Page 151 of Manhattan Bossholes

I winced. Dominic was right.

“And this is Piper’s first,” Dominic continued. “Could be a couple hours. Could be much longer.”

A door flew open at the side of the waiting room. Vincent appeared, looking frazzled. He glanced around, spotting us. “Eight centimeters,” he yelled. “Eight!” He gave us a giddy little smile before disappearing back through the door.

“Okay then,” Dominic said. “I’d say this baby is showing up this afternoon.”

I chuckled. Vincent’s whole life was about to change, and I couldn’t have been happier for him.

“Did we miss it?”

I turned around, spotting Chloe practically dragging Paul down the hallway.

Trent shook his head. “Just in time, probably. Piper’s at eight centimeters.”

Chloe squealed and squeezed Paul’s hand before going over to say hi to Hailey. Over the next couple of hours, we paced the waiting room, talked about new, potentially baby-friendly ideas for Vincent’s bachelor party, and took turns entertaining Hailey until she passed out on a chair to the lullaby of a bunch of cartoon dogs serenading her on TV.

As we waited, groups came and went from the waiting room. Healthcare workers cut through on their way to and from their shifts. Proud parents emerged to update elated family members. Every time the door opened, my pulse skyrocketed. Geez, this wasn’t even my baby, and my heart was racing. I glanced over at Hailey, remembering how excited I’d been when she was born and how tiny she’d been in my hands when I’d held her for the first time.

Finally, the side door opened again, and Vincent stood there, clad in one of those disposable hospital gowns. He beamed, his eyes glassy. “I’m a dad,” he said, his voice thready, like he was on the verge of tears.

I jumped to my feet, walked over, and dragged him into a hug. “Congrats, man!” As soon as I pulled away, everyone else crowded around. Chloe gushed her congratulations, pulling Vincent into another hug.

“How’s Piper?” Trent asked, giving his shoulder a congratulatory shake.

Vincent stepped back and rubbed his face with both hands. “She’s good. She did so well. No complications.”

“That’s great news,” Paul said.

“Well…” Dominic said. “Are you gonna leave us in suspense? Or you gonna tell us what it is?”

“Oh, right!” Vincent laughed, blinking at us like the news had only now settled. “A girl. We had a baby girl.”

“I want to see the baby!” Hailey bellowed across the room, startling us since we hadn’t realized she’d woken up from her nap. She stood up on her chair, her hair stuck up in multiple different directions, the balloon now tied to her wrist.

“Me too!” Chloe said.

Vincent grinned. “Nurses said two at a time.”

Hailey jumped down from the chair and tore across the waiting room. “Me first!”

10

CORA

“Aiden?” I asked, pausing my phone as he walked into the lab. It was after hours, and I was in the middle of filming a Masked Mixer video. “What are you doing here?”

“Just thought I’d check in. See how things were going.” He’d shed his usual suit jacket, the sleeves of his black dress shirt rolled up, showing off toned forearms. He’d always had nice arms. I wondered if they still felt as good as they looked.

I cleared my throat. “I just stopped to do some filming.”

“Oh, am I on camera?” he joked, running his hands through his hair before shaking out his curls.

I smirked. “Do you want to be on camera?”

“Only if you get my good side.”

“And which one would that be?” I teased.