Page 45 of A New Chapter in Rosewood Beach

“Mine is inside a plastic bag,” he said. “I should have brought one for you.”

She burst out laughing. “Oh, Terrence. You’re a marvel. And so is this bag of mine—it kept my phone dry during all of that.”

“Thank goodness.”

They were nearly to their cars before Terrence spoke again. “I’ll come with you,” he panted. “I’ll drive. That way, you can call whoever you need to on the way.”

“Oh, thank you! Do you think we should…” She slowed in her jogging and gestured to their sopping wet clothes.

Terrence hesitated for a moment and then shook his head. “Let’s not bother,” he said. “We can go straight to the hospital.”

Vivian started laughing and she didn’t stop until they were inside Terrence’s car. He didn’t have to ask her why.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Vivian kept her hands clasped tightly in her lap as Terrence drove toward the hospital. She’d just gotten off the phone with Julia, who assured her that Alexis was doing great, but that she was still in labor. Grayson was the only one with her besides the doctors, and everyone else was waiting in the waiting room. She glanced over at Terrence with a smile and noticed that he was driving exactly five miles per hour over the speed limit. She wondered if he had ever driven that fast before in his life.

“Almost there,” Terrence assured her, even though the GPS in his car was showing the exact time of their ETA. “Just hang tight.”

“I will.” She inhaled, smiling at him. “I’m so jittery, but it’s all good jitters.”

Her mind had been in a whirl ever since their kiss. When she’d been making her way toward the beach earlier that night, she’d wondered if Terrence was going to kiss her on their date, but in the moment it happened it had seemed like the most wonderful surprise.

He smiled back at her, and she thought to himself that he looked handsome despite how bedraggled he was. She noticed a tendril of seaweed behind his ear and began to giggle.

“What is it?” he asked her.

“There’s, um—may I?” She reached over and gingerly pulled the seaweed from behind his ear.

“Oh, look,” he said in a deadpan tone. “An eel.”

She laughed even harder as she rolled down the window and flung the seaweed out onto the highway. “I feel like an eel right now. All slimy and wet and cold.”

“You don’t look like an eel,” he assured her, his eyes twinkling.

“What, not even in this long dress?”

“Not even a little bit.”

A few minutes later, Terrence pulled into the parking lot of the hospital. Thankfully, there was an open parking spot very close to the front doors of the labor and delivery unit, and Terrence took it. He and Vivian practically scrambled out of the car and then began to jog across the parking lot toward the entrance.

“It’s a good thing we’ve been getting so much exercise, huh?” Vivian teased, her voice a little breathless as she jogged.

“Indeed,” Terrence panted. “I’m pleased to find that I can jog for longer than I’d expected—although I’m guessing that the adrenaline has something to do with that.”

A few moments later, they spilled inside the hospital. The receptionist sitting behind the front desk blinked at them, clearly surprised by their appearance, but Vivian felt too eager to find her family to be embarrassed by the fact that she looked damp and disheveled.

“Which way to the waiting room?” she asked. “For delivery?”

“Down the hall to your left,” the receptionist said. She looked as though she was about to blurt out, “What happened to you?” but Vivian and Terrence started making a beeline toward the waiting room before she got the chance.

“Thank you!” Vivian called over her shoulder as they hurried away. Beside her, Terrence was panting a little, but he looked nearly as excited as she felt.

Oh, I’m on pins and needles,she thought, feeling a ripple of expectation go through her.I wish I could be in the room with Alexis. I wonder how she’s doing.

Giving birth was no small feat, but she felt sure that her daughter would be able to handle it beautifully. Underneath Alexis’s silly, vivacious spirit and polished appearance, she had grit and courage.

She and Terrence entered the waiting room, where her family members were either sitting in a circle working on various activities or pacing back and forth.

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