Page 94 of Be Mine, Sweetheart (Something Borrowed 3)

“Naw, it’s cool. I got awesome legs for this.” Ray leveled him with a dark, serious gaze. “So, you and Kelly are getting married?”

“Yeah.”

“And having a baby.”

“Looks like.”

“Congratulations. I’m glad you finally worked your shit out.”

Ray started to walk past him for the stairs and Chris grabbed his arm. “Hey, where are you going?”

Ray patted his cheek. “My work here is done, bud. I can finally sit around all day playing the…” Ray looked down at the instrument in his hand and shrugged. “Whatever the hell this is and floating around on clouds.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

“Probably bored, but it’s better than the alternative.”

“Is there anything I can do?” Chris asked.

“Actually, there is one thing…”

Chris woke up with a start, sucking in air. Kelly lifted her head off his chest with a sleepy frown.

“Hey, you okay?”

“Yeah, just a dream.”

“Wanna talk about it?” she mumbled.

He kissed the top of her head and held her close. “Someday, I’ll tell you all about it.”

Epilogue

Inside the brightly lit hospital room, full of bustling nurses and interns, a miracle was about to happen.

“Oh, my God, what fresh hell is this?!” Kelly Ryan screamed, squeezing her husband’s hand as hard as she could.

Chris stood beside her hospital bed, looking rumpled and pale. He winced, and she felt him try to extract his hand from hers. “Ow, ow, babe, babe, my fingers are starting to crack!”

“So is my pelvis!”

Kelly thought she heard a snort and fo

cused on Chris’s face with narrowed eyes. “Did you just laugh?”

“No,” he said with a completely straight face.

“I am in labor with your unborn child and you’re laughing at my pain?”

His mouth twitched with mirth, even as he lied. “Honey, I’m not, I swear!”

The pain subsided slightly, and Kelly flopped back against the hospital mattress, her muscles aching. Her contractions had started six hours ago and had been barely a twinge at the time. So, of course she’d told the doctor she didn’t need an epidural. She was tough.

Now, with violent viselike pain hitting her every minute, she was over this.

“Okay, Kelly, I want you to bear down on the next contraction,” the doctor said through his facemask. His tone was calm and soothing, and she was tempted to lift her foot up and kick him.

“You hear that, babe? After this next one, he’ll be out, and the pain will be gone.”