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Chapter 32

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

FOUR MONTHS LATER

TANNER

W e’re walking into my wife’s twenty-week ultrasound. And by we, I mean Bailey, me, Harper, Kamryn, Arizona, Ripley, and Fallon. It’s a damn army of women. It always is.

Despite my initial hesitation, Bailey insisted that Fallon be here. Aside from the fact that the two of them are extremely close, she said our babies are Harper’s siblings and Fallon should be with us. Yes, babies. We found out at nine weeks that it’s twins.

The evening we discovered that Bailey was pregnant, Bailey, Fallon, and I sat down with Harper and told her that Bailey and I were together and getting married. We decided not to also throw the pregnancy at her that night.

Harper was understandably a little confused at first. Fallon giving her full support helped put Harper at ease. And then she became exceedingly happy at the prospect of Bailey being in her life forever as her bonus mom . That’s the term Fallon used. Bailey burst into tears when Fallon said it, and the two of them cried and hugged for minutes on end.

We got married quickly. Within two weeks of that night. Bailey didn’t care at all about a big wedding. She wanted something intimate at the house. It was family and close friends. She let Harper and Kamryn plan most of it, which made parts of it…interesting, but Bailey was happy, and therefore, I was too.

No bride has ever looked more beautiful and happy than Bailey that day. She wore a simplistic silk white gown with spaghetti straps. It almost looked like a nightgown as it hugged her curves perfectly. The emotions I felt as she walked down the aisle were like nothing I’ve ever experienced.

I spent a lot of time considering my vows, remembering how impactful Layton’s were. As he stood beside me as my best man, I got to recite my own vows to my bride.

Bailey, as you know, I wasn’t searching high and low for someone to share my life with. I spent years closing myself off to that possibility. I never let people in. I never opened my heart.

As it turns out, I was waiting for you, sweet girl.

In you walked that first day, a ray of sunshine. Beautiful, perfect sunshine. That’s what you are. You light up the lives of everyone around you. You’re mature beyond your years. You’re kind, selfless, loving, compassionate, and so stunningly beautiful that here we are more than a year and a half later, and I still can’t take my eyes off you. I love everything that you are.

You seem to know what I need exactly when I need it. You challenge me. You make me a better man. I’ve always prided myself on being the boss. Being in charge. Being in control .

Yes, she both smiled and blushed at the control comment.

But with you, I don’t have to be all those things all the time. You’re my true partner. My equal. My everything.

I know I’m supposed to make you feel secure and cherished, but it’s you, sweet girl, who makes me feel those things. I will strive every single day to be worthy of your love and return it back to you a million times over.

It’s my absolute privilege to build a family with you, go through life with you, and to grow old with you, though I’ll be doing that well ahead of you.

That line earned me a lot of laughs.

I love you today. I’ll love you tomorrow. I’ll love you forever.

When we returned from our honeymoon, we told Harper about the baby. She was so happy that she burst into tears. I don’t think I ever realized how much she ached for a sibling. The next day, we found out it was siblings .

Bailey will be taking this season off from softball. It’s easy to say that it’s because she’ll be heavily pregnant during the season, but the reality is that she’s not fully recovered from the accident and we don’t know if she ever will be. There’s still something slightly off with her fingers. Her doctors have said to give it more time and hard work, but that it’s more likely than not that her playing days are behind her. She can lead a completely normal life, just not one as a professional athlete or as an Olympian. She was calm as they told her the prognosis. Oddly enough, I think it made her more determined than ever to get back into playing shape and to make that Olympic team. She has time to decide whether or not she’ll make that push. I’ll support her efforts in any way I can.

Here we are at the ultrasound. Kamryn is pacing, doing her daily dose of driving me nuts. The technician is moving the wand all over Bailey’s stomach until our two little babies come into view. The sounds in the room are music to my ears. Their heartbeats are strong.

Harper gasps. “Wow. That’s prodigious.”

The technician stops what she’s doing and stares at Harper. The rest of us smirk at yet another person in awe of Harper’s vocabulary.

Kam asks, “Well?”

The technician gives a fake smile. “I take the videos and photos. The doctor will be in to discuss the results.”

“Just fucking tell—”

“Kamryn!” I bark out. “Let her do her job. I swear to god, I will kick you out. Nothing would make me happier.”

She bats her eyelashes at me. “Yes, Daddy Tanner.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I can’t believe I’m stuck with you for the rest of my life.”

“Pft. Just be glad I’m not living with you…for now.”

I mouth, “Never again,” to her, and she smiles.

Arizona can’t contain her excitement. “I hope it’s girls. They can be teammates with Ryan.”

Arizona and Layton had a baby girl named Ryan. She’s got the blondest hair, bluest eyes, and is beautiful, just like her mom.

Bailey squeezes her hand as she takes a deep breath. “All I care about is health. Healthy babies.”

We’re now waiting for the doctor, and all the girls are fussing over Bailey. I wish this was just the two of us. It’s our moment, and I’m standing behind five other people. I can’t even touch my wife from here.

The doctor walks in and her eyes widen. “Wow, we’ve got a big crew today.”

I mumble, “Too big.”

Bailey reaches her hand for mine. “Tanner.”

I happily part the sea of women and make my way to my wife to grab her hand. She’s got her other arm around Harper’s waist as Harper bounces up and down with excitement.

The doctor smiles. “I reviewed all the scans, and everything looks perfect. The babies are healthy and growing as they should.”

Bailey exhales a breath of relief. “Thank god. Thank you so much.”

Her eyes toggle between me and Bailey. “Do we want to know the sex?”

I nod. “That’s why we’ve got an army of women here.”

She smiles. “Brace yourself, Dad, because you’re about to add two more women to the crew.”

Bailey has tears of joy dripping down her face. I can’t help the big grin on mine. “I’m more than happy to spend my life surrounded by spectacular women.”

Kam throws her arm around me. “Just think, at least one of them could be like me.”

Dear god…

Later that night, I’m in bed in boxer briefs reading through a few contracts while Bailey is in the bathroom. When she emerges in nothing but her short, light-pink silk robe, I nearly lose my breath. She looks like an angel.

I immediately toss my paperwork and reading glasses aside as I watch her roll her shoulders and wince. “Are you in pain?”

She stretches her arms across her body. “My shoulders are tight. Physical therapy while pregnant is kicking my butt.”

I crook my index finger. “Come here, beautiful. Let me rub them for you.”

Her face lights up. “Ooh. That sounds nice. ”

I spread my legs and pat the space between them. “Let Dr. Montgomery take care of his favorite patient.”

She gives me a sexy smile before sliding onto the bed and leaning back into my waiting arms. After slipping her robe down a bit, I begin rubbing the soft, smooth skin of her shoulders. I bury my nose in her hair, taking in her intoxicating scent. Every little whimper and moan she makes causes my dick to stir.

My hands begin to take on a life of their own, and she slaps one. “My nipples are well beyond my shoulders. You’re a little out of your jurisdiction, counselor.”

I chuckle at her use of legal lingo. “Whoops. My hand must have slipped.” I begin to kiss her neck. “You might enjoy it though.”

She shakes her head in exasperation and then leans back into me. I love the feeling of her soft, bare back on my hard chest.

She tilts her head up and kisses my jaw. “Keep rubbing my shoulders. It feels so good.”

“I know something that might feel even better.”

She giggles. “A little longer, hornball. I want to talk to you about something, and I know once we start things, there will be no talk. At least not by me.”

“True.” I go back to massaging her shoulders.

“I know I can’t fully commit until after my pregnancy, but, if I’m still up for it after the girls come, are you really on board for me to give my career another go? It’s going to be hard on all of us.” She sighs. “But I think I’ll always wonder if I don’t at least try.”

I pepper kisses over her neck. “I’m a thousand percent on board if you choose to pursue it. I think it’s amazing that you’re even considering it. You know I’m putting infrastructure in at the office so that I can take a step back if needed. I want this for you if you decide you want it. What could be better than our daughters seeing their mommy working her ass off to achieve her goals?”

She whispers, “What if I fail?”

“I don’t think you will. I know my wife.”

“The doctors don’t think it can be done. What if they’re right?”

“They don’t know the heart in Bailey Hart Montgomery. And if the committee doesn’t select you, we’ll simply go cheer on your sister and your friends. I’ll be proud of you for leaving nothing on the table. You don’t have anything to prove to anyone. You were an all-American athlete with national championships and world championships. A gold medal would be nice, but it doesn’t define you or your career.”

She nods while opening and closing her fist. “I just wish my grip would come back. It’s driving me nuts.”

I take her hand and place it on my cock, now standing at full attention above the band of my boxer briefs. “Your grip feels good to me. I’m always happy to provide a little after-hours physical therapy for you.”

She giggles. “You’re a pervert.”

“My wife is sexy as hell. I can’t help myself.”

“You used to make fun of Layton all the time for referring to Arizona as my wife , and now you do it all the time too.”

Hmm. She’s right. “I never thought about it. I think I’m just so happy that you are, in fact, my wife. I know how lucky I am, and I’ll never take it for granted. I’ve learned from past mistakes in my life. I’m laser focused on us, our family, and our happiness. That’s all that matters to me. Or at least it matters the most.”

She reaches up and runs her fingers through my beard. “Are you happy? Was today okay for you? Are you disappointed to not have a son?”

I run my hands down and over her belly several times. “ Not even a little bit. In fact, this is what I wanted. Two more Harpers? Sign me up.”

She smiles. “It could be two more Kams.”

I suck in a breath. “Bite your tongue.”

She lets out a laugh. “Even I couldn’t handle that.”

I can’t stop rubbing her belly, loving that she’s growing our girls inside her. “How about two Baileys? Then I’ll want a hundred more.”

She looks up at me. “You’d consider more after these two?”

I think about it for a moment as I continue running my hands all over her body. “Unbelievably, yes. I can’t imagine anything better than watching you be a mother or seeing more products of our love. We’ll have to stop at some point though. I don’t want to be eighty when they’re in kindergarten.”

She reaches her hand back again and gives my cock a squeeze. “You feel young and healthy to me.”

I nibble on her ear. “How about you sit on him and find out just how healthy he is?”

She nods. “In a minute. I enjoy this intimacy with you. Laying in your arms with your hands all over me. I love you, Tanner. So much.”

“I love you too, my sweet, sweet girl. My life had a lot going on before you came into it. The count was full and it could have gone in a lot of different directions.”

She let out a laugh. “Are you telling me I was the payoff pitch?”

I smile into her hair. “Yes you were, and I hit a grand slam.”

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