Chapter Thirty-Nine
RILEY
Ciara shifts on the bed,groaning softly as she tries to roll onto her side, before muttering a string of curses and flopping onto her back.
“Are you good?” I prop myself up on an elbow.
“What do you think?” She drapes one hand dramatically over her swollen belly. “I’m carrying two small humans who think my ribs are a trampoline. I haven’t slept through the night in weeks, and if Ronan so much as looks at me with that worried face one more time, I might actually strangle him.”
I bite my lip, trying not to laugh. “So…you’re good?”
That earns me a groggy smile. “Yeah, I’m good.”
“Do you want me to grab you another pillow? Maybe wedge it under your back?”
Ciara shakes her head. “Unless it can teleport me to the day after I give birth, I think I’m stuck like this. I don’t think anyone will be able to tell the difference between me and a beluga whale at this point.”
“You’ll get your body back. Honestly, you look amazing.”
Somehow, she pulls off wearing a matching pink sweatsuit and a messy bun in a way that I could only dream of.
“You’re sweet, but my ankles are swollen to the size of grapefruits, and I honestly can’t remember the last time I washed my hair. Oh, and Ronan had to help me put on socks this morning, which was deeply humiliating.”
I chuckle. “I bet he said it was an honor.”
“You’re not wrong.” She smirks, then her expression softens. “But still, these kids better be cute for the hell they’ve put me through.”
“You know they’re going to come out looking like mini-Ronans, right? The Sullivan genes are strong.”
“Traitors.”
“Have you thought about names?” I take a pillow and lean it against the footboard so we can face each other.
Ciara’s eyes gleam with sudden mischief, and I frown.
“What?”
“I gave Ronan a whole list of my favorite names and told him I was dead set on them.”
“And?”
She laughs. “They’re all absolutely horrible. I told him I loved names like Wolfgang and Cornelius.”
“You didnot.”
“Oh, I did. You should have seen his face when I suggested Wolfgang. He looked like he was about to combust. ‘Over my dead body, Ciara.’” Her impression of Ronan’s low growl is so perfect that I clutch my stomach, tears forming in my eyes.
“You’re evil.”
“Maybe, but it’s keeping me entertained.”
I shake my head, trying to hold in my laughter. “You’ll traumatize the poor man before the babies even get here.”
She smirks. “He’ll survive. Besides, it’s fun watching him squirm. I told him I wanted a strong, traditional name if it’s a boy, like…Thaddeus.”
I can’t help but snort. “That sounds like a stuffy old professor.”
“Exactly,” she says proudly. “And if it’s a girl… Mildred. ‘Milly’ for short.”