Hate the Player: An Enemies-to-Lovers Romantic Comedy(105)

Bailey strides into the kitchen, Billie’s outburst officially interrupting his nap on the couch, and starts to assess the situation. He finds his dutiful position beside my sister, sniffing the air near her legs.

Even though it appears my sister has lost her freaking mind and is outrageously mad at me, I step forward to follow her lead to the bathroom so I can help her out.

But when I notice that the trail of liquid coming from between her legs keeps gushing in a steady stream and appears to be shockingly clear and not close to the yellow you’d expect from urine, it hits me.

This isn’t pee.

“Billie, honey, are you sure this isn’t your water?”

Bailey starts barking like a maniac.

“What?” she questions, shouting over her dog’s boisterous voice, and pauses halfway to the bathroom to glance over her shoulder at me.

“Sis, I think your water broke.”

Bailey’s barks grow louder.

“My water didn’t break,” she snaps. “That would mean I’m in labor, and I’m not due for another week.”

“Uh…women go into labor early all the time. Especially when they’re this close to their due date.”

“Ow, fuck,” she mutters and holds her belly as she inhales and exhales a deep, panting breath. And simultaneously, more liquid gushes out from between her legs and drips onto the floor. “Oh my God, I think I’m in labor.” Billie glances down at the floor and then up at me with wide eyes. “Holy freaking hell, the two of you and your stupid love drama just pushed me into labor! Am I really going to have this baby today of all days? This was not in the plans! I have things I need to do!”

Bailey paces around her legs.

“Hey,” I say, my voice calm as I step forward to place a hand on her shoulder. “Just take a breath. Relax. Everything is going to be okay.”

“Everything is so fucked, Birdie!” she shouts, but tears start to fill her eyes. “And you are making me so angry with this whole Andrew thing. I swear, I could just shake the crap out of you. I just—”

“Sis,” I cut her off, my voice still soft and gentle. “You are going to have plenty of time to bitch me out later, but right now, we need to focus on getting you to the hospital so that you can bring your perfect little baby into the world.”

Luca manages to quickly wrangle Bailey into another room, and then he steps forward and pulls Billie into a tender hug. “It’s going to be okay, princess,” he whispers into her ear. “I’m here. Birdie is here. And soon, our baby is going to be here too.”

She looks up at him, tears slipping down her cheeks, and nods. “I can’t believe we’re going to have our baby today.”

The smile on his face is downright beautiful. “Best day of my life.”

Hell’s bells. They make me so happy, but at the same time, seeing their love for each other makes my heart ache. I want that kind of love. I want a family of my own. I want all that someday.

And you could have it if you’d stop standing in your own way…

Good Lord, I don’t have time to hop aboard that train of thought.

So, I do the only thing I can do. I tell my stupid subconscious to take a hike and focus on the priority—getting my baby sister to the hospital.





Andrew



I thought it’d be a long-ass time before I found myself sitting in a hospital on a Saturday evening waiting on a baby.

But here I am, sitting in the waiting room just outside the maternity ward. To be fair, though, it’s not my baby.

It’s Billie’s.

Somehow, we managed to get her into the car and on her way to the hospital with Luca and Birdie, and I’ve never before felt the amount of relief I did in that moment.

While Birdie, Billie, and Luca disappeared in a car, her freak-out about the pain of contractions in full effect, Howie and I stayed back and made sure the stragglers left over at the party had left, reassured their dog Bailey that everything was going to be okay, locked up their house for them, and I made my way to Cedars-Sinai to see how Billie was doing.

But, fucking hell, I was not prepared for the scene I would find when I pulled into the hospital parking lot and stepped inside the entrance doors to find Birdie and Luca assisting the medical staff with getting a screaming Billie into a wheelchair.

Apparently, Billie wasn’t just in labor. Nope. She was well on her way to an incredibly fast labor, and all hell had broken loose about ten minutes into their drive to the hospital.

Thankfully, the staff moved quickly, and Luca and his baby momma were rushed back into a delivery room.

And now, Birdie and I sit in the waiting room and wait for the news.

Well, I’m sitting; Birdie is pacing.

Her beautiful face is lined with stress as she walks back and forth in front of the locked doors that lead to the maternity ward.

“Are you okay?” I ask, and my voice startles her to a stop. Her wide brown eyes meet mine.

“I don’t know.” She sighs. “I feel like I should be in there, but I also feel like this special moment should just be between her and Luca. Gah. I’m just worried. I want everything to be okay. She was in so much pain, and her labor was going so freaking quick.”

“It’s going to be okay,” I reassure her.

“Promise?” she asks, and the simple question brings back so many fucking memories that I have to swallow hard past the painful emotions.