Summer Lovin: A Dating Season Novella Read online

  “What? Shit. Damn. Fuck. Okay, remain calm,” he says, bounding from his reclined position and patting his pockets extremely un-calmly. “Where are my keys?” He holds up a hand, darting his gaze about the room. “Don’t panic. Everything is going to be okay. They’re here somewhere.”

  “I’ll drive,” I say, when he can’t produce his keys within seconds. “Let’s go before she pushes and little he or she pops out and we are not there to see it happen and welcome their baby into the world.”

  “Just remain calm. We need to be calm.”

  “I am calm,” I say as we rush out the door and to my car. “You don’t seem calm, though. You look pale with a tint of green. Take a deep breath. Can’t have you fainting on me.”

  “Pfft,” he says, taking the keys from me so he can drive us to the birthing center. “I’ll have you know, I have a stomach of steel. I’m not a fainter and later I’m going to tie you to the bed and spank you for saying that.”

  His white knuckling the steering wheel says otherwise but I let him have his moment of masculinity because it’s sweet he’s as panicked as I am. Plus, yum to my punishment.

  “We’re going to be Aunt and Uncle,” I say as he drives toward the hospital. “Can you believe it?”

  “No,” he says. “No, I can’t believe any of it. We’re probably going to see some blood and stretching of body parts that shouldn’t stretch that far but remain calm.” Streetlights illuminate the interior of the car and he’s white as a ghost. “What’s the speed limit? Can you go faster? Not that fast. Remain calm,” he says again. “Take some deep breaths. Like this.”

  I side-eye his demonstration because clearly he is on the verge of an anxiety attack but I play along, because honestly, I am worried. Seeing Charlotte in pain isn’t something I’m sure I can handle. The birthing center allows us to be in there with her but what if I freak out? My only experience with birth was a single video in health class freshman year. It was shocking, and I imagine many teenage pregnancies were prevented as a result.

  Within twenty minutes, we are hustling down the fluorescent-lit hall toward Charlotte’s private room.

  “Thank God you’re here,” her mom says. “She’s at seven centimeters so it shouldn’t be much longer.”

  I cross to a sweaty Charlotte who is hooked up to all kinds of machines. In a hospital gown. The baby’s heartbeat thumps into the room. “You aren’t naked!”

  “Why would I be naked?”

  “The lady in my health-class video… never mind. How are you?” I ask, dropping a kiss to her forehead.

  “Good,” she says. “Scared but good. Hurts a little more than I expected.”

  Austin steps up beside me and runs a hand down my back. “You’re going to be parents soon. Remain calm, even though you’re certainly terrified.”

  A contraction causes a grimace and a long wail. James looks unsettled and Austin quickly steps to his side for moral support. An hour passes and every time Charlotte contracts, I feel it in my bones.

  And then it’s time. There is a flurry of activity as Charlotte prepares to push. With her moms on one side and me on the other, and James and Austin wisely choosing to stand at the head of the bed to prevent fainting in the arrival zone, we work as a team to coach her through the pushing. She squeezes our hands and her eyes, James whispering encouragement in her ear as the nurse counts for her.

  I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as Charlotte giving life to another human. Until the baby arrives.

  “It’s a girl,” the doctor says. “Seven pounds, eight ounces.”

  “A girl,” I whisper, unable to stop the tears from flowing when I hear her first cry. “You have a girl.”

  While they clean her up, Austin, color restored, wraps me in a hug, kissing the top of my head. “That was… I have no words.”

  They place the most beautiful baby I’ve ever seen on Charlotte’s chest. Gah. She’s perfect. Charlotte kisses the top of her head.

  “What’s her name, Mama?” I ask.

  “Well, we love you both so much, and we wanted to honor you, so we’re naming the baby Chlaustin.”

  “You’re…Twilight-ing?” I ask in horror.

  “You cannot be serious,” Austin says, even more horrified. “That poor child.”

  James cracks up. “Good grief, no, we are not serious. Meet Everly.”

  I trail my finger along her soft skin and whisper, “I can’t wait to be your aunt.” When I glance up, Austin’s looking at me with major intensity. “I think I’m ready to talk about that cat,” he says. “Maybe a couple of kittens.”

  What’s next for Kayti McGee and Laurelin Paige? Who knows! We are those kind of gals who don’t really keep a schedule. Sign up for Laurelin Paige’s newsletter to find out what’s next because Kayti isn’t responsible enough to send one on her own.

  Paige Press

  Paige Press isn’t just Laurelin Paige anymore…

  Laurelin Paige has expanded her publishing company to bring readers even more hot romances.

  * * *

  Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest news about our releases and receive a free book from one of our amazing authors:

  * * *

  Laurelin Paige

  Stella Gray

  CD Reiss

  Jenna Scott

  Raven Jayne

  JD Hawkins

  Poppy Dunne

  Lia Hunt

  Also by Laurelin Paige

  Visit my website for a more detailed reading order.

  * * *

  Dating Season

  Spring Fling | Summer Rebound | Dating Season: Bundle 1 | Fall Hard | Winter Bloom | Spring Fever | Summer Lovin

  * * *

  Also written with Kayti McGee under the name Laurelin McGee

  Miss Match | Love Struck | MisTaken | Holiday for Hire

  The Dirty Universe

  Dirty Filthy Rich Boys - READ FREE

  Dirty Duet (Donovan Kincaid)

  Dirty Filthy Rich Men | Dirty Filthy Rich Love

  Dirty Games Duet (Weston King)

  Dirty Sexy Player| Dirty Sexy Games

  Dirty Sweet Duet (Dylan Locke)

  Sweet Liar | Sweet Fate

  (Nate Sinclair) Dirty Filthy Fix (a spinoff novella)

  Dirty Wild Trilogy (Cade Warren)

  Wild Rebel | Wild War | Wild Heart

  Man in Charge Duet

  Man in Charge

  Man in Love

  Man for Me (a spinoff novella)

  The Fixed Universe

  Fixed Series (Hudson & Alayna)

  Fixed on You | Found in You | Forever with You | Hudson | Fixed Forever

  Found Duet (Gwen & JC) Free Me | Find Me

  (Chandler & Genevieve) Chandler (a spinoff novella)

  (Norma & Boyd) Falling Under You (a spinoff novella)

  (Nate & Trish) Dirty Filthy Fix (a spinoff novella)

  Slay Series (Celia & Edward)

  Rivalry | Ruin | Revenge | Rising

  (Gwen & JC) The Open Door (a spinoff novella)

  (Camilla & Hendrix) Slash (a spinoff novella)

  First and Last

  First Touch | Last Kiss

  Hollywood Standalones

  One More Time

  Close

  Sex Symbol

  Star Struck

  Written with Sierra Simone

  Porn Star | Hot Cop

  Also by Kayti McGee

  Dating Season

  Spring Fling | Summer Rebound | Dating Season: Bundle 1 | Fall Hard | Winter Bloom | Spring Fever | Summer Lovin

  Written with M. Pierce

  By Any Other Name

  Written with Laurelin Paige as Laurelin McGee

  * * *

  Holiday for Hire

  Miss Match

  Love Struck

  MisTaken: A Novella

  Under the Covers novels

  UnderCovers

  Topped

  Long Shot

  Hands Off

  Stand
alone

  Screwmates

  That Thing You Do

  About Laurelin Paige

  With millions of books sold, Laurelin Paige is the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling Author of the Fixed Trilogy. She's a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there's kissing, much to the embarrassment of her three daughters. Her husband doesn't seem to complain, however. When she isn't reading or writing sexy stories, she's probably singing, watching shows like Killing Eve, Letterkenny, and Discovery of Witches, or dreaming of Michael Fassbender. She's also a proud member of Mensa International though she doesn't do anything with the organization except use it as material for her bio.

  www.laurelinpaige.com

  [email protected]

  About Kayti McGee

  Kayti McGee is livin’ deliciously in beautiful Kansas City, Missouri. Go Royals!

  She also writes as the latter half of Laurelin McGee. Like her co-author Laurelin Paige, she joined Mensa for no other reason than to make their bios more interesting. Sometimes they podcast as IRL.

  * * *

  Stalk away at:

  www.kaytimcgee.com

  [email protected]