Page 109 of Cinderella and the Daddy

"So excited! Can I come to the hospital? Please?"

"Of course you can come. Remember, Tony is going to take you. You’ll stay with him in the special room."

Luka returns with my bag and what appears to be half the contents of our bedroom. "I grabbed the bag and some extra clothes and your pillow and those socks you like and?—"

"Luka." I catch his hand as another contraction starts building. "We have time. First babies take hours. I'm not going to give birth in the hallway."

He doesn't look convinced, especially when I have to stop talking to breathe through the pain. By the time it passes, Grigori has appeared in the doorway, car keys in hand and the same expression of grim determination he wore the day he carried us to safety during the attack.

He’s been my constant shadow so much that I consider him more of a friend than a bodyguard. He says he owes me his life.

I have tried to explain that he saved my life. We’re even.

He disagrees.

"Car's ready, boss," he reports. "Hospital's been notified."

The next few minutes are a controlled chaos of gathering last-minute items and getting everyone to the car. Luka hovers beside me like I'm made of glass, one hand on my elbow, theother on my back, guiding me toward the front entrance with exaggerated care.

"I can walk," I remind him as another contraction hits halfway to the car.

"Just let me help," he says. Something in his voice makes me look up at him. Beneath all the panic and overprotectiveness, I see something else: wonder. Fear. Pure, overwhelming love.

This strong, dangerous man who commands respect from everyone around him is terrified because the most important thing in his world is about to change forever. And there's nothing he can control about it.

I squeeze his hand as the pain subsides. "We're going to be okay. All of us."

He nods, but I can see he won't really believe it until he's holding our daughter in his arms.

Leo and Tony load up into the SUV behind us. Although there have been no attacks since that night at the warehouse, there is always the threat of danger. Behind Tony is another SUV full of bodyguards. We have gone over the plan several times. There will be guards outside my delivery room and the hospital.

I’m trying to stay calm while Luka alternates between barking directions at Grigori—who definitely knows how to get to the hospital without GPS guidance—and asking me approximately every thirty seconds if I'm okay.

"Four minutes apart now," I report after another wave passes.

"Four minutes?" Luka twists around in the passenger seat to stare at me. "That's faster, right? That means we need to go faster."

"Luka, I love you, but you need to calm down before you give yourself a heart attack."

Grigori snorts. Luka levels him with a deadly glare.

The hospital staff is waiting for us—Luka's phone calls apparently carried some weight—and within minutes, I'm settled in a labor and delivery room that's nicer than most hotel suites. Leo has claimed the visitor's chair by the window, and Grigori has positioned himself by the door like a sentinel.

"Sir," one of the nurses says gently to Grigori, "family only in the delivery room."

"He is family," Luka says before Grigori can respond. "He stays. For now."

The nurse doesn't argue. Something about Luka's tone suggests this isn't a negotiation.

The doctor arrives twenty minutes later, all smiles and professional competence. "So, we're having a baby today after all," she says, washing her hands at the sink. "Let's see how we're progressing."

The examination confirms what I already suspected: I'm definitely in active labor, and our daughter is eager to make her appearance. What I don't expect is how quickly things move from there.

"Oh," I gasp as the strongest contraction yet grips me like a vise. "That was different."

"Cindy, honey, I need you to listen to me. This baby is coming fast. We're going to have you start pushing with the next contraction."

"What?" Luka goes pale. "But she just got here. Aren't first babies supposed to take forever?"