Page 76 of Keeping Promises

Girlfriend.After everything we went through, hearing those words from his lips brings life back into me. He never corrects himself to say just “baby mama,” so there’s hope at that moment for us.

The nurse rises and smiles. “Well, that seems like the perfect place to happen. What do you say we get you into a room and checked in.”

“I did all the preregistration papers, but I don’t have anything with me. I was here with someone else, and ahh—” Another contraction hits, and I curl over, clutching my stomach.

“Okay, Dad, I’m going to have you wheel us into room five over here, and then we can get you working on the paperwork while we get her all set up.” The nurse comes around, leading us toward the room. “I’m Bonnie, the nurse on call. What’s your name, dear?”

“Hadley. Hadley Kincaid. And this is Asher.”

She gives a soft smile, and she grabs a gown and blanket from the cabinet.

“Do you know how far apart her contractions are?”

I nibble my bottom lip. Damnit, why wasn’t I paying attention?

“It was about seven minutes between the first one and this one,” Asher chimes in from where he stands.What?I can’t believe he was timing them. I didn’t even ask him to do so.

“Wow, that came on pretty fast. Is this your first child? Have you been feeling okay all day?” Bonnie asks as she helps me up out of the chair to a standing position. Asher quickly rushes to my side and takes my other hand, helping me stay stable.

“Umm, I don’t know. I’ve been stressed a lot lately.” Guilt fills me, knowing that it was stress brought on because I’m stubborn and wouldn’t believe Asher. “And this morning, I was finishing up a client’s haircut when she started with pain in her chest, so we called an ambulance, and I rode with her here. My life is a mess right now, and I just thought it was more of those fake contractions, cramps, or a stomachache and constantly ignored the pain.” I ramble on and begin crying.

“That’s okay, sweetheart. What matters is that you’re here now. Let’s get you changed and hooked up to the monitors so we can check in on the baby and see how close we are to meeting—”

“Her. It’s a girl.” We haven’t even decided on her name. I had an idea but haven’t had a chance to even talk about it to Asher yet. Our baby is going to be born without a name.

“Well, an early congrats to you both.”

“I’ll wait outside,” Asher says softly and presses a kiss to my temple.

He quickly disappears from the room, leaving Bonnie and me alone. She helps me change out of my clothes. Once I’m set up in bed, hooked up to the monitors, there is a soft knock on the door.

“Come on in.”

Asher enters the room and looks around, taking in his surroundings.

“Hey.”

“Well, don’t just stand there, Dad, come on in,” Bonnie teases when he doesn’t move from the doorway. “She doesn’t bite… or maybe she does.” Bonnie winks as a way to help alleviate the tension.

Asher lets out an awkward laugh as he meets my gaze, and I smile.

“Hadley, I’ll be right back with the on-call doctor, okay?” I nod as Asher takes a seat next to me.

“I called Ben while I was waiting and told him your water broke. He said that they would swing by the salon and grab your stuff. They will also grab your hospital bag from the apartment. If you want Lexi or Brynn here, I can call them back, and Ben can go alone. I’m sure you’d want them here with you.” I can feel the nerves radiating off him. I guess we never got a chance to finish our earlier conversation where I should have admitted that I was stupid and should have given him the benefit of the doubt from the beginning.

When I reach for his hand, the surge that goes through my body is almost as strong as these contractions.

I shake my head. The man who was so adamant in talking it out earlier is nervous and unsure of himself. “No, stay with me. I want you in the room. Only you.”

“What are you saying, Hadley? I don’t want to be a dick, but after everything we’ve been through, I need you to spell it out.”

“It means—” I flip my hand over and lace our fingers together. Fuck, I have missed Asher’s touch. “—I’m sorry.”

Just as the words leave my lips, his are on mine in a kiss that I feel over the labor pains. His hands are threaded through my hair as he explores my mouth. I’m surprised the heart rate monitor isn’t going crazy as my heart beats loudly for this man; hell, it beats only for this man.

* * *

Two hours later, our daughter’s first cries ring out in the room as she enters this world.Phew, she has a robust set of lungs on her—must get that from her mama.

---