Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 53717 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53717 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
“Are you okay dressing?” the nurse asked.
“Yes.” Nodding still wasn’t a good idea.
“Then I’ll leave you to it. Buzz when you’re ready to leave. I’ll call for a wheelchair.” At his grimace, she said, “Hospital rules.”
The nurse walked out and Charlotte walked in. Her cheeks were a healthy pink and her eyes bright. No sign of yesterday’s guilt in sight. Trauma? Probably. He was still horrified by the possibility of her being hurt. She’d watched him get hit over the head with steel. Even he winced at that.
“Good morning,” he said.
“Morning to you, too.” He scanned her from head to toe, taking in the fitted shirt, highlighting the slight bump of her belly, and leggings.
A swell of pride and excitement filled him at the thought of seeing her getting large with his child. Because it was Charlotte he was having this baby with. He’d spent the morning making plans in his head. Plans he wasn’t ready to share with her.
“You’re here early,” he noted.
She nodded. “Your father told me you were being released today, so I’m here to take you home.”
He liked the take-charge tone she’d acquired between last night and this morning. “Then I should get dressed.”
She strode to the closet in the corner of the room, opened the door, and pulled out a bag with his clothes, placing them on the bed. “I brought you a button-down shirt to wear so you don’t need to try and pull something over your sore head.”
He lifted his gaze. “Where did you sleep last night?” He’d assumed she went back to her apartment.
“Your bed.” She dug into her large bag and pulled out one of his shirts, laying it on the hospital mattress. She leaned in close. “So I could smell your pillow all night.”
He stared at her, stunned. “Who are you and what have you done with Charlotte?”
She leaned in and pressed her lips to his, then raised her head. “That was Charlie. Charlie was uncertain and afraid of her feelings and lacked the ability to trust. I’m Charlotte. And she almost lost you last night and all her insecurities became clear. And silly in light of life and death.”
So that accounted for the change in her, making him wonder what else she had in store for him.
He called for the wheelchair and suffered the trip to the Uber downstairs. Together they rode in comfortable silence to his apartment building, him wincing at the potholes on the street. Once they arrived, they took the elevator to the penthouse.
“I know you must be in pain, and I swear this will only take a few minutes and I’ll herd them back downstairs to Noah and Fallon at my place. But I couldn’t talk them out of it,” Charlotte said, just before the elevator doors opened.
“Welcome home, Daddy Jared!” the twins yelled with homemade welcome home signs in their hands.
They were a little loud for his concussed head, but he didn’t care. Nor did he care that they still meant daddy in reference to his and Charlotte’s baby. Over time he was going to let them find their own name for him. Knowing how he felt about Charlotte and all three girls, he absolutely knew what he wanted.
The twins? They were his and Charlotte’s as much as they were Noah and Fallon’s.
This woman wasn’t going anywhere and he had a hunch she finally knew it.
Epilogue
Two weeks later, staples out of Jared’s head, life was looking up. The bastards who’d caused his injury had pleaded guilty, sparing him and Charlotte the ordeal of testifying at the trial. As for her brother, he’d turned on the other two and though he’d do time, it was everyone’s hope, including Jared’s, that he’d get clean. And this time stay that way.
Today, however, was a special day. Jared stood beside Charlotte as Dr. Messing, who they’d decided to use as her obstetrician, ran the wand over Charlotte’s extended belly. There was a definite shift in her slender frame and the baby bump brought him sheer joy. He loved putting a hand over her stomach and though he hadn’t felt the baby move, there were still a few more weeks for that, she’d felt internal flutters.
He was the typical first-time father, hovering, doting, and loving every minute. Jared had to limit his hours at the office due to the severe concussion and Brooke had taken over the brunt of the work. It wasn’t fair but she was relying on another VP and swore things were running smoothly. Jared managed a few hours a day but he’d given in to the dizziness when it hit because the doctor said he’d heal faster if he did. Either way, he needed Aiden to get back to the States soon to help pick up the slack.
“Do you still want to know the sex?” Dr. Messing asked, bringing Jared’s focus back to where it belonged.