Best Man with Benefits (Wedding Dare, #4, McCade Brothers, #3)(58)

“But…but…they’re not inducing her until tomorrow!”

“Apparently Baby Brooks doesn’t care to be induced.” In the background she heard Kady groan, and then shout, “Get your butt in gear, Sophie. It’s. About. To go. Down.” From the corner of her eye she saw Logan sit up, shake his head at the waiter, and gesture for the check.

Sophie spent a few additional moments on the phone, getting details from Colt like which hospital entrance to use, where to park, and which floor to come to. She jotted the information down while Logan paid the bill and accepted his credit card and something else from the waiter. She barely registered any of it because contractions were ten minutes apart and Kady was talking a mile a minute in the background, asking Sophie to call Regan, Christine, Julie, and a handful of other people. Meanwhile Colt kept saying, “Goddammit, why are there so many f*cking red lights in this town?”

By the time she got off the phone Logan already had his keys from the valet. He ushered her out of the restaurant and into his waiting car while she placed calls. Despite being one of the first people notified, everyone else would make it to the hospital ahead of them, because they had to drive down Flagstaff Mountain.

“I’m sorry to cut dinner short,” she said to Logan when she finished her last call and could sit back and breathe again. “I hope you didn’t have your heart set on dessert.”

He sent her an odd smile. “I still do, but don’t worry, we’ll get to it.”

She only got a moment to ponder his response, because he pulled into the hospital parking lot. Seconds later they were sprinting through the automatic glass doors, down a corridor, following signs to the family birth center. A short elevator ride took them to their floor, and then down another corridor. Logan slowed as they reached the sitting area by the reception desk, where Reed, Brock, and Tyler already sat, watching TV and playing poker. He turned to her and pulled her in for a hug. “Tell Kady good luck for me, and let her know I’m available to punch Colt any time. All she has to do is say the word.”

She laughed and sent a wave to the guys. “If Kady feels like punching him, I’ll sure she’ll do it herself.”

“She may be otherwise occupied.” He tightened his hold and lowered his head to kiss her. She’d anticipated a quick brush of lips, but he surprised her with a slow, deep, bone-dissolving kiss. Reed, Brock, and Tyler were groaning and calling “Get a room” by the time he raised his head. He ignored the men, smiled down at her, and said, “Once we’re done here, I expect to have my dessert.”

Somehow she made it to the birthing suite despite the sudden lack of strength in her legs.

She approached the door at the same time Regan rushed out—or as near as a woman pregnant-out-to-there with twins could rush. She called back, “Kady, you’re doing awesome, but…I’m sorry. I can’t watch. Hey, Sophie,” she added as she scurried into the hallway. Once there, she called, “Brock! I changed my mind. I want drugs. I want every freaking drug in the world.”

Julie grinned a greeting to Sophie, and then turned and spoke to Kady, who reclined on a stack of pillows on the bed. “Hey girl, you just sent big bad Regan running at full speed in four-inch heels. That’s a first.”

Christine laughed from the opposite side of the bed, where she stood next to Colt. Kady laughed, too, but hers turned into a moan as another contraction hit. She sat up, bore down, and pushed, while Colt, Christine, and Julie shouted encouragement. Without realizing she’d moved from the doorway, Sophie found herself supporting Kady’s back and telling her to push. When the contraction subsided, Kady flopped back down on the pillows, turned to Sophie, and said, “I…can’t…do…this.”

Colt took her hands and kissed them. “Honey, you’re doing great. You’re amazing. I know we can do it, just breathe like we practiced.”

“We? We!” Kady pulled Colt’s face level with hers and looked him straight in the eye. “I’ve got a better idea. You do it!”

“Good news, you’re crowning,” the doctor interrupted from the foot of the bed. “I can see the head.”

A head. Oh, God. Regan had the right idea. Gray spots danced in front of Sophie’s eyes and she wondered if she’d pass out if she made a run for the door. Too late. Kady groaned again. “Here comes another one.”

“Give it all you’ve got, Mommy,” the doctor said. “Let’s have this baby.”

Kady screwed her eyes shut, squeezed Colt’s hands until her knuckles turned white, and let loose a high-pitched scream. Colt’s face took on an anguished look that had nothing to do with the crushing grip Kady had on his hands and everything to do with the torture of seeing the woman he loved suffering and being powerless to relieve her pain. Pain so overwhelming Kady’s whole body shook. Every muscle inside Sophie stiffened in sympathy.

Then Kady’s scream subsided, and a tiny wail reached her ears.

“Good job, Mommy,” the doctor said, and then backed away to make a space for Colt.

Next thing she knew, Colt stood beside her, his expression awestruck, eyes brimming with pent-up emotion. He placed a blanket-wrapped bundle in Kady’s arms, and then sat down on the bed and snuggled his exhausted wife against his chest.

“Ladies,” he said, in a voice that wasn’t quite steady, “meet Emily Wynn Brooks. She’s perfect and beautiful. Just like her mom.”