Ryan Renewed: New York Ruthless: Book 5

Ilie on the bed in the small examination room. I suppose that it’s not actually that small, but it’s currently filled with four giant Ryan brothers, and their excitement and nervous energy is making me feel giddy. In a few moments we will see our babies on a screen and only then will this feel real to me.

Since Lisa gave me the news of my pregnancy yesterday I’ve been in something of a daze. I woke this morning to five missed calls from Hayden and two text messages. Lisa gave him our DNA results yesterday and he was so excited when I finally called him back. He wanted to come over today but I don’t want to share my other news with him just yet. I want to keep this just between us for now, and besides, until I see those babies on that screen, I can’t believe it’s true. I invited him for brunch tomorrow instead so we can talk through everything properly.

News of my pregnancy has obviously overshadowed the discovery that I have a half-brother, and so far my husbands haven’t spoken about it other than to agree to my brunch invite to Hayden.

As promised, Lisa set me up an appointment with an OB-GYN, Dr. Stein today and after being shown in by her receptionist, we are waiting for her to join us.

“You okay, baby?” Liam asks as he takes my hand and brushes the pad of his thumb over my knuckles.

“Yeah, just a little nervous,” I smile.

“You’re not the only one,” Shane smiles at me reassuringly. “We all are. Especially Conor.” He indicates his head to his younger brother standing at the back of the room chewing on his thumbnail.

“He looks like he’s about to throw up,” I whisper.

“I know,” Shane whispers back.

I’ve never seen Conor looking so nervous before and I’m about to call him over to me but we’re interrupted by the door opening and a woman with honey blonde hair and a huge smile practically bounces into the room.

“Jessie?” she says to me.

“Yeah,” I reply with a smile because her joy is infectious.

She closes the door behind her and then makes her way straight to me, holding out her hand. “I’m Dr. Stein. But you can call me Brooke.”

“Hi, Brooke.” I take her offered hand. “Thank you for squeezing us in today.”

“Well, Lisa is my home girl, so I’m always happy to help her out,” she says with a smile. Then she looks around the room at the brothers. “And these must be your husbands?” she asks and I heave a sigh of relief that Lisa has explained our situation. It’s not that I feel any shame about our set up, but it can be hard to explain to people sometimes, particularly if they don’t have an open mind about this kind of stuff.

“Yes we are,” Liam answers first and then each of my husbands introduces themselves in turn. As soon as he has, Conor goes back to chewing on his thumbnail and frowning.

Brooke chats away to me while she sets up her equipment ready for the ultrasound. I remove my panties when she asks and Mikey holds onto them for me, a devious look in his eyes as he takes them from my hand.

I lie back on the bed and when Brooke picks up the wand-shaped object, Liam can’t help himself from shouting out. “What the fuck is that?”

“It’s a trans-vaginal wand,” Brooke replies calmly as she starts to roll a condom over it before covering it with lube.

“The babies are too small to see on a normal ultrasound yet,” Mikey adds confidently and his level of research makes me smile.

“Usually I’d have one of my ultrasound technicians do this, but given the unique nature of your case, I’ll handle all of your care,” Brooke says.

“You mean because I have four baby daddies?” I ask with a smile.

“I was thinking more because you’re married to the Irish Mafia, but yeah that too,” she says as though she’s just called them lawyers or something.

“Oh,” I giggle as Shane frowns.

“Of course that information would never leave this room,” Brooke says with a flash of her eyebrows and I have already decided that I love her.

“So you’re gonna put that thing…?” Liam uses his index finger to point upwards.

“That’s the idea.” Brooke laughs softly before she gives me her full attention. “You ready, Jessie?”

“Yep.” I nod as my eyes dart to the screen beside me.

That’s where we’ll see our babies. That’s where they’ll be if everything is okay.

The screen flickers with grainy images as Brooke inserts the wand and we all stare at it. I’m vaguely aware of Conor moving closer, his soft breathing beside me as he reaches the edge of the bed.

I hold my breath as I stare at the small monitor because right now that is where our world begins and ends.

Brooke is quiet as she presses the wand deeper inside me. She presses a few buttons on the keyboard and I keep holding my breath as I wait for her to tell me that I have a baby, or babies growing inside me and this wasn’t just a huge misunderstanding.

“Is everything okay?” I whisper.

Brooke doesn’t nod or smile. Her face is completely unreadable. “It sometimes takes a few moments,” is all she says.

Conor reaches for my hand and squeezes it in his.

“There they are,” Brooke exclaims with a smile and the collective sigh of relief ripples around the room. She points at the screen and I squint until I see the tiny dots that she is pointing at.

“They?” Mikey asks. “How many, Doc?”

“Two,” she says as she turns to him and smiles.

“And everything looks good?” Conor asks.

“Perfect,” Brooke replies.

Conor leans over and kisses my abdomen softly. “Thank fuck.” He swallows hard, his voice thick with emotion. “I thought…”

I run my hands through his hair and can’t believe I didn’t realize why he’s been looking so anxious since we got the news from Lisa.

He stands straight again and lets out a long slow breath.

“Can you tell how far she is?” Mikey asks as he peers at the screen.

“Five weeks and three days,” Brooke replies confidently.

“Wow!” Liam gasps. “You can be that specific?”

“Sure can,” she says, giving me a smile before she pulls the wand from between my thighs.

She removes the condom and wipes the wand with some tissue before she stands. “I’ll let you clean up a little and then I’ll pop back in and we can talk through your care and appointments.”

“Thank you,” I say with a smile as my heart feels like it’s going to burst with happiness. I’m pregnant! With twins!

“You’re welcome.” She snaps off her rubber gloves and then she leaves her office.

As soon as she is gone, Conor leans over me and kisses my cheek. “I was so worried, Angel,” he breathes. “I was too rough with you the other night.”

I place my hand on his cheek. “You weren’t. We didn’t know.”

“No more spankings for you, sweetheart,” Shane says with a chuckle as he sits on the bed.

“What?” I open my mouth, feigning my indignation. “That seems so unfair.”

“Just until the babies are born,” he adds with a wicked grin before he leans down and presses a soft kiss on my stomach.

“We’re having twins,” Liam says, shaking his head as though he’s still in shock.

“Looks like.” I smile at him and he nudges Conor out of the way.

Cupping my face in his hands he bends his head and kisses me softly. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

“You’re fucking amazing, Red. Right now the babies are just the size of a strawberry seed but next week they’ll be the size of a baked bean,” Mikey says as he muscles his way in between his brothers.

“Are you going to be a pain in the ass with your research this entire pregnancy, Dr. Mikey?” Shane asks with a grin, teasing him good-naturedly.

“Yes!” Mikey replies.