Ryley's Revenge (Gloves Off #2)(71)

After she took my blood pressure and I peed in a cup, we were put in an examination room. While we waited, I peered over at Ryley who sat there texting on his phone. “Who are you talking to?”

With his head down, he smiled at his phone. “Apparently, there’s a pool that’s up to ten thousand dollars if you guess the sex of our babies right. The tabloids are waiting for the answer. I never thought our twins would become the hot topic of discussion.”

“Really? Your people love you, Ryley. This actually doesn’t surprise me at all. There are a lot of women out there who want you to be their baby’s daddy.”

He even got an email from a woman who asked if he would donate sperm to her so she could be artificially inseminated. There were seriously some crazy ass people out there. I didn’t realize how much until I started spending every day with him.

As soon as the doctor knocked on the door, Ryley quickly put his phone away and came to my side.

“Good afternoon, you two,” she greeted, holding my chart. Her name was Dr. Christine Wyatt, around fifty years old, and a good friend of Ryley’s mother. “Is everything going okay? No problems other than morning sickness?”

“No, everything’s good. I don’t throw up as much anymore, which is even better.”

She nodded in Ryley’s direction. “So that one’s not giving you problems?” she teased.

“Actually, I think it’s the other way around. He’s the one dealing with my mood swings and late night cravings.”

“Well, looking at your weight and blood pressure, everything looks good. You’ve only gained four pounds, so I’d say you’re doing great. Usually with twins, the mother gains a little bit more weight. Don’t be surprised if you pack it on towards the end.”

“Great,” I mumbled sarcastically.

“Don’t worry, angel,” Ryley whispered in my ear. “If I can’t be on top, you’re more than welcome to ride me any day.”

Rolling my eyes, I pushed him away and laughed. By the blush on Christine’s cheeks, I knew she’d heard what he said. Talk about embarrassing.

“All right, I think we’re ready for the ultrasound.” Then she looked at Ryley. “If you don’t mind, I told your mom that I would do it myself. These kids are basically going to be my own family, so I’d like the honor.”

Ryley glanced down at me and I nodded. “Of course, we don’t mind at all,” he said.

We followed her out and down the hall to the sonogram room. I already knew what to do so I climbed up on the table, lifted my shirt, and lowered my pants a little. Christine typed away on the computer and then squirt a glob of jelly on my stomach. I jumped with the coldness.

“I think we’re ready. Let’s take a look at your little ones.” Once the wand touched my stomach, it was hard to tell what we were looking at, until Christine pointed everything out. “I’m going to give you some pictures to take home.” She moved the wand over and captured a picture with both sets of feet. It was amazing. “Now that’s priceless. I’ve never been able to get both sets like that before. But then again, I don’t see twin births every day.”

Ryley held my hand when I started to tear up and sniffle. When I snuck a peek at him, his eyes were glistening as he regarded his children. Their heartbeats echoed through the room and it was hard to tell which one went to what baby. It was just amazing seeing them in my belly.

“Everything looks good, you two. Now do you want me to see if I can find out what they are?”

“Yes,” I blurted out excitedly. “When I talk to them, I want to be able to call out their names. If they’re boys I don’t want to call them by girl names. I don’t think their father would like that.”

“Hell no, I wouldn’t. My boys need to be manly,” Ryley blurted.

Christine shook her head and laughed. “I remember when you’re father was the same way about you and your brother. My, how time flies.” She moved the wand around my belly and pressed in a bit to get the twins to move. Then a smile lit up her face. “I think we got one. Say hello to twin boy number one.”

“I knew it,” I squealed. “I had a feeling it was going to be boys.” And there on the screen was the perfect shot of my little boy . . . with everything out. Like father, like son. Ryley smiled at the screen, but deep down I knew he had hoped it would be girls.

“Oh, but wait,” Christine remarked happily. “I think I got a good one of twin number two.” She slid the wand an inch to the right and giggled. “And here you go. It looks like you get the joy of both worlds. Twin number two is a girl. Ryley, your mother is going to be ecstatic when she finds out.”

“A girl?” I gasped. I couldn’t have heard better news. When Christine nodded and pointed out the little hamburger bun, as she had put it, I openly cried out in joy.

Ryley beamed and took the pictures from Christine, holding onto them like they were the most fragile thing he would ever hold in his hands.

And I just laid there, speechless.

“I’m going to write up my notes and I’ll meet you both out front once you catch your breath. I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am about this.” She hugged Ryley and squeezed my arm before leaving us to ourselves. We both sat staring at the ultrasound pictures in shock.