Page 48

“So she’ll take more pictures of your belly, and she’ll know if it’s a boy or a girl?

” Joey asked as we pulled up outside the doctor’s office.

She was still wearing her school uniform, as we had come straight from pickup to make the appointment.

Her hair was in two little Dutch braids, thanks to Jensen, but they were starting to fall apart after a full day at school.

“That’s right, and once we know, we can go to the bakery and get some cupcakes for the daddies.”

Joey nodded enthusiastically. I had told her that once we knew the gender, we would get little cupcakes that had a secret filling that was either pink or blue.

We had wanted to do something to surprise the dads, but we didn’t want to plan anything too extreme.

After all, I was pretty sure Joey wouldn’t be able to keep the secret for longer than a few minutes.

The scan should have already happened, but we had been waiting to hear back regarding Jennifer Lowe.

The internal investigation was still pending, apparently, but my files had been locked up tight, and Jennifer had lost her access to the office.

If she was found to be in the wrong, she would have her access revoked permanently.

It wasn’t until Jensen made the complaint that I learned that she was a part-time receptionist at that particular doctor’s office.

Joey grabbed my hand as we walked into the office.

The receptionist checked us in, and before we even made it to the waiting room, we were being called to see the doctor. The lack of wait was a good thing, because Joey was already jumping around with excitement.

Dr. Benson was just as sweet as last time, ushering me into the exam room with a warm smile. “Hello, Bethany, and who do we have here?” she asked as she noticed Joey.

“I’m Joey!” she declared excitedly. “I’m going to be the one to tell my daddies if the baby is a boy or a girl.”

Dr. Benson didn’t skip a beat. “Well, that’s a big responsibility! I guess we’d better find out. I also need to count all the baby’s fingers and toes.”

Joey listened to the doctor with rapt attention as I got on the exam table and lifted my shirt. Dr. Benson knew that this was my first pregnancy, so she was perfectly tactful when it came to what she was saying to Joey.

“Now, this is going to let me find out if you have a baby brother or a baby sister,” Dr. Benson explained to Joey as she started the sonogram.

She didn’t say anything for a few minutes as she scanned my stomach. Joey and I watched the screen, looking at the little formed baby.

“Okay, Baby looks all healthy, so now I just need to find out if they’re a little boy or a little girl!”

“I want a sister, but a boy would be okay,” Joey said, her tone serious.

Both the doctor and I chuckled at her words.

“I think I can tell,” she said after a moment, turning to Joey. “Now, Joey, do you want me to tell both you and Bethany, or should I tell just you?”

Joey’s eyes shot to me, a mixture of excitement and panic evident. We hadn’t discussed me not knowing the gender.

“If you want to find out by yourself, you can tell the baker which cupcakes to pack, and then I can find out with the daddies,” I told her.

“Really?!” Joey asked excitedly. “Can we do that?”

I nodded.

Dr. Benson smiled. “Okay, Mama, hands over your ears so I can tell this one what kind of sibling she’s got.”

I did as I was told and avoided listening as the doctor leaned down and whispered in Joey’s ear. Once they were done, I wiped the jelly off my stomach and we said our goodbyes before heading straight to the bakery.

Joey was a ball of excitement the entire way there and kept her lips sealed.

I wasn’t planning on being surprised, but now I was looking forward to sharing that with my pack.

“Daddies!” Joey bellowed as she dashed into the kitchen, box of cupcakes in hand. She was moving so fast, I had to follow at a considerably slower pace.

“We’re all here, munchkin.” Jensen laughed as he came out of the living room, finding me. “How did it go?”

“Baby is perfectly healthy, and the doctor told Joey, and Joey alone, the gender.” I smiled.

“So we get to find out together?” Cullen asked from behind me, his sudden appearance making me jump.

I gasped, my hand flying to my chest in an attempt to calm my raging heartbeat. “Jesus! Make louder steps to avoid giving the pregnant woman a heart attack, please!”

The corner of his mouth cocked up in a grin. “Noted. I’ll be more aggressive in my walking endeavors.”

“Now, let’s go find out what I have cooking in here,” I said, resting a hand on my stomach as I went to go find Joey. “Your child has the cupcakes at the ready.”

Gideon wandered out of the office. “I thought I heard the excitement of a future big sister,” he said, pulling me in for a quick hug.

“Yep, she’s enthusiastic for sure. I think?—”

“Daddies! Bethany! Come on!” Joey squawked from the kitchen.

A giggle escaped me as Gideon looked toward the kitchen in surprise. “I think we’d better not make her wait.”

I shrugged. “It’s your DNA to blame. I need a bit more time before I can claim to be a bad influence.”

Jensen chuckled and lightly pushed me toward the kitchen.

Joey was sitting at the breakfast bar, five vanilla cupcakes lined up perfectly. The grin on her face was infectious.

“You guys, line up and get your cupcakes!” she instructed. “We all have to bite together!”

Everyone nodded and did as they were told. I stood between Cullen and Jensen as Gideon went to stand next to Joey, cupcake in hand.

“When do we bite?” Jensen asked, directing his question to Joey, as she was leading this little adventure.

“I’ll count to three. Then we bite,” Joey explained seriously.

The tone of her voice made me think that she and one of the dads had debated the whole on three or after three debacle when it came to counting.

“I’m ready!” Cullen said, holding up his cupcake.

Joey counted down, and as soon as the word “three” escaped her, we all took a bite.

Colors aside, the cupcakes were delicious. For a moment, I considered taking a second bite before looking at the colored frosting in the center.

Not that I needed to. I was a slower biter than the guys, and Jensen had managed to break his cupcake in half in seconds.

The moment I saw the pink frosting covering his face, I knew.

I was having a little girl.

“A girl!” Cullen shouted, picking me up and swinging me around gleefully.

“I was so excited when the lady told me it was a girl. Girls are the best!” Joey declared.

I was yanked out of Cullen’s arms and into Jensen’s, smothered in his scent—but I wasn’t complaining.

Tears of joy gathered in my eyes.

Gideon beamed at me, shaking his head with a laugh. “We are going to have our hands full!”

A daughter.

It was feeling very, very real now.