Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
“You’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever met,” he whispered, his mouth close to mine. “I want you to know how proud I am of you. Really.”
I smiled. “Thank you. That means a lot.”
He kissed me again, his lips a treasure trove of sensual delight.
I loved the way Boone kissed me. Sexy and sweet and delicious.
His hands traveled up my back, skimming beneath my T-shirt until he reached my bra. He unhooked it in one fluid motion and then broke the kiss long enough to pull both the shirt and bra over my head.
“That’s what I’ve been waiting for,” he murmured, dipping his head and sucking one nipple into his mouth.
“Me too,” I breathed. He would alternate between biting and kissing, licking and sucking, pulling and nuzzling. It was exquisite torture that I’d recently learned was one of my favorite things.
I was getting addicted to his touch.
Somewhere in the house, his phone rang.
“Do you need to get that?” I asked.
“Nope.”
He moved to the other breast, grabbing me by the ass and lifting me up so I could wrap my legs around his waist and my breasts were almost level with his mouth.
His phone started to ring again and he shook his head before I could even ask.
Then my phone started to buzz.
“Boone…” I tugged at his hair. “What if it’s Hadley?”
He groaned.
“Talk about a cockblock,” he muttered. He set me down and stalked across the room while I dug my phone out of my purse.
It wasn’t Hadley who’d called me, but Sheridan, which was odd.
“Hey, man,” I heard Boone saying as he came back in the room. “What’s going on? Are the twins okay?”
My head snapped up and he nodded, holding up a finger to indicate I should wait.
“What’s going on?” I whispered.
“No, of course not. We’re on our way. See you in ten!” He disconnected and looked at me. “That was Lars. He and Sheridan are at Wes and Hadley’s. Hadley’s gone into labor.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Boone
“Uncle Poon! My brother is getting borned!” Benny cried as soon as Jolie and I walked through Wes and Hadley’s front door.
“I heard, bro.” I held out my fist and he bumped it. “Pretty exciting.”
“His name is Benny.”
I scrunched my face and said, “Really?”
“No,” Benny’s sister Annalise said, rolling her eyes. “I keep telling you the baby can’t be named Benny.”
Kon and Lucy came in next, and Benny ran over to them and yelled, “My brother is getting borned! Right now!”
“Nice,” Kon said. “You ready to be a big brother?”
“Yeah!”
A baby’s shrill wail made us all look upstairs, where the noise was coming from. Lars was descending the open, curved staircase, looking serious as usual.
“I will stay here with the kids,” he said. “Sheridan has to nurse nonstop, so we can’t leave.”
I went back to the family room, where Joey was watching a movie and eating popcorn.
“Hey, man,” I said, taking a piece of popcorn and popping it into my mouth.
“Hey. Want to watch a movie?”
“I think Jolie and I are going to the hospital to wait for the baby to be born. Do you want to come with us or stay here?”
“Stay here.”
“Okay, I’ll pick you up later.”
“Let’s go!” Nash called as he walked into the room. “Hadley needs me! I’m her birthing coach!”
I laughed at his shit-eating grin.
“Shit, man, that baby won’t ever come out if you’re the one waiting at the other end of the tunnel.”
His girlfriend Sariah laughed as she walked into the room. “Yeah, we’re not expecting or anything, but when the time comes, he’s only going to be allowed in the room if his mouth is taped shut.”
“Good call,” I said.
“Come on.” Nash put his palms up, looking offended. “A little humor is always a good thing. Lightens the mood.”
“Yeah, not when a woman’s in labor.”
“So we’ll take over the waiting room,” Nash said. “But we’re gonna need to order some pizzas or something. I’m starving.” He spotted Joey on the couch and walked over to him, holding out a fist. “What’s up, Joey?”
“Hey, Nash.”
The foyer got louder as more people came in. Jolie tugged on my sleeve.
“Let’s go,” she said. “This could happen quickly.”
“What time is it?” Rory asked from the other side of the waiting room.
“Time stopped around three this morning,” I said.
“It’s 5:46,” Eric Alvarado said.
We’d been in a private waiting room for twelve hours now, empty pizza boxes stacked on a table and phones plugged into outlets to charge. Some people—like Jolie—were sleeping soundly, but most of us were just sitting here. Jolie was curled up on the love seat we sat on, her head in my lap. I’d needed to piss for the last few hours but hadn’t wanted to wake her up.
“You think everything’s okay?” Nash said.
Wes was our team captain. He was our leader. Our voice of reassurance. But he wasn’t there, and several seconds of silence passed as we all waited to see who would step in for him.