The Next Level: A BWWM Billionaire Marriage And Pregnancy Romance (14 page)

Chelsea
wrapped her arms around his neck. “It’s like you know
me.”

He
laughed as he kissed her back. She liked the way his lips felt,
smiling against hers. When he pulled away, Matthew placed hands on
either side of her face.

“
There
are a few strings attached before we buy this house,” he said.

“
Uh
oh.”

“
Don’t
uh oh me, it’s not that bad. I think we should hire a
housekeeper to help keep everything in order. You’re going to
be very busy, very soon. I don’t want you stressed out because
there’s too much to do.”

Chelsea
started to protest, but he made a good point. She blew out a sigh.

“
Fine.
What else?”

“
There’s
going to be two spare rooms. I want to set one up as your office.
That way you can still work if you want to, without having to leave
the house. Now, the last thing is one I won’t budge on. I want
you to hire a nanny. Take your time, pick one out that you feel is
the best option, but you have to do it. Otherwise, you’re not
going to be able to handle both your career and the baby. “

Chelsea
sighed. “I’ll
think
about it. That doesn’t mean I’m going to do it.”

Matthew
locked the door up behind them as they walked back to the car. “Fine,
I’ll take it for now. I will pester you, however.”

She
groaned. “Please, don’t.”

Matthew
blasted the heat when he got inside, Chelsea turned it back down when
he wasn’t looking. It was the middle of October, her belly was
rapidly expanding all of a sudden. She swore everyday it got a little
bigger. She’d been happy she was one of the lucky ones that
would carry small, possibly go right back to her original size after
the birth. It was like the baby got wind of this and laughed at her
plans.

“
We
have an ultrasound today, right?” Matthew asked.

Chelsea
nodded. “Yeah, we can head there now if you like. I’m
sure Dr. Petcher won’t mind seeing us early. Can we get
something to eat first?”

Matthew
laughed, shaking his head. “Anything you want, babe.”

*****

Chelsea
lay on the table, the room darkened with her belly exposed to the
air. Dr. Petcher came in herself to do the ultrasound. They’d
tried twice before to determine the baby’s gender, but the baby
kept curling up. Chelsea was convinced the baby was devious before it
was even born, the product of Matthew’s mischievous smile. Dr.
Petcher squeeze a bottle of blue gel, the mixture cold as it touched
her belly. Chelsea bit her lip nervously as Matthew gripped her hand.

“
Let’s
see if baby will co-operate first. I’ll take some measurements
then...Huh, that’s strange?”

“
What?
What’s strange?” Chelsea began to panic.

“
Let
me just….” She leaned toward the screen, adjusted her
glass then pulled back again. “No need to worry, Mrs. Rawlins.
The babies are completely fine. It’s just that you’re
having twins.”

Chelsea
turned to Matthew. He had a big, dumb grin on his face. She turned
back to the monitor as the doctor pointed the two out. She was right.

“
Looks
like, a boy and a girl. See? That’s why we couldn’t see
the sex before, the second twin is much smaller and curled up against
the other. They’re finally getting big enough that she can’t
hide anymore though.” The doctor wiped off her belly before
turning on the light. “Now that we know you’re having
twins, I want you to come in more often. I also want you to stop
working by next month. You really need to rest up and the babies
could do with gaining a little weight,” she smiled.

Chelsea
nodded, her whole body feeling numb. Twins. If things hadn’t
been complicated before, they were certainly headed that way now. She
finished wiping her belly off with Matthew’s help, before they
walked back to the car.

“
It’s
like the universe is laughing at me?” She said quietly.

Matthew
took her hand, gave it a squeeze. “I think it’s
beautiful. I’ve always wanted twins.”

Glancing
over at Matthew, she felt a little calmness come over her. If he
could be that happy, would it really be so bad? She placed a hand
against her belly, ran it over both of the babies inside. She smiled.
When she was younger, she always said she wanted twins. Maybe she was
just getting what she wanted after all.

“
I’m
calling the realtor tomorrow, I’m sure we can close on the
house before you’re due.”

“
That
would be nice,” she said. Suddenly, the thought of her little
apartment was feeling very cramped.

When
they got to the apartment, Matthew ordered overpriced Chinese food by
the pound. He’d bought another tv for the bedroom so she
wouldn’t have to move around on her more sick days. They sat
with their feet up, watching a movie filled with guns, swearing and a
lot of explosions. Chelsea shook her head.

“
I’m
not sure this is good for the baby’s.”

“
Why
not?”

“
One
of them is kicking the crap out of me.”

Matthew
sat his plate down quickly. He dusted his hands off before leaning
over, pressing his ear to her stomach. He felt a gentle kick to the
side of his face. Chelsea watched as he laughed and did it again,
this time talking to them.

“
It’s
not very nice to kick you daddy, you know. When you get out of there,
we might have some problems with each other. Nah, I’m going to
love you both so much.”

He
continued talking and cooing at the babies as Chelsea felt them move
around. Matthew’s warm lips kissed her belly gently. His hand
slipped over her skin as he sang to the babies softly. It wasn’t
a song she knew, but she didn’t interrupt him until he was
done.

“
What’s
that song?”

“
It’s
one Mrs. Black used to sing to me. She was from Ireland and had all
these cool songs I loved to hear. She was my favorite nanny.”

She
bit her lip. It was hard to think about her children loving someone
so much that wasn’t her. Chelsea wanted their fond memories to
be of her singing, rocking and playing with them, not a stranger. She
ran her palm over her belly, as Matthew went back to singing his
songs, his lips pressed against her skin.

Chelsea
felt as if the next few weeks flew by. Although she hated to do it,
she took her leave early. Secretly, she was happy to do it. Her feet
were starting to swell. The only thing she wanted was good food and
to sleep all day. There was no way she could keep waddling into the
office. Especially since the babies seemed to grow rapidly once they
found out they were having twins. She was almost eight months
pregnant by the time the movers came to settle everything into the
new house.

Matthew
let her lounge on the couch as she directed the movers where to put
everything. She was rubbing her belly, the false contractions were
getting worse everyday. Matthew leaned over the back of the couch,
feathering kisses on her forehead. He froze when he saw her face
looking strained.

“
What’s
wrong, babe?”

“
These
damn contractions won’t stop. I’ve drank cold water,
walked around, everything,” she gritted her teeth against the
next contraction. “I really wish it would stop.”

“
Maybe
they’re not fake, maybe you’re in labor. I’m taking
you to the hospital!”

Chelsea
grabbed his arm. “No, I’m fine. I don’t want to be
one of those women who keeps going to the hospital thinking she’s
in labor. My mom told me all about that.”

As
soon as the words had left her mouth, a painful contraction ripped
through her body. She cried out as she leaned forward, breathing
rapidly against the pain. She felt something trickle from her body.

“
Never
mind, water just broke. Hopsital. Now.”

Matthew
helped her into the car, the whole time she tried to keep him calm.
It was odd to her that after all of these months, he was the one
freaking out now. He was going on and on about they didn’t have
cribs, they hadn’t brought car-seats yet, they were coming too
early.

“
It’ll
be okay,” Chelsea said between contractions. “If they’re
coming now, maybe they’re just ready.”

Her
soothing words seemed to go right over Matthew’s head. He drove
faster than he ever did, cutting people off, throwing them the
finger. Chelsea stared at him. She’d gone and married herself a
crazy person. Still, it was sweet seeing the lengths he’d go
through to take care of her and the babies. They pulled up in front
of the hospital. Matthew threw his keys to the valet before he helped
settle Chelsea into a wheelchair.

Once
they were inside, he frantically looked around the lobby, unsure of
where to go. Chelsea had to point to the desk between contractions,
her hands gripping her stomach as she doubled over. The pain was more
intense than Chelsea thought she could handle at that point. She
tried to remember to breathe, to relax, but muffled moans escaped her
lips as she was wheeled to the ob area.

She
could vaguely feel Matthew’s hand pressed against her shoulder,
The hallway however was shifting, turning. She felt sick. Chelsea
reached out a hand, desperately grasping for Matthew’s hand.
Something wasn't right. She could feel it now. She tried to ask what
was happening, but everyone was moving so fast. She wrapped her arms
around her belly.

Thinking
back on it, Chelsea realized everything had happened so quickly she
didn’t have time to be afraid. She was worried, anxious, but
not afraid. All she could think about were her babies, if they were
okay. She blamed herself for ever thinking badly about them, for not
appreciating every moment she had with them. As Chelsea felt herself
being strapped down to a table, she could only think that it was all
of her fault. They didn’t let Matthew in, told him to go out to
the waiting room. They’d have news for him soon. Her mouth was
dry, but she kept calling out for him. She needed her husband.

A
nurse ran her hand over Chelsea’s trying to soothe her. Between
the pain and her anxiety over her children, she couldn’t calm
down. They lifted her head, pressed an oxygen mask against her nose
and mouth. She knew right away that it wasn’t just oxygen.
Doctor Petcher was explaining to her what was happening, but nothing
registered. She found herself nodding again and again as the
anesthetic
began to kick in. She found herself drifting off to sleep, but she
fought against it. She wanted to know what was happening. It was no
use. Chelsea’s head rolled to the side as she fell asleep.

*****

When
she came to, the world was foggy and dull. She looked around herself
lazily, unable to figure out where she was or what had happened. She
felt a tug as she tried to move her arm, an IV was firmly planted
there. Chelsea rolled her head to the other side, where a woman sat
beside her bed. Slowly, the more the drug wore off, the more she
remembered what had happened.

“
My
babies? Are they-” Her voice cracked.

“
Your
babies are fine. They’re in the NICU just for the night. Your
husband hasn't left their side.” The woman stood up, wrapping a
blood pressure cuff around her arm. “Once you’re fully l
awake, he can come and visit you too.”

Relief
flooded Chelsea. She felt herself crying, the warm tears blurring the
room into nothing more than light. She sniffled as she pushed her
hands over her face, pushing her hair back. Chelsea didn’t
think she’d ever been happier than at that moment. Doctor
Petcher came in and talked to her about what happened, but told her
she and the babies would be fine.

“
When
do I get to see them? I want to hold them.”

“
Well,
the twins are doing fine. They’re breathing on their own,
eating, everything a healthy baby should. They’re a bit small,
but they’re healthy. Let them rest for the night in the NICU
just to be safe, then you can hold and feed them in the morning.”

Chelsea
nodded. She wanted to see the babies now, but she knew it was best
for them if they stayed where they were. After constantly checking
her vitals, they let her leave an hour later, wheeled off on her bed
to a private room to heal and recover. She wasn’t alone in the
room for twenty minutes before Matthew came bursting through the
door.