the both of us alive.
“Have I told you lately that you look beautiful?”
She smiles and kisses my cheek. “Go back to bed. I’ll finish here.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Leyla
It’s Tuesday night when Kim Bristol calls me.
“We had a problem,” she explains. “A couple who was chosen a few months ago is now expecting a baby. They decided not to adopt.”
“Are they returning the baby?” I ask, angry and confused because she doesn’t make any sense. Also, what kind of heartless people return a baby?
“The baby hasn’t been born yet,” she answers. “They called us last Friday. The mom-to-be thought she’d have plenty of time to interview the new candidates and choose. However, she’s in labor as we speak.”
My heart triples in speed. “How can I help?”
“She read your profile and loved it. She wants to interview you, but as I explained, she’s in labor.”
Someone chose me, I scream inside my head. This is it.
“What would you like me to do?”
“Well,” her voice trails and she says, “We prefer to have the parents here during the birth.”
My chest feels like it might explode with excitement. I don’t speak. Each time I want to I can’t form a word.
“Is there a chance that you can fly to Seattle tonight?”
I shake my head. We can’t get out of town. Unless…
“Can I call you back in five minutes?” I don’t wait for her to answer and hang up.
Pierce is outside by the fire pit with his brothers. When he sees me running toward him, he stands up and meets me in the middle.
“Are you okay?”
“They chose me,” I say. “The baby is almost here.”
He frowns. “Slow down, babe. Who chose you?”
I take a breath and tell him about the call. He scrubs his face with one hand and pulls out his phone.
“Birth is considered an emergency,” he says to whoever is on the other side of the line. “Leyla’s baby is about to be born. She has to be in Seattle tonight. As her lawyer I need to be there to make sure everything is in order.”
He nods, shakes his head, and exhales harshly.
“Yes, we would accept to use one week of the four weeks they allow,” he states and grins at me. “Vance has to fly us to Seattle. Send me that in writing ASAP. I trust you, but I want to make sure you don’t fuck us.”
When he hangs up, he says, “Pack enough clothes for a week. This might only take a couple of days, but I want to make sure we are covered. Call Kim.”
Kim tells me all the details: where to go after I land in Seattle, what to bring with me, and even a report on how the mother-to-be is doing. She’s only five centimeters dilated and screaming.
Once my bag is ready, I head downstairs where everyone gathers.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
“You got a kid,” Blaire says and smiles.
“Not yet,” I confess. “It’s an interview, and if she likes me enough then I get the kid.”
Sophia is the first one to hug me. “You’ll be fine. Send us pictures, okay.”
Mills, Henry, and Hayes hug me too. Blaire and I cry a little.
Beacon gives us the keys to his house in Seattle and instructions on how to enter and where the keys to his cars are. “Call G if you need anything. She knows people in all the right places.”
“Thank you, kid,” Pierce says and grabs our bags.
An hour later, I enter the hospital where we’re sent to the maternity ward. Kim is outside the room. There’s another couple inside.
“Hopefully she can get to you before the baby arrives,” she says.
“We’re not the only ones?” I ask. My heart stops.
Pierce pulls me to him.
She shakes her head. “She chose three couples and is interviewing everyone. She has to make sure the baby is going to the right place.”
“Why don’t we take a seat?” Pierce suggests.
When we reach the waiting area, I turn around and hug him tight. I feel defeated for just one moment, but when I feel his arms around me everything is better.
“Thank you for coming along.”
“There’s no other place I’d rather be than with you,” he whispers. “If she chooses someone else, that’s okay. We’ll wait until the time is right.”
“We?”
“I know we’re divorced, but one day I hope I’ll marry you again. This time we’ll fully discuss how we want the wedding and pick the right house. We’ll build our dream together,” he promises.
“What changed your mind?”
“When I realized that I didn’t have to settle,” he explains. “The moment