No Turning Back (Breaking the Rules #4) - A.M. Madden Page 0,51
kind of assumed as much,” he said to her before meeting my eye. “Hey, dude. Nice to finally meet you. I heard a lot about you.”
“Same here. Hi, Cooper.”
“Hey, Ryder.” When he focused and pointed at the forgotten luggage behind us, Riana followed suit. “I hope you haven’t been waiting long. We decided to go to lunch after Ree’s appointment.”
“Oh no, have you?” she asked, worry creasing her forehead. Her eyes raked my overheated face. “Crap, I’m sorry, Ryder. It’s so hot out here.”
Not wanting to make her feel bad, I shook my head. “I was fine. I was able to catch up on emails, so now I won’t have to waste time later.”
“Okay, good. We haven’t had a chance to make you a set of keys. We’ll have to do that today.” She tucked her head back down. “I’ll talk to you guys later. I want to be with my guy.”
“Make sure you use protection,” Ricky called out with an exaggerated wink. When Riana’s eyes widened, he chuckled. “Just kidding.”
Cooper shook his head while failing to hide his own mirth. Meanwhile, the car remained idling at the curb as they both grinned at us as though they had some sort of mad secret. After what seemed like an eternity of uncomfortable silence had passed, Riana waved a hand and barked, “Yoo-hoo… get lost!”
They both laughed. “Have fun,” Cooper said, wiggling his fingers at us in a goodbye as we watched the car pull away.
“What was that about?” I asked.
“Let’s get upstairs… you’ve melted enough out here, and there’s a blonde who will be thrilled to see you. Then I’ll fill you in.” Not wanting to release her hand, I grabbed the suitcase’s handle while Riana took the carry-on for me.
There wasn’t a doubt in my mind they’d found out she was pregnant. I had to remind myself that this was what she wanted… and because of that, it was what I wanted. So then why did I have to force a smile while nerves began wreaking havoc in my gut. It was dumb, really… I’d known this day was coming.
While I gave Kayla the greeting she expected, Riana asked, “Are you hungry?”
“Nope, I ate.” My admission prompted Riana to take my hand and lead me toward the couch. She nervously nibbled on her bottom lip, and I anxiously waited, until she finally said, “Okay… well, you know today was my appointment and—”
“You’re pregnant.” It wasn’t a question.
A small smile broke through as she nodded. “I am.”
When she continued to stare up at me through her lashes with an uncertain smile, I said, “Congratulations! That’s awesome, Ree!” Hug her. Kiss her… the little voice in my head prompted my body to robotically follow through with both commands. She squeezed me back before pulling away to look at me. It was then I noticed her smile had been replaced with a somberness that instantly freaked me out. “Baby, what’s wrong?” Her eyes began to shimmer as though she were about to cry, and there it was—a surge of fear. It came quick and fast, causing my heart rate to spike. “Riana, what happened?”
Sensing my panic, she palmed my face. “No, nothing is wrong. Oh, I’m sorry, Ryder. I didn’t mean to worry you.” I calmed a little, but the reality that she was indeed pregnant prevented the fear from truly dissipating. Her eyes searched mine before she removed her hands from my face. “Dr. White did an ultrasound today. She wanted to be sure insemination occurred in my uterus and not ectopically. Thank God, it seems both eggs have implanted successfully.”
“Both eggs?” I repeated. Twins? She gave me a hesitant nod. Fuck… double the worry. Despite my heart pounding from what I could only perceive as now having double the fear of something happening to her, I kept my expression even as I gripped her hand in a sign of support.
“Yeah.” She watched me carefully as I processed her news and then went on to say, “I’m due mid-December. The guys are thrilled, although I reminded them we all needed to be cautiously excited until I have my next ultrasound.”
“And when is that?”
“In two weeks.” For a man like me, whose girlfriend was now a walking incubator for two humans, she may as well have said two years. “Dr. White will feel more confident once we see and hear two heartbeats.”
“Okay.”
She smiled at my rudimentary reply and squeezed my hand. “I’ll be fine, Ryder. I promise.”