Page 48 of His to Love
I’d had two contractions on the drive over and now another one was ramping up. I put my hands on either side of my stomach. “Here comes another one.”
Patton pulled out his cell to check the time. “Still twenty minutes apart. Let’s see how long it lasts.”
I counted silently as I took long, slow, deep breaths through the whole thing. “Twenty seconds.”
The nurse nodded. “Good. You two make quite the team.”
“Yes, we do,” I had to agree.
She left us alone and Patton went to get the gown off the bed then came back to me. “Ready or not, here we go.”
“You know, I think this will be okay after all.” I began to feel a lot better about the whole thing. “I think we’re going to be fine.” I meant all of us—as a family. “I’ve just got this very positive feeling right now.”
“Everythingwillbe fine.” He looked at the buttons of my pajama top. “Get rid of the top first. I’ll get this on you, then you can drop the bottoms and your panties. I’ll help you get into the bed after that.”
For some strange reason, I didn’t feel the least bit uncomfortable or shy about having him help me with this. Maybe sleeping together had helped rid me of my insecurities. Whatever it was, I was extremely grateful that I felt calm and relaxed with him.
In no time at all, I was in bed with an IV attached to my arm, a monitor wrapped around my belly, and a host of other lines attached to my chest and tummy. I looked at my hospital ID bracelet.Mrs. Alejandra Nash.
The nurse had put one on Patton too. He had to have one in order to show that he was the father of the baby. He looked at it with such an odd stare. I saw fear, wonder, and above all, I saw pride.
He had every right to have pride in himself for what he’d done so far. “You know that you’re going to be the best father ever, right?”
Looking at me, he just smiled. “I’ll have to be if I’m going to come close to comparing to how amazing a mother you’ll be.”
The door opened and in walked my brother. “I made it.”
“In record time,” Patton said as he went to hug him. “I’m glad you’re here, brother.”
“I’m glad you are too,” Luciano said as he winked at me over Patton’s shoulder. They ended the hug, my brother’s eyes on me. “Patton, do you think you could find me some coffee? I don’t know my way around this place. I don’t think I’d be able to find some and be back in time to see my nephew born.”
“Yeah, I’ll grab you a cup.” He left the room, leaving my brother and me alone.
I had the idea he’d sent Patton on the errand just so he could talk to me in private. As he came and sat on the side of my bed, I knew he wanted to talk about something important. “How are things?”
“Good.” I didn’t know what he was going to say, but I hoped he wouldn’t tell me some nonsense about ending the fake marriage soon. I didn’t want to think about that at all right now.
“I wanted to say that I’ve been wrong.” He closed his eyes as he took my hand. “See, I’ve wanted to see things in a different way than they really are. And I’ve finally realized that what I’ve wanted is wrong.”
I still had no idea what he was getting at. “What have you been wrong about?” I hoped he didn’t mean asking Patton to marry me. Because that had been the rightest thing ever.
“He loves you. I can see that now. And as I’ve told you before, I’ve already seen that you love him. So, I am saying that I’ve been wrong about you two. And whatever you two decide to do, I approve of.” He leaned over, kissed my forehead then sighed. “You’re a grown woman who is smart and able to decide who you want to be with. So, I am leaving it up to you, mi princesa.”
He thinks Patton loves me!
“Thank you.” I tried not to cry but failed. I hadn’t realized that Patton looked at me the way my brother saw. I had been hopeful, I had thought I’d felt our connection growing, but I still had the idea that I was the only one in love. Hearing that my brother saw the same thing in his very best friend in the whole world made me feel ecstatic.
I wasn’t about to try to have the conversation with Patton right here and right then, but at least I knew that when we did have time to discuss the future of us, we had my brother’s blessing.
Though I was overjoyed at the thought of having that conversation, I knew I had other things to focus on at the moment—like giving birth to a healthy baby.
