Page 230 of Labor of Love

Josh nodded. “If we have a boy, I want to name him Char Coryi, Jr.”

“Oh, no! I hate my name!”

“Why? It’s a great name!”

“It’s too close to charbroiled. Charcoal. And it’s short for…Charlemagne.”

“Charlemagne?” Josh laughed so hard he had to hold his stomach. “I didn’t know that!”

“Well, it’s true. So…maybe Neil?”

“Why Neil?”

“After Armstrong. Because you’re my moon, and these babies will be my stars.”

Josh sucked in a breath. “Oh, that’s so beautiful! Corny, but beautiful. I love you, Charlemagne Coryi.”

“Never let that name be uttered by those beautiful lips again,” I chided. “I’m just Char. And are we agreed? The first boy, if we have one, will be Neil.”

“Agreed. What if we have all girls?”

“Then we’re going to need a butt ton of help when they start puberty, because I know next to nothing about girls’ needs.”

Josh laughed. “I think we have some years to worry about that yet. How about Abigail? I always liked that name.”

“I always like Rose. Abigail Rose?”

“That’s lovely. Abigail Rose it is.”

There was a knock at the door, and Dr. Melville slipped inside the room again. “Well, have we come up with an answer for me?”

“Yes! We’d like to know, please.”

“Okay. The first is a bit of a surprise. We knew there were two babies, but surprise! One was hiding behind the siblings.”

“Three! How will I feed three? I only have two arms!” Josh cried.

“You have my two as well. That makes four — an arm for each baby, plus an extra,” I said, and laughed. “Triplets! That’s so freaking awesome!”

“Actually, two are identical twins, the other is a single,” Dr. Melville said.

I grinned. “For the million-dollar question, doctor… What are they?”

“Two leopards and one panther shifter, from the looks of things on the ultrasound,” Dr. Melville said.

“And the sex of the babies?” Josh asked.

Dr. Melville grinned. “The leopards are a boy and a girl. The panther is a boy.”

“That’s so freaking awesome!” I exclaimed. “Two princes and a princess!”

“Neil is the first boy, and Abigail Rose is the girl’s name, but what about the third baby boy?”

“How about Josh?” I asked. I lifted Josh’s hand and placed a gentle kiss on his knuckles.

“Really? You think? Maybe Joshua?”

“Joshua, it is. Neil, Abigail Rose, and Joshua.” I rubbed Josh’s belly. “Daddy can’t wait to meet you.”

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