Page 97 of Her Silver Fox Firefighters
At the same time, the nurses rush over with the gurney, Chloe giggling while she takes out her phone to photograph every second of this miracle.
“Smile, mommy-to-be,” she says as she snaps a few candid shots from a couple feet away.
“I am the luckiest girl in the world,” I say again.
“You totally are,” Chloe agrees, snapping more photos.
Dax plants a kiss on my temple. “We’re the lucky ones, baby. We’re definitely the lucky ones.”
They’re perfect.
I’m exhausted and can barely keep my eyes open, but I can still see them, swaddled and cleaned up, sleeping right next to my bed.
“My God, they are works of art,” Dax sighs as he can’t take his eyes off them.
It’s his turn to fawn. Beck hogged our twins for the better part of the last ten minutes. Leo called first dibs and is sitting beside me now, smiling with pure content as he caresses my temples.
“A boy and a girl,” I say, my voice weak and a little raspy from all the screaming. “At least we won’t have any issues telling them apart.”
“And we don’t have to bother with matching outfits,” Dax chuckles.
“Honestly, as cute as the idea sounds, I wasn’t really into it, anyway,” I reply with a tired smile.
“They look happy,” Dax adds, beaming with pride and endless love as he looks at me. “And you look gorgeous, Olivia.”
“Gorgeous,” I chuckle. “Not the word I would’ve chosen, but I’ll take it.”
“Motherhood suits you,” Leo says and kisses my forehead. “You handled it like a champ, baby.”
“I did, didn’t I?”
“Even Dr. Kravitz was astonished,” Beck quips. “She was particularly amazed by the diversity of all the profanities you used during the final minutes ofyour labor.”
“I thought I heard her say something about colorful language,” I giggle.
“Actually, she said that what was coming out of your mouth would’ve made dockworkers blush like teenage girls,” Beck corrects me.
We all laugh.
I glance over at my babies again. Our son is wrapped in pale blue, his tiny hands tucked beneath his chin, his perfect little nose pointed up to the ceiling. Our daughter moves her lips and frowns ever so slightly, a pink burrito with a tuft of black hair on the top of her little round head.
Tears trickle from the corners of my eyes again. “They’re so beautiful.”
“And they came so fast,” Dax says, eager to lighten the mood even more. “Carlos contemplated giving them a speeding ticket.”
I laugh and ask, “Are Carlos and Chloe still out in the waiting room?” A deep sleep threatens to embrace me and pull me into the depths of my subconscious, but I want to stay awake for a little while longer. I want to spend a few more minutes with my men, with our babies, and with our dear friends.
“Do you really think Chloe would have left?” Beck asks.
“No,” I shake my head. “She’d camp out here all night, if they let her.”
“Exactly,” Dax agrees.
“Anabelle and Anthony,” I say their names out loud as I look at my children.
“Fitting for mini royals,” Dax replies. “Welcome to the world, Anabelle and Anthony. It’s a twisted, difficult, but wonderful place.”
I hope to God they get to experience only the best parts of it. I also know that the four of us will work hard to make sure they have all the tools they need to survive and push through anything that life throws at them. There will be plenty of curveballs, but we’re a strong family.
