Emmie

The parking lot outside the hospital was noticeably quieter today than it had been the last few days. I wasn’t going to dare think that it was because the paparazzi vultures had given up on getting the first pictures of Jesse Thornton’s twins, or even pictures of Layla looking like shit after the hell she had been through. They were close by, I could almost smell their greedy scent.

I nodded at the two security men that were part of the team that had covered Shane’s wedding and had been keeping Layla and the twins safe from the prying eye of the world. They inclined their heads, the only acknowledgement they ever gave me. I walked through the lobby and was lucky enough to catch the elevator doors open, but about to shut. Jumping through the door I found the elevator slightly crowded and rearranged my bags.

I heard a few sniffs, breathing in the delicious scent of spaghetti and garlic bread. The man in a suit beside me glanced at my take out bag and raised a brow. “Is that fresh?”

I shrugged. “My friend is hungry.”

“It’s nine-thirty in the morning. How did you get Angelo’s this early? He doesn’t open until late evening.” The man frowned at me. “Do you know the owner?”

I shrugged again. “I do now.” In truth, I hadn’t even met the owner of the Italian restaurant until about an hour ago. It wasn’t surprising that for the right price I was able to get the chef out of bed and in the kitchen fixing Layla’s favorite meal from Angelo’s in less than half an hour.”

The elevator stopped and I stepped off. There were two more security men standing at the entrance to the maternity wing. I got another head bob from the men as one opened the door for me. I didn’t even pause at the nurses’ station as I passed, heading straight for Layla’s private room.

When I opened the door it was to find Jesse lying in bed beside Layla with her sound asleep against his chest. Tears stained her pale cheeks. “What’s up?” I asked quietly as I placed the delicious-smelling food on the little rolling table. “She okay?”

“She got to hold the boys for a few minutes before they had to go to the nursery. She’s a little upset right now. Her doctor came in a little while ago and said she’s just having some postpartum issues.” He grimaced, probably remembering how bad my postpartum depression had been after having Mia.

“Layla’s stronger than I was, Jesse. She’s not going to go all psycho bitch on you like I did. The last few days have been hard on her—on all of us. A few days of weeping isn’t going to be that bad.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” He stroked his hand over Layla’s hair. “Did you take care of tonight?”

I nodded. “All set to go.” Jesse and Layla had given in and told Lucy that she could go trick-or-treating with Harris tonight. But protective daddy that Jesse was had asked me to have someone from the security company follow the two kids. Just to keep an eye on them from a distance. Make sure that Lucy was safe. I could completely understand Jesse’s need for extra precaution. If it had been Mia, I probably wouldn’t let her leave the house without a bodyguard or three following after her.

“She gave them their names this morning. Baby 1 is Luca and Baby 2 is Lyric.” He smiled tiredly.

I returned his smile. “I can’t wait to get my hands on them. Ric is going to be so spoiled by me. You watch. I’ll be his favorite aunt. And Luca is going to be my little buddy. I’m so going to turn him into you.”

“I can’t wait.” He yawned and I knew he was exhausted.

I had a million and one things that needed my attention still, so I kissed his cheek and told him I would be back in a few hours. “I’ll bring you both some clothes. You could really use a shower and a shave.” I rubbed his scruffy cheek. “Get some rest. I’ll bring Lucy by before I drop her off at Devlin’s house.”

“Love you, Em.” He yawned again, his eyes already closing.

I couldn’t help but stop by the nursery before leaving. I glanced through the viewing window and saw the nurses moving around busily. There were three babies at the window, a little girl wrapped in lots of pink and the twins in the same incubator. There had been some differing opinions last night when Jesse had asked them to put the twins together. Some of the nurses hadn’t wanted to because co-sleeping could lead to crib death, but Lyric had been having a little more trouble than usual with his breathing. As soon as the twins had been moved into the same incubator everything had turned around. Luca was more at peace and Lyric’s oxygen levels evened out.

“Good morning.”

I turned my head to find a girl in her teens standing beside me. I hadn’t even heard her I was so caught up in looking at my nephews. My eyes narrowed on her. She set off all kinds of warning bells for me. “Good morning.”

“Excuse me,” she said and I stepped back as she lifted a smartphone and snapped a picture.

At first I thought she was taking pictures of the baby girl in the nursery, but then I stepped back to get a quick glance and saw it was the twins. I didn’t even think before I reacted. I grabbed her by the hair and jerked her back against the wall. She shrieked and screamed at me when I took the phone from her.

“You stupid little bitch!” I yelled at her when I saw that there were at least five pictures of Luca and Lyric. “Who’s paying you for the pictures?”

“No one!” Her eyes were wild and I realized that she was probably high. “Not yet.”

“Not ever.” I dropped the phone on the floor and stomped it with the heel of my boots, still holding onto the girl by her hair. “Stupid junkies,” I muttered as I pulled her toward the doors.

When I got to the double doors that led to the maternity wing I pushed her through them and against one of the security men. “Get her out of here and double security. I don’t care what the administrator says. No one gets through those doors unless they have one of those parent ID bracelets.”

I waited until the second security guy had his phone to his ear, getting it all done before going back to the nursery. The nurses had stopped what they were doing to watch the commotion that I had made. I glared at them all and nodded toward the door that went into the nursery. It was locked, no one could get in without swiping their clearance badges.

The nurse that I remembered from the NICU opened the door and let me inside. “What was that about?” she asked quietly.