“Nope,” she says, and glares at her belly while she yanks her shirt down. “Instead, I’m growing two of your giant babies at the same time. You’re definitely not going to want me after I’m striped like a zebra with stretch marks, and my hooha is as wide as the Atlantic.”
That stops my laughter. A switch flips inside of me, and I bypass grump and let out my inner asshole. “Repeat that,” I say in a low, way too calm voice.
“That my hooha will be as big as the Atlantic?”
“Rewind further,” I demand.
“I’m going to be covered in stretch marks.”
Now she’s just playing with me. She knows which part I want her to repeat, and she probably knows she’s in trouble.
“Don’t think I won’t spank you right here,” I warn her.
My irritation helps my legs find their strength again, and I rise from the chair. I lean over her, causing her to lean back a little.
“What did you say?” I ask in a gruff whisper.
Her eyes cast down, and her tongue comes out to lick her lips. “I said you won’t want me.”
I lift her face until her green eyes meet mine. There are so many words to say, and yet I can’t find one. Instead, I kiss her.
My hand digs into her thick, blonde waves, anchoring her head in place. I press my mouth against hers. My lips demand more than coax. The fight that I’ve been expecting occurs without a single syllable.
When she breathes, it is from the air I exhale. Our tongues battle with each of us trying to control the kiss. Then, like she always does, Wren melts for me. Where I guide, she goes.
Finally, the kiss ends, and we’re both breathing hard. I press my forehead against hers and close my eyes. I have to wait a moment for the tightness in my throat to relax before I’m able to speak.
“Do you not understand how much I love you? Nothing could make me stop wanting you. There isn’t a force on this earth that strong.”
Not even if a part of her still loves my son. I know she loves me too. She’s proof that you don’t get to choose who you love. I certainly wouldn’t have chosen to fall for my son’s wife. But he let her go, and I won’t be stupid enough to make the same mistake.
“C’mon, Baby Bird, let’s go see the pictures of our babies again.”
She shakes her head, but there’s a small smile on her lips.
“Twins, God help us. I hope they’re not little hellions,” she says.
I laugh. My poor wife has no idea what it’s like to raise a Hale boy. “We can name them after superheroes or something, give them something to live up to.”
She gives me the side eye. “Sure. That’ll make it all better. We can name one after Superman, and they’re still going to act more like Wolverine.”
I shrug. “I kinda like Clark and Logan as names.”
“Fine, but I want to give them each a middle name after my dad. Martin for one and James, my dad’s middle name, for the other.”
I kiss the side of her head. “I love that idea.”
I’m not sure if Charlie’s idea of just “holding her through it” is the way to go, but making her admit something that will just hurt both of us isn’t going to help either. Because no matter what, these babies are coming, and I’m going to be by her side when they do.
Chapter Fourteen
Wren - Past
When I waspregnant with Parker, I felt my parents’ absence almost as sharply as I did the first year they were gone. Of course, Griffin knew I would, and when she was born, he surprised me with the name he wanted to give her, my maiden name.
To this day, I still find it hard to find the words to express to him what that has meant to me. I’ve heard the jokes around Harriston. People say that I married Griffin so I didn’t have to change my driver’s license after my divorce from Liam. That shows how little attention they paid to me during those years, because I had never changed my name to Hale while I was married to Liam.
In a way, it’s like our marriage never really happened. He spent less and less time at home, and for at least the last year of our marriage, it felt more like we were living separate livesalongside each other. We never should have gotten married in the first place, but grief will make you do some dumb shit.
