“It’s no big deal, sweetheart. Don’t start crying.”
“Hormones, you know.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle and kiss her head. “Come sit down, Madame,” I said as I pulled out her chair.
Charles served us our dinner and Rory’s eyes danced with excitement. “This looks amazing. So what’s the occasion?” she asked.
“Does there need to be an occasion to cook the mother of my children her favorite foods?”
“I guess not. But, you didn’t cook.” She winked at me.
“But I thought up all your favorite foods, sweetheart. Next time, I promise I’ll cook.” I smiled. “Anyway, I wanted to tell you something. We are going on a little trip, providing the doctor says it’s safe for you to travel. I have a meeting I need to be at in New York.”
“Oh, goodie, I’ll get to see Connor and Ellery,” Rory said in excitement.
“Yes, sweetheart, we will see Connor and Ellery. But then once we leave New York, we need to fly to Paris for Prim.”
Her beautiful face lit up with a bright smile. “Paris? Are you serious? We get to go back to Paris?”
“I knew you’d love the idea, but that’s only if your doctor gives you clearance to go.”
“Would you go without me?” She pouted.
There was something about the way she asked that made my heart hurt. I got up from my chair and walked over to her. I knelt down and kissed her expanding stomach. “I would never go anywhere without you or the babies. I’m never leaving you, Rory. Not even for a day. Wherever I go, you and the kids go.” I gently laid my head on her stomach as she ran her hands through my hair.
“Ian, I love you to pieces, but can I finish eating? We’re hungry.”
I chuckled as I shook my head. “I love you too. Now feed my kids.” I winked.
Chapter 37
Rory
I smiled as I felt light kisses traveling across my stomach. I opened my eyes to see Ian smiling at me.
“Good morning, sweetheart.”
“Good morning.”
“I was thinking about something last night. What sex do you think the babies are?”
“I don’t know. It would be nice to have a boy and a girl.”
“That’s what I was thinking too. Do you want to find out beforehand?”
“Yeah, I think I do. It would make it easier to decorate the nursery,” she said.
I was happy that Ian wanted to find out the sex of the babies. We got out of bed, made love in the shower, and then got dressed and headed down for breakfast before going to the doctor. When we walked into the dining room, Adalynn was sitting in her seat.
“Good morning, you two.” She smiled.
“Good morning, Adalynn,” I said, giving her a light hug.
“You’re either really early or we’re late,” Ian said as he kissed her cheek.
“You’re late.” She smiled. “I just dropped by for a chocolate chip muffin. Rory has me hooked on them. And, to tell you, my darling Ian, that Prim’s stock went through the roof while I was gone.”
“Of course it did. That’s what I do.” Ian winked at her.
I laughed and rolled my eyes as I ate the fruit cup Mandy set down in front of me.
Ian had been on Cloud Nine all morning. The majority of the reason was he couldn’t wait for the ultrasound. I was excited too, but nervous at the same time. I always had that “what if” worry inside me. What if something is wrong with one of the babies, what if the doctor can’t find a heartbeat, what if they’re in danger. It was a never ending line of “what ifs.” Another reason Ian was so happy was because the doctor told him that it was perfectly fine for me to travel.
I lay down on the table and Ian grabbed my hand and brought it up to his lips. “You ready?” he asked.
“Yes.” I smiled.
The doctor pressed down on my stomach with the wand and, instantly, we saw our babies. Tears started to fill my eyes as I looked at their little tiny hands. Ian got up from the chair and sat next to me on the table.
“Look at them, Rory. They’re beautiful. Our children are beautiful.”
“Your babies look perfect, Rory. They are growing as expected and they look good. Would the two of you like to know the sex of them?”
“Do you know?” I asked in excitement.
“Yes, I do.”
I looked at Ian and he smiled at me and nodded his head. “Yes, doctor. We want to know.”
“Congratulations; both babies are girls.” He smiled.
I gasped. I’d always dreamed of having a daughter and now I was going to have two. I looked over at Ian as he kissed me softly.
“Girls, Rory. We’re going to have two little girls running around the house.” He smiled as his eyes began to water and he hugged me.
“I’m so happy, Ian.”
Once the doctor finished up the ultrasound and gave us the pictures, Ian helped me up from the table and kissed me. “Our daughters are going to be absolutely beautiful, Rory.”
“I hope they look like you.” I smiled.
“No, sweetheart, they’re going to look just like their mommy. Let’s stop by Prim and tell Adalynn the great news.”
Ian was so thrilled. You could see the happiness all over his face, but his eyes were where you could really see it. While we drove to Prim, Ian kept his hand on my stomach the whole ride.
“Why are you doing that?” I laughed.
“I’m touching my daughters. I want them to know that I’ll always be there for them. We need to think of names for them, Rory.”
“I think we have some time to think some up.” I smiled.
We pulled into Ian’s parking spot at Prim and rode the elevator up to Adalynn’s office. Her door was already open and she was on the phone when we walked in.
“You tell that asshole that I said it’s to be corrected before print and, if he doesn’t do it, then I’m coming after him and his job! Got it?” she said as she slammed down the phone.
“Whoa, Adalynn in action. I like that!” Ian winked.
She got up from the chair, walked over, and gave us both a hug and a kiss. “This is a wonderful surprise. What brings the two of you here?”
Ian looked at me. “Can I tell her, Rory?” he asked in excitement.
“Yes, go ahead.”
“Tell me what? What happened?”
“The babies are girls. We’re going to have two daughters.”
“AH! That’s so awesome. I’m so happy for both of you!” Adalynn exclaimed as she hugged us again. “Rory, do you know what this means? Shop, shop, shop! I can’t wait to shop for baby girls!”
I smiled at her enthusiasm. She was just as excited as Ian and I were and there was something I wanted to talk to Ian about later.
“Come on, sweetheart. We need to get you home and off your feet.”
Adalynn looked at me and winked. “I’ll call you later, Rory. Oh, and Ian, about that meeting, the day you set it up for is perfect.”
Chapter 38
Ian
“Are you comfortable, sweetheart?” I asked her as we were in the air headed to New York.
“I’m very comfortable. Thank you.” She smiled.
I had a business meeting in New York that I had to attend with Connor regarding the property sale for his art gallery. We were only going to be there a couple of days because Paris was waiting for us. Rory was so excited to see Ellery. I had overheard them talking on the phone last night about the pregnancy and babies. I grabbed us both a bottle of water and sat down next to her on the couch. I leaned over, lifted up her shirt, and kissed her bare stomach.