Gunner pulls me back into his arms as if he can steal me from his own child. Link jumps on the bed. “Can we go? I wanna go!”
“Link, honey,” I say gently, “Is Daddy Roman in the kitchen?”
Link pauses and then nods.
“Why don’t you go help him with breakfast? If you eat and get ready, we’ll go,” I hum.
He hurries out of the room and Gunner strokes down my back. “You’re hopeless with them.”
“They deserve to have the world, just like you four give to me. I pat Gunner’s chest. “We can have a very fun morning tomorrow.”
He wiggles his eyebrows at me. “Are you going to sneak into my room and take advantage, sweets?”
“I just might. You’re so tempting.”
He kisses me softly and then pulls me out of bed. He swats my ass. “Then you better get ready.”
I walk into the bathroom and feel a wave of something pass over me. I blink a few times. Looking at my phone calendar, I realize I’m late. Really late. The kind of late that I would have seen a doctor about two kids ago.
Reaching into my medicine cabinet, I grab a pregnancy test. I stare at it for a long moment while nibbling my bottom lip. I slowly shut the door and take a deep breath. Roman and I have been trying for months.
The trying has been fun, and he’s been getting more and more adventurous, has never hesitated to be rough with me like we both love, and gets me so swept up in the passion that I forget the whole world.
But I’ve felt the pressure too. Not that Roman ever puts it on me. I just really want to give him a baby. I want to giveusa baby. I take a deep breath and take the test. I pace in the bathroom with my phone ringing.
Valerie picks up all groggy. “Valerie Volkov.”
“I’m waiting on test results,” I say immediately. “So hi, how are you?”
“Feeling weird again?” Valerie asks. There’s a pause and a rustle. “Hold on, Hunt. No, behave for five minutes.”
Her husband grumbles something in the background. Valerie sighs. “I swear, he thinks he gets no attention at all.”
“Sophie, Valerie’s neglecting me,” He says. “Don’t help her.”
I roll my eyes. Hunter is a very physical person. I learned that on our last vacation together. Keeping his hands off Valerie is next to impossible and ifanyoneeyes her too long, he gets protective and eager to prove that she’s off-limits. Well, everyone except her two other husbands.
“I hate the waiting,” I murmur. “I just want it to be positive, but I keep getting more and more nervous.”
“I know, babe.” Valerie sounds a little more awake. “On the bright side, that means you get to keep having sex with your hunk of a husband.”
“That’s true.” He does get extra ... primal and intense when he’s trying for a baby.
“So there’s a bright side. Of course, I’m sure all four of your men are going to be all over you no matter what. I remember what it was like when you were pregnant with Cora.”
“Yeah.” I laugh. “I was just as bad.”
“Oh, I know.” Valerie sighs. “How are my godkids?”
“Great. Eager for Halloween. We didn’t go trick-or-treating last year because Cora was so sick, and Link has been hearing about it at school, so he’s absolutely thrilled.”
“I bet. And I’m sure your mom can’t wait to dress him up.”
She keeps distracting me until my phone alarm goes off. I silence it and then slowly sneak up on the pregnancy test. I’m almost worried I’ll scare it into being negative by being overeager.
Valerie takes a deep breath with me. “No matter what, I can be there in less than twenty-four hours.”
“I love you,” I say. I pick up the test with my eyes shut, then open one. I stare at the word printed there, then open my other eye. I can feel myself tearing up and then I laugh.