Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 25003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
“Hey, hold up, I can’t waddle that fast,” Jill says. I giggle.
“We were just going to warm up the car.”
“Yeah with body heat.”
“Well, if you got there first, you’d do it too.”
“Touche.”
“I don’t want this night to end,” I answer with a yawn.
“Okay, my Celestial beauty,” he says, kissing my cheek as he tucks me into the backseat and buckles my seatbelt.
Suddenly I open my eyes to bright sunlight. I look around and see the top of Lennox’s head as he whispers to my belly. Sensing me awake, straightens up and leans on his elbow. “Merry Christmas, my love.”
“Oh my goodness. Did I sleep through the whole night?” I ask.
“Yes, you did. Drool and all,” he says, wiping at my cheek.
“Oh no.” I grab at his hand, stopping him, and then check my face with my own hand.
“I’m teasing. Well only a little, but it’s absolutely adorable.” I shove him slightly and try to get out of the bed, but he pulls me backward and into his arms, pinning me down. His hazel eyes stare deeply into mine and my heart beats erratically. “I love you, Celeste and I love waking up next to you every single day.”
“I love you so much. I’m so glad you didn’t give up on me.”
“Never.”
“Merry Christmas, Lennox.”
A rapid knock on the door. “Are you decent?”
“Yes.”
“Merry Christmas,” Jill shouts, coming into the room with Sawyer on her heels.
“Merry Christmas,” Lennox and I cheer together.
Jill’s face changes and light pop sounds through the air. “Uh oh.” Suddenly my bedroom floor is getting soaked. “The bathroom is right there.”
“I’ll get the SUV warmed up and her bags ready.”
“I’m not due for another two weeks,” she groans.
“It happens when it happens, babe,” Sawyer says as he carries her to the bathroom. “Celeste, can you bring her a change of clothes that aren’t drenched?”
“Sure.” Lennox lifts me over the puddle so I can go get her clothes. I head to their bedroom and grab a set and bring them in. She’s crying because she’s ruining Christmas.
“Jill, you got to be kidding me. This isn’t ruining Christmas. We’re having a niece on Christmas. She’s a pretty little gem on this holiday.” I gave her a hug. I don’t know if she’s going to go into labor fast or if she’s going to last all day, but we need to get her to the hospital down the road.
“I called the hospital and they said they’re preparing for her arrival now.”
“We need to get moving.” Sawyer carries her down the stairs. Lennox had towels spread out, cleaning up the mess while I was in the bathroom with Jill and Sawyer, so the fluid is off my floor, but it’s going to need a good cleaning.
“I’ll have that taken care of,” Sawyer says.
“Don’t worry about that, bro,” Lennox says. “I can’t wait to meet my niece.”
Sawyer holds his wife in the backseat while Lennox drives and I sit in the passenger seat.
“We’re not far from the hospital. Just breathe, Jilly bean,” Sawyer says, kissing her forehead. It’s so cute. I worry and Lennox can see the panic on my face, so he takes my hand and kisses it, mouthing, it’s going to be okay.
I nod. I’m not worried about me. Her contractions are extremely close. Yesterday, I knew she was hiding something and it wasn’t just fatigue. She was starting to feel the labor pains.
We were pulling up to the doors at Holly Hills Hospital when two nurses came out with a wheelchair. Sawyer carries Jill to it and sets her down. “Her contractions are about two minutes apart.”
“Oh, we’re going to be having a Christmas baby.”
“How far along are you?”
“Thirty-eight weeks.”
“Good, so we should have some healthy lungs. Okay.”
“We’ll be in with you two in just a minute.”
“Sir, we have valet,” the nurse says. I see the young man out there. It sucks that they all are working on Christmas, so I pulled out my purse which I grabbed on the way out and snagged a hundred-dollar bill and handed it to him. Lennox smiles.
“Oh, okay.” Lennox grabs the two bags from the car, drops off the keys, and then takes my hand. “Thank you.” We headed inside, following them into the room.
“Excuse me, but you’re going to have to step out. Mrs. Masterson is ready to push.”
“What?”
Jill screams the next second and Sawyer pales but is by his wife’s side. “You got this, my sweet Jilly bean.
We make for the exit and head toward the waiting room. “Wow, that was fast as hell.”
“Not as fast as you think.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I don’t think Jill wanted to ruin Christmas.”
“You mean she’s been in labor and has been hiding it?” I nod. “For how long?”
“Since we were shopping. It’s why I pretended to be tired when we were shopping. I wasn’t exhausted, but I could tell she wasn’t doing so well.”