Enraptured (14 page)

The sensitive boy picked up on it immediately. He didn’t say anything about his weekend with his mother, but slowly I saw him come around the psychological walls he had built to keep himself safe from more embattled parents.

Later, when I said as much to Drew while we lay together in our bed, he nodded. “The last thing he needs is more fighting,” he agreed.

I sighed with relief that he thought so, too. “His birthday is coming up,” I reminded. “Maybe we could do something with the whole family again. To show him there is no bad blood.”

Drew nodded absently. “Actually, I was thinking of something a bit more extreme.” He looked me in the eye. “I want you to adopt Jonathan.”

My eyes widened in surprise. “What?”

“It’s what he wants,” Drew reasoned. “More than that, it’s what he needs. Stepparent adoption is fairly common, actually. We simply need both biological parents to agree.”

I burst out laughing. “Like that’s ever going to happen, Drew. Be serious.”

He shrugged. “Think about it. She signs some paperwork, you take over Mommy duty and she can fly to Dubai with her rich new boyfriend.”

“She’s never going to go for that, Drew.”

He smiled. “I’ll make her an offer she can’t refuse.”

He reached for another kiss and I didn’t deny him. But even as he pushed me back onto the bed and made love to me gently and thoroughly, I knew that there was one thing I could never do, no matter how much Drew wanted it.

I could never take a child from his mother. No one understood that pain like I did, and I would be damned if I inflicted it on anyone else.
There would be other ways to secure our family bond.

I just had to think of them.

True to his word, Drew took off that next Monday to join me for our first ultrasound. I was thirteen weeks pregnant, now into my second trimester, and we were both excited to learn what we could about our little bundle of joy.

I dressed in the gown and lay on the table, with Drew at my side holding my hand in his.
The technician squirted the cold gel onto my stomach before she placed the wand against my skin to pick up an image on the computer screen. Finally we could see the little gray blob she assured us was our baby. As she picked up a strong, quick heartbeat, I couldn’t help but burst into tears. I never thought I’d ever get pregnant again, and yet here I was, listening to definitive proof that a child of mine lived and thrived within me. Drew squeezed my hand as he smiled down at me. I squeezed back.

The tech didn’t answer many questions while she was taking her measurements and saving the image. “Dr.
Rombach will discuss your results with you,” she said with a smile.

The ambiguity of her answer struck me immediately.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.

She wiped the gel from my tummy. “Let me go get the doctor,” she said before she excused herself.

I panicked as I looked up at Drew. “Something’s wrong.”

He shook his head as he bent to kiss me softly. “Did you hear that heartbeat? Everything is fine.”

“Then why couldn’t she tell me that?” I wanted to know.

Dr.
Rombach was quick to join us, which only scared me further. “Good afternoon, Rachel. How are you feeling?”

“Terrified,” I answered quickly. “
The technician wouldn’t tell us what’s wrong.”

“Who’s to say anything is wrong?” she asked as she affixed her stethoscope to her ears and placed it on my tummy. She alternated placement as she listened intently. Finally she removed the stethoscope from her ears and placed it around her neck. She referred back to the ultrasound. “You see this?” she asked. We nodded. “That is your baby. It is a little small given how far along you are, but as it turns out, there’s a reason. See this?” she asked again, pointing at another blob on the screen. “That’s your other baby. You’re having twins.”

I jolted up. “What?” I squealed. I glanced up at Drew, who wore a similar surprised look on his face.

Dr.
Rombach went on. “See this? Your babies share a placenta, which means they are identical. The zygote split to create two embryos.”

“But… but… twins don’t run in my family.
Yours?” I asked Drew. He shook his head.

Dr.
Rombach chuckled. “Monozygotic twins aren’t hereditary. They can and do happen to any woman regardless of family history or ethnicity. You simply got two quarters for the pull,” she teased with a smile.

“And they’re okay?” Drew finally asked.

“Everything looks fine. We’ll monitor things and take more tests in the future, but it would appear that they are developing right on schedule. This might explain the morning sickness you’ve been having. Women who have twins tend to suffer with it more.” She patted me on the arm. “Seems you worried for nothing. Keep doing what you’re doing and we should have two healthy babies before you know it. Congratulations!” she offered before she exited to tend to her other patients.

I was dumbfounded as I got dressed. It was astounding enough to think of one baby growing inside me, much less two. I had no idea what to do about it. Did we work on another nursery? Did we simply add another bed?

And would these siblings even want to be apart after nine months together in the womb?

They would never have to be alone again, not if they didn’t want to be. It was astounding to consider.

Drew was equally quiet as he drove us back to the house. He assisted me back upstairs to my room, with Jonathan trailing nervously behind. “Did they tell you what it is?” he asked. “Is it okay?”

“Everything’s fine, buddy,” Drew said with a smile. “Rachel just needs to rest.”

Jonathan pouted as he was turned away from the door, but Drew was firm. He practically carried me to the bed to help me under the covers. He gently lay beside me. “You feel okay?” he asked softly as he searched my face. “Sick or anything?”

“Stunned,” I answered honestly. “That was not what I was expecting to hear today.”

He chuckled. “Me either.” Gently he pulled up my shirt and eased down my jeans. The little pooch in my belly was more prominent when I lay on my back, and he cupped it with his large, warm hand.

“You’re not mad?” I asked. If Zach had known I was carrying twins, he would have run for the hills. Two babies would have rendered him catatonic. Ironically, he ended up having them later anyway, which at the time I thought at the time was perfect karma.

Now I didn’t know what to think.

“I’m not mad,” Drew answered softly. “I’m overwhelmed.
I thought I was blessed enough to have one baby with you. Now we’re having two. Our children,” he said with a hitch in his throat as he bent down to kiss my tummy gently.

Like a ninny I started crying once more. He collected me in his arms to hold me close. “My Rachel,” he whispered against my hair. “You deserve every miracle.”

After the sobs reduced to hiccupping breaths, I grinned at Drew. “Jonathan is going to be beside himself.”

Drew chuckled. “Let’s tell him on his birthday,” he suggested and I agreed as I threw my arms around his neck.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” I giggled.

His eyes darkened as he looked down into my face. “I’ve never loved any gift more,” he said before he bent to kiss me softly.

As it turned out, hiding this new revelation from Jonathan was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I was bursting at the seams to tell him, but Drew insisted we wait until his birthday. We planned a joint birthday party the following week to celebrate my birthday on the nineteenth and Jonathan’s birthday on the twenty-second.

Since Elise had Jonathan on the weekend, we planned our celebration for the Monday he returned. Drew used some excuse to take Jonathan out of the house, while Alex, Millicent and Max arrived to prepare for the surprise party.
By the time Jonathan returned we had balloons in every color filling the house. Max popped out of his hiding spot the minute he heard Jonathan’s voice.

“Surprise!” he cried as we all stepped in behind him.

Delight lit up Jonathan’s face as he ran over to his cousin for a big hug. “You came!”

Alex ruffled his hair. “Of course we did, buddy.”

“Nana!” he cried as he threw himself against Millicent’s generous figure.

Even Cleo and Harrison stood by to offer their birthday greeting. Unabashed, he hugged them too. I could tell Drew wasn’t too thrilled about it, but I sent him a slight shake of th
e head. This wasn’t the time or place for correction. He was a happy little boy surrounded by the only family he knew. It was the best gift we could give him.

We ushered him into the dining room where boxes of pizza waited. He rarely got to eat junk food, and that was all he really wanted for his special day. We ate greasy pizza on our fanciest china and drank ginger ale from our crystal flutes. He was in heaven as we pigged out, and even more pleased to find an ice cream cake covered in candles. We sang happy birthday and he blew out all the candles in one shot.

“What’d you wish for?” Max wanted to know.

“I can’t tell,” he said with a wrinkle of his nose. “Otherwise it won’t come true.”

Max nodded reverently. No one understood the magic of the birthday wish like another child.

We exchanged gifts after that. He scored big with books and action figures and DVDs. Alex got him his own monogramed harmonica, which seemed to be the most significant gift of all. At least until Drew pulled me up and we stood on either side of Jonathan.

“We have one more gift,” Drew announced with a smile. “And it’s a pretty big one.”

Jonathan’s eyes opened wide.

“Tell him, darling,” Drew encouraged gently.

I knelt down to whisper our secret into his ear. He clapped a hand to his mouth as he computed this new data. In a nanosecond he flew into my arms. I giggled as I lifted him up for a full body hug.

“Tell us!” Max said as he jumped up and down, dying to be let in on the secret.

Drew smiled as he knelt down
at eye level with our wee guest. “Rachel is having two babies instead of one.”

Max was just as shocked as all of our other guests. “How’d that happen?” he wanted to know.

Millicent laughed. “I’ll explain when we get home.”

I glanced up at Alex to gauge his reaction. It was typically guarded. Finally he smiled as he stepped closer for a hug. “Congratulations,” he said softly. “You deserve all this and more.”

I clung to him briefly. I mouthed, “Thank you,” as I pulled away, once again in tears for our latest miracle.

Drew had one more trick up his sleeve. “
And now it’s time for Rachel’s gift,” he said with a smile. “Since we are expecting twins, Rachel will need even more help as she prepares for their births and the care for them afterwards. I have hired an au pair to assist her with Jonathan’s studies.” He stood back and a lithe, beautiful blonde all of twenty-two entered the room. I was struck mute by this latest development as he introduced her. “This is Zoe Germand. She will be staying with us for the foreseeable future.”

I stole a glance at Alex, whose expression was unreadable. I could sense that the development unsettled him. It sure as hell unsettled me. Zoe greeted everyone personally. She came from Switzerland and had perfect English. When she informed us she was studying art, Jonathan’s ears immediately perked up. Both Max and Jonathan followed their new stunning friend from the dining room to get to know her a little better.

Alex turned to Drew. “Quite a gift, bro.”

Drew wasn’t the least bit chagrined. “Rachel would never ask for help, so I took the initiative to get it for her anyway. We’re going to have our hands full with a pre-teen and two newborns.” He placed his hand on my shoulder. “This way it will take some of the pressure off of you when you are too sick or too busy to tend to your normal routine.”

I forced any comment through the rock in my throat. “That was very thoughtful of you, Drew. Thank you.”

He bent for a kiss and I couldn’t look at any of our guests in the eye as he straightened. The party soon dispersed, as everyone wanted to give me time to rest. Zoe stood beside us as we waved goodbye to everyone, which only served to make me uneasy. I complained of an upset stomach as I escaped to our bedroom.

After about an hour, Drew followed. He explained that he had to get her settled in her new room, which happened to be my old guest room. Then he proceeded to act like nothing at all was wrong as he undressed and climbed into bed.

“How could you do that without asking me, Drew?”

“Do what?” he asked innocently.

“Hire some other girl to take care of our children.”

He patted my hand. “Because you are going to need help,” he answered simply. “You may not see it now, but things are going to be chaotic soon.”

“I thrive on chaos,” I quipped. “How else could I have lived with this family for two years?”

He offered a deep, throaty laugh as he pulled my stiff body towards his. “You are no longer alone, my darling. You don’t have to tough it out or do it all on your own. We have the resources. Let’s use them.” He brushed hair from my face. “Especially when you’ve been so sick. We don’t know how long that will last or how severe it will be.”

I sighed. “I still think you jumped the gun.”

He grinned. “Are you jealous, Mrs. Fullerton?”

My eyes met his. “Do I need to be, Mr. Fullerton?”

He bent for a kiss. “Loving me is a job that is exclusively yours,” he assured. “Especially since you are the only one who ever has.”

I studied his eyes for any duplicity. Finally I pulled him down for a kiss. We proceeded to enjoy a more sensual celebration of my birthday.

The next day I called Nancy to tell her the news. Drew had prepared a press release to share our news with the world, so I wanted to be the one to tell her first. I hadn’t so far simply because Nancy Gilbert was a one-woman news team. She couldn’t keep her mouth shut even if she wanted to, and I couldn’t risk Becca finding out about the twins and blowing our cover to Jonathan.

She practically screamed the wall down with her whooping and hollering. She was decidedly less enthusiastic about the au pair.

“I guess it makes sense,” she offered after a moment or two to mull it over.

“Say it, Nancy,” I instructed.

“It’s nothing,” she dismissed. “It’s just…well…”

“Nancy,” I said again in a more ominous tone.

“There were so many rumors before,” she finally said. “About how he hooked up with the household staff.”

“Things are different now,” I said with a shrug of my shoulder, inwardly willing that to be true. “I’m not Elise. I’m not freezing him out.”

“Good incentive to ensure you won’t,” she shot back, which made my stomach drop.