She walked right up to Samara and showed her the small cub, reminding Marcus of a nurse presenting a newborn baby to his mother.
Wait a minute...
Marcus got slowly to his feet, his pulse thundering as the pieces began falling into place.
That was when Samara turned and looked directly at him.
With a glowing smile on her face, she rubbed her stomach in slow circles as the wordsand baby makes six!flashed in neon lights on the backdrop of the stage.
Marcus stared at her, stunned speechless as a roar of applause and cheers erupted from the audience.
The fellas were whooping raucously, shouting congratulations and pounding Marcus on the back.
And then he was bounding up to the stage and hopping onto the runway. Samara laughed as he grabbed her face in his hands and kissed her as cameras flashed from all directions.
He kissed her until they were both breathless, until the chorus of cheers, whistles and catcalls grew loud enough to penetrate his euphoric bubble.
Lifting his mouth from Samara’s, he gazed down at her and whispered wonderingly, “You’re really pregnant?”
Her eyes glimmered. “You think I put on this big production just to play a joke on you?”
He laughed exultantly, then picked her up and spun her around, loving the sound of her rapturous laughter.
When he put her down, she beamed up at him, her eyes shining with tears of joy. “Congratulations, sweetheart,” she whispered.
His heart swelled to bursting. He was just about to kiss her again when he felt a tug on his suit jacket. He glanced down to see three grinning faces peering up at him.
“Mommy’s having a baby,” Milan gleefully announced.
“He knows,” Matthew retorted, rolling his eyes at her. “It’s not a secret anymore.”
Laughing, Marcus picked up his daughter and tweaked her little nose. “You did a great job keeping Mommy’s secret.”
“Only ’cause we just found out before the show.” Malcolm grinned. “Did you like it, Dad?”
“I loved it,” Marcus affirmed, smiling at Samara. “It was amazing.”
“And fun!” Matthew raved excitedly. “Can we have a tiger?”
Marcus and Samara laughed.
“Shadow is the only pet you boys need for now,” Marcus said humorously.
Matthew grinned at his twin brother as if to say,It was worth a shot.
Milan pointed shyly to Samara’s head. “Can I wear your pretty crown, Mommy?”
“Of course, baby.” Samara took off her tiara and carefully settled it on Milan’s head. The little girl’s smile shone brighter than the crown’s sparkling diamonds.
Their family and friends joined them on the stage, a swarm of hugs and kisses and boisterous congratulations. The men were grinning from ear to ear. All the women had tears in their eyes.
Sterling and Asha, arms wrapped around each other’s waist, thanked Marcus and Samara for giving them another grandbaby to spoil rotten.
“And we’re gonna do just that,” Sterling warned, “so don’t try to stop us.”
Everyone laughed warmly.
As Marcus looked at the sea of smiling faces around him, it was hard not to feel overwhelmed with gratitude. He’d been blessed with more than any man could ever hope for. And just when he’d thought he couldn’t possibly get any luckier, God had surprised him with another precious miracle.
