“One more time, honey,” Evan said next to me. I must have cut off the circulation to his hand with how hard I was squeezing, but he didn’t complain once.
I went through the process a third time, and finally, the babies were born. They took the children to the station behind Dr. Monroe to weigh and measure them while Dr. Monroe helped me take care of the afterbirth. When it was all over, she smiled.
“Congratulations, you two,” she said with a big grin. “Two healthy baby girls, and a baby boy.”
Tears streamed down my cheeks. I couldn’t help it. Evan hugged and kissed me, and he looked like he was going to cry, too. But he bit back the emotions. A man like Evan didn’t cry. A man like Evan was bigger than anything that came his way. But God, he was damn close to breaking that wall down and being a blubbering mess, just like me.
They cleaned me up, unhitched my legs from the stirrups that held them open, and pulled a blanket over my legs. They brought our babies to us. It was hard holding all three of them. Evan held the little boy. A moment later, Lily came in.
She looked emotional, too. “Let me help,” she said. “It looks like you need an extra pair of arms.”
I laughed and nodded, handing her one of the babies.
“Oh, my God, Scar, they’re beautiful,” Lily said, looking down at them.
They really were beautiful. I looked at Evan who was beaming down at the boy he was holding. He had wanted a son from the start, and now, his dream had come true. We had gotten three times what we’d bargained for at first, but looking at them now, it had all been worth it–the difficult pregnancy because of how big I’d been, how little space had been left for my organs after the babies had taken up all the space, and the labor I’d had to endure.
Everything had been worth it now that I looked at their perfect little faces and their delicate, perfect fingers. I had never thought that motherhood would be this overwhelming. To think that I–we–had created this was almost impossible.
“Have you thought about names?” Lily asked me.
I glanced at Evan. We’d spoken about it.
“We were thinking of keeping the flower streak going that your mother had started,” I said. “We’ll name the two girls Rose and Jasmin.”
Lily smiled. She hadn’t known her mother–Clara had died before Lily had been able to remember her–but I knew it meant something to her.
“And the boy?” she asked softly.
“Evan, Jr.,” Evan said with a grin.
Lily laughed. “That’s perfect,” she said, looking down at the baby in her arms.
“That’s baby Rose,” I said to her, and she stroked a finger along the cheek of the sleeping baby.
“Rose,” Lily said. “I have three little siblings now.”
Evan got up and put Evan Jr. in one of the basinets the nurses had provided for the babies.
“We’re going to be a great family, princess,” he said, kissing me. I nodded, smiling. We were doing so well now. “Which is why I want you to be a permanent part of it.”
I frowned at him. “I thought I was?”
Evan nodded. “You are, but…”
He kneeled next to the bed, and Lily and I gasped at the same time.
“When I’d started out with this idea, I didn’t want a wife. I wanted children without all the complications of falling in love, marrying, and suffering heartache again. I hadn’t bargained on you walking through that door the first day, but I’m so glad it was you. Scarlett, my princess, mother of at least seventy-five perfect of my children, will you be my queen? Will you marry me?”
I was crying again.
“Oh, my God, Evan,” I said through my tears. “Yes.”
He dug in his pocket and produced a ring. He’d planned this. I’d thought it was an impulse thing. Evan opened the box and produced a ring with a diamond bigger than anything I’d seen before. I was getting used to living a life of luxury and riches–I’d been a part of Evan’s life for a while now–but I still wasn’t used to this much money and being showered with this much love. Expensive love.
Evan took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto my finger. I held up my hand and looked at it.
Evan stood up and kissed me again.