Mom stands still with her hand on her hip and a smirk on her lips. “Yeah, I figured.” She gestures at Hunter. “Come with me, young man.”

  She exits into the hallway again. Hunter tenses up.

  “Well, you heard her,” I say. “Go on.”

  He doesn’t move. “So, that’s your mother.”

  “That’s our mother.”

  “She’s a little scary.”

  I laugh. “I think you can take her.”

  “I don’t.”

  I let go of his hand and shove his shoulder. “Go. Don’t worry. She won’t kill you here. Not in front of all these witnesses.”

  He smiles and kisses my forehead before climbing to his feet.

  “Good luck!” Rose says.

  “Thanks, Rose,” he says on his way out.

  John follows him, tall and silent.

  Once they’re gone, Rose rushes to my side. “Tell me, tell me, tell me—” I drop the baseball into her hand and she stops. “What the hell is this?”

  “He proposed to me with a baseball,” I say.

  “He proposed to you with a baseball?”

  I nod. “It was perfect.”

  “With a baseball?” she repeats, turning it over in her fingers. “It’s used.”

  “So?” I snatch it away from her, clenching it like the precious artifact it is and always will be.

  “Aren’t baseballs like a dollar?” she quips. “He couldn’t pick up a new one to propose to the mother of his child with?”

  “It was unique! And personal.” I stare at the ball. “I’m going to cherish this memory for the rest of my life.”

  Rose sticks her nose up. “John’s proposal was unique.”

  I raise a brow. “He banged you on a desk and you two got chased down the block by campus security.”

  “How is that not unique?”

  I laugh. “Okay, fine. But Hunter is letting me pick out my ring.”

  “And John knew me well-enough to pick out one I’d adore forever.” She stares at her finger, sighing with love in her eyes. “I bet Hunter doesn’t even know our middle name.”

  “Oh, please. Don’t tell me you’re not a little jealous.”

  She scoffs. “Of what? You and your obviously last-minute, on-a-whim proposal? Be still, my heart.”

  “That Hunter is hotter than John.”

  Her jaw drops. “Oh, hell no.”

  “Stronger, too.”

  “He is not!”

  “Have you seen Hunter’s biceps? They’re larger than my giant thighs.”

  Rose shakes her head. “John Kirby is a professional football player, Daisy. He’s as ripped as an old sheet.”

  “He’s a running back,” I say. “His job is to run away from the larger players.”

  “Oh, it’s on now,” she says, leaning forward.

  “Is it?”

  “Anyone can jog around a diamond in straight lines,” she says. “It takes a real man to rush one-hundred yards with over two-hundred pounds of pure muscle lunging at him from all sides.”

  I hold up the baseball. “I’m pretty sure if halfback saw this thing flying at his face at ninety miles-per-hour, he’d piss himself.”

  “He would not! He’d catch it.”

  “With his bare hands?”

  “Yes!”

  “I’d like to see him try.”

  “You will! John Kirby could kick Hunter Novak’s ass any day.”

  “It sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself more than me, Rose.”

  She sits back and huffs. “You know what this means, right?” she asks, her brow rising slowly.

  “What?” I ask.

  “Double wedding.”

  I deflate. “No!”

  “Yes!” She bounces in her chair at the idea. “Oh, my god! Yes! Let’s have a twin double wedding!”

  “No.”

  “Yes?”

  “No.”

  “Please?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?” she whines. “Remember when we were kids, and we used to pretend we were the Brady Brides? We always wanted to have a double wedding.”

  I furrow my brow. “I have no recollection of this.”

  “Oh, come on. I was Jan, you were Marsha.”

  “Why were you Jan in your own fantasy dream wedding?”

  “Only hoes wanted to be Marsha, Daisy.”

  “Ah, I see.”

  “You don’t remember this?”

  “Not at all.”

  She exhales loudly. “Fine. But I still think we should do it. Small double ceremony. Close friends and family. Big cake. Eh? Eh?”

  “Cake sounds pretty good right now.” I chew on my lip, feeling Rose’s expectant eyes on me. “I’ll think about it.”

  She grins and sits back with victory on her face.

  I can already see the plans forming in her head, meaning that I’m basically committed to this travesty-in-progress. It actually doesn’t sound too bad, but I’ll let her squirm for a few weeks before caving.

  I glance at the door, growing nervous. “They’ve been gone a long time.”

  “Want me to go check on them?”

  “Yes, please.”

  Rose hops out of her chair, still smiling. “I’ll swing by the morgue first.”

  “Good thinking.” I nod. “And also the cafeteria.”

  “For cake?”

  “Yes.”

  She laughs as she disappears into the hall.

  I lie back, enjoying the quiet. I pick up the baseball, rolling it around my fingers with a smile.

  The baby kicks again. She’s been kicking since the moment Hunter arrived, excited over the sound of his voice.

  “Don’t worry, baby,” I whisper with a smile. “He’s coming back.”

  CHAPTER 37

  HUNTER

  Daisy tightens her grip, practically choking me as I carry her up the stairs. “Please don’t drop me.”

  “I won’t drop you,” I say, flexing my arms. “You’re not even heavy.”

  “You say that now.” She fires a skeptical look. “But we’ve still got weeks to go, Hunter. Day in, day out, lugging me around all day to the bedroom, to the bathroom, to the kitchen—”

  “Daisy.” I pause on the landing. “You’re beautiful.”

  “Shut up.”

  I laugh and move us toward my apartment. Our apartment. “Do you mind unlocking, please?”

  She angles to reach into my pockets and pauses as she touches what’s inside. With a smile, she pulls it out. Her key. Her little baseball keychain.

  “Welcome home, Daisy,” I say.

  She kisses me before unlocking the door.

  “To the bed?” I ask as I walk us inside.

  “Yes, please.”

  I carry her to her bedroom, easily navigating in the dark. Slowly, I lower her down onto the mattress. She flicks on the bedside lamp and glances around the room, her eyes smiling at the sight of it.

  “What do you need?” I ask.

  She laughs. “Way hotter than John Kirby.”

  “Water? Juice? A blanket?” I smirk. “A mind-shattering orgasm?”

  Her head tilts. “I’m pretty sure bed rest means no sex, Hunter.”

  “Well, shit.”

  “My thoughts exactly.”

  “It’s okay. We’ll live.” I kiss her once. Twice. “There are plenty of ways we can be affectionate without it.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Oh, Daisy. Have you forgotten how good I am with my hands?”

  “Maybe. You should remind me.”

  I pull from the kiss and stand up. “Later. Right now, there are arrangements to be made.”

  “Arrangements?”

  I nod. “Laura and I talked it out. You’ll move back in here with me so I can take care of you full time. She’ll take on fewer clients for a while, just in case, but I think we’ll have everything we need here.”

  “L—Laura?” She blinks. “You’re on a first-name basis with my mother now?”

  “I called my parents last night, and they are thrilled. Shocked, but thrilled.”

  “You told your parents?”

  “My mother really wants to meet you.”

  She frowns. “She does?”

  “How about dinner tomorrow night?” I ask, her eyes filling with horror. “She’s a fantastic cook. I’ll have her teach us some recipes. Dr. Jones told me to keep you healthy. Ease up on the takeout. Less sugar, more protein.”

  “Hunter.”

  “They’re only an hour outside of town, so they volunteered to help us with anything we need.”

  “Hunter.”

  I snap my fingers and spin toward the hallway. “Extra pillows and blankets,” I say as I enter my room and yank them off the pullout bed. “You need to be as comfortable as possible. Keep your feet elevated. Sponge baths. I’m personally looking forward to those.”

  “Hunter.”

  I return to Daisy. She’s sitting up with her hand on her stomach and a serious look on her face. “What? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

  “Come here,” she says.

  I fall to my knees by her side. “What’s happening? Should I call 911?”

  She takes my hand and lays it on her belly, sliding my fingertips beneath her shirt and across her skin.

  I feel it move from the other side. One gentle swipe and my heart stops. I forget to breathe. All of my senses except touch dissolve as I feel my baby girl push against my palm.

  “Wow,” I whisper.

  Daisy reaches out and wipes the lone tear off my cheek. “She’s going crazy in there.”

  “Why?” I feel a jolt of panic. “Does it hurt?”

  “No. It’s you.”

  “Me?”

  “She recognizes your voice. She missed you.”

  I lean in closer and brush my lips along her navel. “I missed you, too,” I say. “I’m not going anywhere, baby girl. I promise.”

  Another soft kick strikes my hand and I know she hears me.

  Daisy pulls me up and kisses me. I embrace her, holding on as if my life depended on it.

  Because it does.

  CHAPTER 38

  DAISY

  August

  I moan into the pillow. “Oh, fuck.”

  “There?” Hunter asks.

  “Oh, yeah. Right there. Don’t stop.”

  He chuckles and presses a little harder into my back, massaging deep. My muscles sing from his touch beneath the hospital gown.

  I grip the pillow beneath my head and lean a little more into his hand. Several miserable weeks I’ve laid around on my back and now I’ve suffered through twelve — make that thirteen — hours of labor.

  “Can we skip to the end now, please?”

  Hunter chuckles. “Soon, Daisy.”

  “Now?”

  “Soon.”

  I roll onto my back again to leer at Hunter’s warm fucking smile. “I don’t see how you can grin at me right now,” I say.

  “Because you’re beautiful,” he says.

  “Oh, please.”

  “You are!”

  “You’re a lousy liar.”

  “Hang in there, Daisy,” he says. “You’re doing great.”

  “You know what?” I heave an angry breath. “No. No more of this fake, soft-spoken, supportive fiancé crap. All right?”

  He stands a little taller. “Do you want me to be honest with you?”

  “Yes!”

  “Do you want me to tell you how ugly you look?”

  “… Yes?”

  “And how mean you’re being and how much I hate you right now?”

  “… No.”

  “Then what do you want?”

  “I want this damn baby out of me!”

  “I can’t do that,” he says. “But I can stand here, hold your hand, and say you’re the strongest, most beautiful woman in the universe. Think you can handle that?”

  I pause. “Yeah, I guess that’s okay.”

  He takes my hand and brings it to his lips. “Okay, then.”

  The door opens. Dr. Jones steps inside looking happy and well-rested. What a bitch.

  “Good morning, Daisy,” she says. “I hear you made quite the impression on the hospital staff last night.”

  “They kept giving me ice chips,” I say.

  “Those are for you to chew on. Not to throw at the nurses.”

  “They kept calling me sweetie.”

  She laughs. “Did you get any sleep?” she asks Hunter.

  “And leave the poor nurses defenseless?” he jokes.

  “You’re a true hero, Hunter,” she says, reaching into her coat for a few rubber gloves as she moves down to my ankles. “How far apart are your contractions?”

  “Like all the time,” I say.

  “About twenty minutes,” Hunter corrects.

  “No, seriously, it’s like every twenty seconds.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  I gawk at him. “Whose side are you on here?”

  “The baby’s.”

  I smile at Dr. Jones. “May I have some ice chips, please?”

  She ignores me. “Looks like you’ve dilated three extra centimeters since I checked you last night.”

  “That’s all?” I collapse onto the pillows again, defeated.

  Hunter lays a hand on my shoulder. “Hang in there, Dai—”

  “Stop saying thaaaa—owww!”

  Pain blitzes up my spinal cord. I grab Hunter’s hand, squeezing him so tight that his face turns white.

  “That was a big one,” Dr. Jones says, nodding. “You okay?”

  I hold my breath. “Yes.”

  “Would you like me to give you something for the pain?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “Are you going to be nice to the nurses for the rest of the day?”

  I frown. “Even the ones with cartoons on their scrubs?”

  “Yes. Them, too.”

  Another mild pain rumbles through me, hinting at an incoming clusterfuck of agony. “Yeah, I’ll be nice.”

  “Then, I’ll hook you up.”

  “Thank you, Dr. J.”

  “Back soon.”

  She spins around and walks out.

  “Hey, Daisy.”

  I look into Hunter’s worried eyes. “Yeah?”

  “Can you let go of me now?”

  I release my forgotten, white-knuckle grip on his hand. “Sorry.”

  He takes a step away from me and rubs the life back into his blue fingers.

  I offer an apologetic smile. “Am I still hot?”

  Hunter smiles.

  My phone rings on the bedside table.

  “Is that Rose?” he asks.

  “No.” I read the name, biting my lip. “It’s Trisha. I was supposed to email her to approve a photo spread today, but then my water broke and I forgot. She’s calling to scream at me, I bet.”

  Hunter holds out his hand. “Give it here,” he says. “I’ll talk to her.”

  I hesitate. “Are you sure?”

  He snatches it from my fingers and answers it. “Hello, Trisha,” he greets. “No, you can’t talk to Daisy right now. … Because she’s in labor, so she’ll have to get back to you some other time, okay? … No, I can’t narrow down that window for you.”

  I hold back my laugh, wincing slightly as my core muscles scream from the all-night workout they’ve been getting.

  “These things happen when they happen, Trisha,” he says, his voice growing firmer. “No. I won’t just run home and grab her laptop. Trisha, my fiancée is giving birth to my daughter right now, so she’ll call you back in a few days. Uh-huh. … Deal with it.”

  Hunter hangs up and slides the phone into his back pocket.

  “Wow.” I smile. “I love it when you go all alpha like that.”

  “I don’t know how you deal with her as your boss.”

  “She’s fine in small doses.” I shrug. “You realize that she’s just going to want you even more now that you’ve spoken to her like that, right?”

  “She doesn’t stand a chance against you, Daisy. Never has.”

  “Better not.”

  “Is it happening?”

  Rose rushes into the room. She holds a cardboard carrier with three cups of coffee inside and a fourth clenched in her other hand.

  “No,” Hunter answers, welcoming her in. “It hasn’t happened yet.”

  “You look exhausted, Hunter,” she says, holding out the coffee carrier. “Double espresso. All for you.”

  “Thank you,” he says, sliding a cup free.

  She points at me. “You can’t have any. Sorry.”

  “I’ve got the good stuff coming any minute now,” I say. “I don’t need your overpriced bean therapy.”

  “Good.”

  “What are you doing here?” I ask. “I said no watchers.”

  “I won’t stay the whole time. I’ll be out of here before you’re crowning.” She reaches for my bent knee. “Unless you’re already—”

  I twitch my leg away from her. “Hey!”

  “I wouldn’t,” Hunter warns her. “She’s very sensitive about…”

  “You would be too if your swollen dick was on displaaa—”

  A small contraction grows in my gut. I pause, waiting with tight fists until it passes. Thankfully, it isn’t too bad.

  Rose regards me with nervous eyes. “Oh, you’re really into it, aren’t you?” she says.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Well, I’ll leave in a minute. John’s circling the block. Didn’t want to pay for parking.”

  I scoff. “Cheapskate.”

  “Just wanted to stop in and make sure it was going all right,” she says, lovingly ignoring my comment. “Mom’s in court all day, but she wants updates.”

  “Tell her mother and baby are doing fine,” Hunter says. “The nurses could use a prayer or two, though.”

  Rose chuckles. “I’ll let her know.” She clears her throat. “So, Daisy, now that the baby is coming—”

  “No,” I say.

  “Please!” she begs. “I’m dying to know!”

  “You’ve waited this long. You can wait a few more hours.”

  Rose pouts her bottom lip, but that power doesn’t work on me.

  “Daisy,” Hunter says, his head tilted. What a weakling. “I think it’s time.”

  I sigh, glaring at the two of them. “Fine,” I say.