Page 12 of Brokered Betrayals

“No,” Sawyer agreed. “You’ve created a monster.”

“Created a monster is usually a term that expresses regret or blame for unintentionally causing a negative outcome,” Alexa informed them.

“Thank you, Alexa,” Royce said.

“Playing ‘thank u, next’ by Ariana Grande,” Alexa announced.

Royce spent the next few minutes trying to disable the device and ended up deactivating it. “We can’t have her kicking off at random times and waking up the baby,” Royce said as he flopped back down on the bed.

Sawyer rolled onto his side and rested his head on Royce’s chest. “We’re going to be dads.”

Royce slid his hand into Sawyer’s hair and massaged his scalp. “In a month or less.”

“Could be longer,” Sawyer said, though neither Kelsey nor they wanted that. “This pregnancy has felt like a time distortion. The first six months took forever, but the last two have passed in the blink of an eye.”

“And I’ve loved sharing every second of it with you,” Royce said.

“God, I can’t wait to meet our daughter.”

Royce swatted his ass. “Not much longer now. Let’s hop back in the shower and clean off. We can watch a few episodes ofAnimal Kingdombefore bed.”

Sawyer didn’t make it through one episode before he crashed into a deep sleep, only to be woken by a ringing phone. The digital numbers on his alarm clock said it was just after one in the morning, and he grabbed the phone off its charger before the call could go to voicemail. The name on the caller ID made his heart stop.

“What’s going on? Who’s calling?” Royce asked groggily.

“It’s Kelsey,” Sawyer said, sounding way calmer than he felt. He accepted the call and put her on speaker. “Hey, Kels. What’s up?”

“Your daughter must be very excited to meet her daddies because she’s on her way.”

“Right now?” Royce shrieked.

“Yep,” Kelsey replied calmly. “I packed her off in a Lyft.”

Royce scrubbed his eyes with his fists. “This is a dream, right?”

Sawyer tossed back the covers and got out of bed. “I don’t think so.”

Andrew’s chuckle came through the connection. “Be nice. The guys are new to this.”

“But I was having fun at their expense while I still have a sense of humor,” Kelsey grumbled. “Things are about to get really painful for me.”

“Kelsey,” Andrew softly chided.

“Okay, fine. Lil Sketti Squash isn’t in a Lyft heading your way, but my water broke. Ella is still with Andrew’s mom, so we’re just going to mosey on over to the hospital.”

“We’ll be right behind you.” Sawyer calmly pulled clothes from the drawers for Royce and himself and tossed them on the bed. Darla’s bags were packed and waiting in the hall by the garage door. They simply needed to get dressed and brush their teeth. He glanced at the bed, where Royce remained with a look of absolute shock on his face.

“Are you okay, Kels?” Sawyer asked. “Are you in pain?”

“Not yet,” she replied cheerily. “But you’ll be the first to know when that changes.”

Sawyer laughed. He’d expected to be a ball of nerves when this call came, but a sense of calm and rightness had washed over him. “Drive carefully. Love you.”

“Love you too,” Kelsey said before disconnecting the call.

Sawyer tossed his phone onto the bed and reached for his jeans. Royce still hadn’t moved by the time he’d pulled them on. Sawyer clapped his hands loudly and gave his best Cher impersonation when he said, “Snap out of it.”

Royce blinked and looked around the room for a second before his gaze landed on Sawyer again. His eyes were as wide as saucers when he whispered, “We’re having a baby.”