He searched her expression, desperate to know what she was thinking. She stared at the sign.
“Is this the nursery?” she finally asked, her voice raspy.
“Yes.” He swallowed, more nervous now than when he bought his first company. “Do you want to see it?”
She didn’t hesitate before nodding. “Hell, yes, I do!”
He chuckled, the moment lifting some of tension. Reaching out, he took hold of the knob and slowly turned it. The latch clicked and the door swung open silently, revealing David’s heart to her gaze.
Chapter 27
Diana didn’t know whether to scream in excitement or fall to her knees in shock.
Her hand pressed to her chest, she crossed into the room, her eyes everywhere at once.
It was a large room, larger than the whole of her mother’s living room, dining room, and kitchen, and one whole wall was windows. The view looked out over the tops of other buildings, a skyline view from there to eternity.
Holding her breath, she continued. The other walls were painted a soft green, with soft yellow bows stenciled throughout. The color scheme was neutral, allowing for either boys or girls—and she loved it. Diana crossed to the nearest crib. It was large, made of white, distressed-looking wood, and boasting more stuffed animals than a carnival. She smiled down at them.
“David…you know the babies can’t sleep with dolls,” she said, grasping at the first thing to say in order to fill the silence.
He scowled. “But what if they get scared or just want to cuddle with something?” he asked, concern making his voice pitch higher.
Lord, but the man was adorable when he was worried.
“Generally, you put twins in the same crib until they are older. That way they can cuddle with each other, comforting one another.”
He rubbed his jaw, seeming to think about it, before sighing heavily. “I suppose that, if they cried, one or both of us could come and cuddle them.”
She nearly gasped. Was he really thinking of them in those terms; her being there at night, with him, when the babies needed them?
Them. A family.
It hurt too much to think about.
Moving away from the crib, Diana walked to one of the dressers. It matched the cribs. She’d been the one to pick all the furniture, having no idea how it would look wherever it ended up, but now she knew. It all looked so perfect.
“What do you think?” David asked, his voice burrowing into her chest, the vulnerability in his tone her undoing.
Tears stung her eyes.
“I think it’s beautiful. The perfect place for the babies.” But what about me?
David came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her, gently placing his palms against her belly. She held her breath. It felt so good to be in his arms, in his embrace like that.
“Is there anything we should add? Perhaps a mobile…puppies or kitties or both?”
She smiled, the tears falling in earnest now. Thankfully, he couldn’t see her face.
“What about turtles? They would match the color scheme.”
“Turtles?”
“Yeah. They look like adorable and grumpy little old men, just like how babies look when they are first born.”
“Bugger that. Our babies will be gorgeous from birth!”
Our babies. It hit her hard then… In his embrace, in a room filled with thoughtfulness and love, she broke. Sobs tore from her throat.
Tensing, David spun her, staring down at her in shock.
“Diana, darling. What’s the matter? What’s wrong?” he begged, his expression turning to one of panic.
“You keep calling me darling—and then you talk about us, we, ours… Like there is an us or we or ours. I am just the incubator for these babies, David. I know that. You are just putting up with me until it’s time for them to be born and then we’ll split visitation until they are eighteen and have grown to hate us.”
David growled, pulling her into his chest.
His heart thundered against his cheek.
“No, Diana. No. I hate that what I’ve done to you has made you think such a horrible thing, but it just isn’t true. You may be carrying my babies, but you aren’t just some damn incubator. You are their mother, their creator, the one piecing them together, keeping them safe, holding them so close to your heart that I am jealous of them. You are a miracle worker. A goddess in the flesh, bestowing on me your favor. And I am awed by you, Diana, darling. So fucking in awe of you.”
Her tears didn’t diminish, but their cause changed.
“How can you say such things to me? You can barely tolerate me,” she blubbered.
His arms tightened around her.
“Oh, darling…” David murmured, pulling away just far enough to meet her gaze. She blinked up at him, trying to clear the tears from her eyes.
“I love you,” he breathed. “I love you more than I can ever tell, and I am one sorry ass of a bloke for not showing you how much I loved you from the beginning.”
Her chest aching from the pounding of her heart, Diana began trembling.
“Fr-from the beginning?” she sputtered, not sure if she understood him correctly.
He smiled at her, his lips curling into the wicked grin she associated with something blunt and shocking.
“I think I’ve loved you since the elevator.”
She gasped. “Since I collided with you in Ayers’s building?”
He chuckled. “You’ve had me since the moment our gazes met, and I must say, the view down your blouse didn’t hurt, either.”
Snorting, she made to swat at him, but he grabbed her hands.
“I spilled coffee on my shirt, and Margie volunteered to switch with me because she had a change of clothes in her office.”
“Sorry to tell you, my love, but you are far more bountiful than your friend,” David drawled, his eyes glinting with steel heat.
“Why are you sorry about that?” she teased.
“Because Margie is so obviously lacking,” he answered in such a matter of fact way, that it took a moment for Diana to realize that David’s hands had dropped hers and they were now at her
