Page 107 of Breakaway Daddies

Because then another contraction hits, sharp and immediate and very rude, and I lurch forward with a fresh, ragged scream.

“Oh my god,” I pant. “There’s another one.”

“Yep,” Nina says, already rolling up her sleeves again. “Let’s go, Mama. Baby number two is not waiting.”

Rowan jumps like someone lit a fire under him. “Wait, wait, already?”

Thomas throws a towel over his shoulder and starts pacing. “Right, right, twins. I forgot. I forgot there were two. Shit.”

“Deep breaths, guys,” Ally says with a shaky laugh even as she clutches the first baby to her chest, keeping her warm while I bear down again.

This one feels different. Harder. Sharper. Not that the first was easy, but this one has intent. Like this baby is determined to enter the world with a flair for drama.

“I swear,” I growl through gritted teeth, “if this one comes out jazz hands first?—”

“You’re almost there,” Nina says. “One more push. You’ve got this, Jinx. Let’s meet your other baby.”

I scream again, raw and open, and then, another rush, another swirl of motion, water, breath, sound, and then…

A second cry.

Louder. Throatier. More indignant, like “how dare you make me wait.”

Bruno lets out a shaky laugh, Thomas covers his mouth like he’s afraid to speak, and Rowan nearly slips on the floor trying to get a better look.

“It’s a boy,” Nina announces, triumphant and breathless. “You’ve got a boy.”

They place him in my arms next to his sister, both squirmy and pink and loud, and I can’t stop crying. I’m shaking and exhausted and drenched in sweat, and I’ve never felt so powerful, so broken open, so full of love, I might actually combust.

“Hi,” I whisper to them. “Hi, my babies.”

Rowan’s crouched beside me, eyes wide and shining. “They’re perfect.”

Thomas wipes his face with his sleeve. “They look like angry raisins.”

“They look like miracles,” Bruno corrects, chest heaving with emotion.

“They can be both,” I mumble, grinning weakly. “Multitalented.”

Nina and Ally are already checking vitals, moving around with efficiency and care, but I barely notice. My whole world is in my arms.

My daughter. My son.

We did it.

I did it.

And I’ve never been prouder in my life.

Bruno is the first to speak, his voice hoarse with emotion. “Dievca a chlapec.” His face crumples with awe, and he laughs, a soft, stunned sound. “We have both. We have both.”

Thomas blinks, then blinks again like he can’t quite trust his eyes. “Wait, like… one of each? That’s, oh my god, we’re collecting the full set!”

I laugh, which quickly turns into a half-sob because I’m still shaking, still overwhelmed, still me… but now, somehow, I’m me with twins.

“A girl and a boy,” Rowan echoes, his voice thick. He looks between the babies like he’s trying to memorize every wrinkle, every squeaky breath. “You made a whole damn line change.”

“That’s not how genetics work,” I murmur.

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