A Blast from the Past (A Second Chance Romance) (29 page)

Livie
squeezed my arm and laughed. I wrapped my arms around her and kept my
hand on her stomach. I loved feeling the baby move around, which
seemed like every second.

"How
did I get so lucky?" she asked.

"It
wasn't luck," I said. "You marched into my life and told me
you were going to be my wife. I thought you were just messing with
me. Who knew you had it planned all those years."

She
looked up at me and laughed.

"It
wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be," she joked. "It
only took me twenty years."

Zander

Valentine's
Day came, and I had a romantic evening planned. Both of our moms flew
in to be there to watch the kids. I knew they weren't leaving until
after the baby was born. We would have plenty of time to spend with
them. It would be several weeks before that was happening. Then they
would stay to help take care of things.

The
kids loved their new school. I had taken them to see so many things
since Christmas. They were excited for summer to come. I promised we
would all go as a family to show their mom the things they were
seeing that she was missing. It didn't seem to bother them at all
that the city was much bigger and louder than what they were used to.

We
were all comfortable in our new routine as a family. I cut back on my
hours at work but was still able to take care of all of my patients.
Livie had the kids on a schedule. She loved being able to take them
to school and pick them up. I loved watching her waddle around the
house. Their homework was usually done when I got home. I really
liked walking in to the smell of something cooking. We took turns
reading the kids their stories and always tucked them in together.
The place was full of laughter, toys, and running around. There were
tears and arguments as well, but that was part of being a family.

The
kids were happy to have their grandmothers there with them. I knew
they would be excited. They saw both of our moms every day before
they moved. We let them call them whenever they wanted. The times
were getting to be less each week. They really were adjusting well.

I was
with my last patient of the day and couldn't wait to get home to take
my beautiful wife to dinner when my phone rang. I let it go, thinking
I would be done in just a couple of minutes. It rang again, and I
decided to take it. I stepped out into the hallway and answered it.

"Happy
Valentine's Day, beautiful," I said. "I'm with my last
patient. Can I call you right back?"

She
didn't say anything.

"Is
everything okay?" I asked. "It's going to be a great day.
We're going out for a romantic dinner. I can't wait to see you."

"It's
going to be better than that," she said quietly.

"What?"
I asked.

"We're
going to have a baby," she said.

"Where
are you?" I asked nervously.

"On
my way to the hospital," she said calmly.

My
mind was going a mile a minute. I couldn't think straight.

"I'm
on my way," I shouted.

"Take
your time. Finish with your patient. We have plenty of time,"
she said.

"No,"
I said. "I'll leave now. Do you need anything? Where are the
kids?"

I
heard her laugh.

"Calm
down, Z," she said. "Both moms and both kids are here. We
are just fine. There's time. Finish with the patient. They didn't
come there to be sent home after they waited for you."

"How
are you so calm, Livie? We're having a baby," I said.

"You
operate on people, Z. You've done much harder things than have a
baby. It'll all be fine. Just calm your ass down, finish with your
patient, and meet us there. We love you, baby."

"I
love you too," I said.

She
had a way of bringing me back to reality. I took a few deep breaths
before going back into the room and finishing with my patient.

When
I got to the hospital, the kids were so excited. They were able to
stay in the room for most of the time. Livie was so calm. She watched
cartoons with one child on each side. The nurses would come in to
check her, and she'd go right back to the kids. She really was an
amazing mom.

I was
so excited to hold our new little one in my arms. I still couldn't
believe we were having a baby.

When
the time came, our moms took the kids to the waiting room. Livie
didn't want anyone there but me. I was so scared. Nobody would ever
know from looking in our room that I was the one who was a doctor.
Livie spent more time reassuring me than I did her. She was calm and
cool the entire time. I'd seen ladies freak out and scream while they
were delivering. Livie was the exact opposite. She was always
perfect.

Livie
had only been to the new doctor once since she had moved to New York.
Her second appointment was supposed to be the next day. She
completely skipped the once a week visits.

I was
by her side the entire time. Everything she needed, I did. When I
heard the cry of that little baby, I couldn't help the tears that
came from my eyes.

"It's
a girl," the doctor said.

I
looked into Livie's eyes and smiled. We were both a mess of tears.
The doctor let us see our beautiful little girl. When he sat back
down, he looked up in shock. My heart instantly dropped. What the
hell was wrong, I thought? Please let Livie be okay was all that ran
through my mind.

"What
is it?" I asked.

"I'm
not sure how to tell you this," he said, just as Livie winced in
pain. "You're having another baby."

"What?"
Livie and I both yelled together.

"You're
other doctor never mentioned anything?" He asked. "I've
only seen you once since you've been here. We hadn't yet done any
real checking. That was starting tomorrow."

Livie
looked down at him. It was the first time in years that I had seen
her not in control.

"I
probably would have mentioned it to you had I known," she
snapped.

It
took all I had not to laugh. I was so lost and could only imagine how
she was feeling. I was happy, scared, pissed, and excited all at the
same time.

"Two
babies," I said.

The
doctor looked up and nodded. I looked down at Livie and could see
fear in her eyes. It was time to be there for her. I didn't care how
scared I was of letting down two children, I knew I had to hold it
together for her. She rarely ever needed anything. Livie was
independent and always took care of herself. I watched her slowly
losing her control over her emotions. I leaned down next to her ear.

"We're
going to have two more babies to love. This is going to be amazing.
We're going to do it together, baby. I'm going to be right there
every second. We're going to be a perfect, loving family. I can't
wait to meet our surprise bundle. Come on, Livie. We're going to be
just fine. I love you, sweetheart."

She
looked over at me.

"I
don't know what I did to deserve you. Thank you for loving me,"
she said, as she touched my cheek.

"Let's
have a baby," I said with a smile.

When
we heard the second tiny cry, I kissed her cheek.

"It's
a boy," the doctor said.

I
leaned down and hugged Livie. She looked exhausted.

"Two
babies," I said. "We have two beautiful babies. I'm a dad.
I have four kids."

Livie
burst into laughter.

"Yes,"
she said. "You sure do."

They
put both babies in her arms. It was the most beautiful thing I had
ever seen.

"At
least we know all that moving around wasn't just one baby. I thought
we were never going to sleep," I said.

She
laughed and looked over at me.

"You
think we're going to sleep with two babies?" she asked.

I
laughed and shook my head.

"It
doesn't matter. I don't care if I ever sleep. I'm going to be right
next to you the entire time. I can't wait to have my whole family
home. We can always lock our moms in and not let them leave," I
said.

"That
sounds like a plan," she said.

We
knew our kids and moms were going to be just as shocked as we were. I
made sure Livie was relaxed and comfortable before I went to get
them. I opened the door slowly and looked in to make sure she was
ready. She had a baby in each arm. One had a pink hat, and one had a
blue one. She looked up and smiled at me. I would have that picture
forever in my mind. The door opened the rest of the way, and we all
walked in. Both of the kids stopped, looked at Livie, and then looked
back at me with confused looks on their faces. It took all I had to
keep a straight face. I knew exactly how they felt. Both of the moms
stopped moving and looked over at each other before looking back at
Livie. I walked over to stand next to Livie.

"Meet
your new little brother and sister," Livie said.

April
squealed in delight. She started jumping up and down. Jack just stood
there.

"Two
of them," he said.

"Yes,"
Livie said. "You have one of each."

"That's
a lot of babies," Jack said.

I
could tell he wasn't as confident as April with the news, so I walked
over and scooped him into my arms.

"Can
you believe it," I said. "We have two babies to share and
love. You're their big brother. I'm going to need lots of help
protecting two babies. Do you think you can help me with that?"

Jack's
eyes lit up and a smile spread across his face. He nodded and looked
down at the babies.

"Yes,
daddy," he said, and I almost lost it. "I'll be the best
big brother there is. I'll make you so proud."

Livie
looked up at me with tears in her eyes, just as they started sliding
from mine too.

"I'm
proud of you every single day, son," I said.

It
was the first time he had called me dad, and it melted my heart. As I
looked around the room to see everyone I loved, I knew I was the
luckiest man alive. All of my dreams had come true. It was funny how
that worked. My dreams had been right there in front of me the whole
time. I just needed to open my eyes and make them happen.

Olivia

Ten Months Later

I sat
exhausted on the floor in front of the Christmas tree and looked
around at the mess before me. When I looked up at the decorations, I
noticed they were higher than they were the year before. It made me
think about April and Jack. They had grown so much since the last
year. April was playing with a doll house Zander had spent hours
putting together. Jack was playing with the tool bench Zander had
also put together the night before. Jessica and Justin were playing
together with a pile of new toys. April and Jack had picked out their
names with us. They wanted them to have the same first letter. It was
adorable. There were toys, paper, and cardboard boxes everywhere. Z
sat down next to me and handed me a wrapped box.

"I
love you so much, Livie. I can't imagine my life any better than
this. I promise to make up for every single second we lost while we
were apart. Thank you so much for brining April and Jack into my
life. Thank you for giving me two amazing babies. Thank you for being
my family. Look at them. They're all so precious," he said.

"I
love you so much, Z. I always have. You've been my best friend since
the day you got out of that car next door. You have no idea how many
dreams I had of us being together forever. I still can't believe
you're mine. I feel like this is a dream as well. You're so important
to me, and I will never take you for granted."

I
took the paper off of the box he handed me and lifted the lid. Inside
was the most beautiful mother's ring. It was heart shaped and had a
stone for each of the four kids. I slipped it on and laughed.

"What's
so funny? Do you want a different one?" he asked." I
thought you would love it."

"I
do," I said. "I'll tell you what's so funny after you open
your present."

I
handed him a wrapped box. He opened it and pulled out a picture of
the four kids together in a #1 Dad frame. He held the frame closer to
his face to see what was in April's hand. I heard him gasp when he
verified it was indeed an ultrasound picture. He burst into laughter.

"I
hope you can add another stone," I said with a smile.

"I
can add as many as we need," he replied. "We're having a
baby. You have no idea how happy that makes me."

He
leaned back against the couch and pulled me between his legs. My back
was against his chest, and my head fell back onto his shoulder. He
wrapped his arms around me with his hand on my belly. We were both
exhausted. I looked up at him with a smile on my face.

"My
life is perfect," he said. "Thank you so much for giving me
the world."

"I
told you I was going to marry you one day," I said. "Thank
you for making my dreams come true."

The
End.

Be
sure to watch for my next novel -
“Built
for Love” (Bachelor Billionaire #5)
around
October
30, 2015.

Please
continue on for Chapter 1 and 2 of “Sea of Love”
(Bachelor Billionaire #1), Chapter 1 of “His Assistant - Part
1”, and Chapter 1 and 2 of “A Love Rekindled” (The
Game of Love #1).

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Stories by Sharon Cummin

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