it was his body or his heart. Everything besides the image on the screen was becoming hazy. Twins rang and echoed in his ear.
Finn grabbed his face, pulling his attention away from the screen. And he felt a burning in his chest, his vision blurry.
"Hey, look at me," Finn said. "I need you to breathe for me. In and out. Come on, Prince, do it for me, please."
The pleading in Finn's tone got to him, and Prince did as he was told, realizing that he had stopped breathing. His chest hurt from letting out a lungful of air and taking it back in.
"That's it," Finn encouraged, and it worked, and he started to feel better, but his vision was still blurry, and he thought he was going blind until he realized his cheeks were wet.
Prince went to say something, but all he could muster was a shaky breath as he was pulled into a hug. Prince wanted to say so much to Finn, but he couldn't find the words. All he could do was hold him tight, hoping he could understand it as more than a thank-you, that he loved him as well.