Chapter 23

Steph POV:

I woke up to Carlos shaking my shoulder. "Babe, wake up."

"What?" I asked.

"Rachel's in labor," he said. I stretched.

"How far is she dilated?"

"Two centimeters."

I shook my head and closed my eyes. "We've still got a long way to go. The baby is going to be a while longer."

"Steph, come on, I don't want to miss it!"

I shook my head. "Carlos, it's going to take a long time for her to dilate the rest of the way."

"Steph," he said, bordering on a whine.

I sat up and looked at him. "Fine, but we're going to be there for a while since you're so impatient," I told him. He smiled and kissed me softly

We dressed quickly and with a promise to Mag that Tank would come by to walk him, we left. Carlos held my hand as we took the elevator down. It had been six weeks since the incidents with Rachel.

We waited for the Valet to bring around Carlos's Porsche. "Have you thought about us buying a house?" Carlos asked me.

I raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to?" I asked him.

"I don't know, maybe when the baby is a little older." He shrugged.

"Maybe a house with some property for the baby and Mag?" I asked with a smile. He leaned down and kissed me softly.

The car was brought around, and we got in. Carlos drove us to the hospital and after parking, he rushed through the lobby as I followed at a more subdued pace.

"Babe." He groaned as he stood waiting in the elevator.

I rolled my eyes. "Carlos, really you don't need to be in such a rush."

He rolled his eyes and pressed the button for the third floor. I shook my head. We walked off in labor and delivery, a nurse pointing us to the direction of Rachel's room.

Inside, the live-in nurse sat in the chair next to the bed. "Susan, thank you for calling me," Carlos said.

"It was no trouble at all," Susan said, gathering her things and putting them back in her bag.

"Let me know if you need me," Susan said.

Carlos nodded and we watched her leave. Rachel was glaring at us.

"I told her not to call you!" she grumbled.

"Good thing I'm the one who pays her salary." Carlos said.

I shook my head, and Carlos took the chair next to the bed. I sat in the one in the corner.

"Rachel, I'm not going to miss the birth of my daughter." He told her.

"Did you have to bring her?" she growled at him.

"She's my wife!" Carlos snapped. He ran his hand through his hair. "Stop fighting me. I want to be here when she's born."

Rachel stopped arguing. Instead, she turned up the volume on the Tv. I nearly rolled my eyes. I pulled out my computer, set it in my lap, and opened reports on how the stores were doing and how fast the manufactures could get our orders finished.

XXXXXX

At noon I stood, "Carlos, I need to run to the office. I'm going to pick Les up on the way; he texted and said he's stranded outside some girl's house."

Carlos shook his head. "One day his dick is going to fall off."

I laughed and kissed him. "I'll be back in a little bit. Let me know if anything happens?"

"Of course. Text me when you pick up Les."

I nodded and kissed him again, all the while Rachel glared at us. I walked out and I could feel Carlos's eyes on me until I left the room. I walked across the lot to my car and called Les. He picked up.

"Where are you?" I sighed, putting the car in drive.

"Corner of Northwest Sixth street and Northwest Sixth Avenue," he said.

"I should be there in about twenty minutes. Can you survive that long?"

"Yeah." He grumbled. I laughed and hung up.

When I pulled up, Les gave me half a smile and slid in. He grabbed a pair of Carlos's sunglasses off the dash and slid them onto his face.

"Hungover?" I asked as I texted Carlos to let him know I had picked up Les.

He groaned and leaned the seat back.

"I've got to stop at the office in Miami first and then I'll take you home."

He grunted in response.

"Why didn't you call Tank or Bobby?" I asked.

"Tank and Bobby are running Rangeman today," he said.

I shook my head. We pulled up in front of the Miami shop. I parked, "Do you want to come in?"

"Might as well," he grumbled. He slipped from the car, and I rolled my eyes with a slight laugh. I didn't miss the hangovers from my younger days. My phone rang as we walked into the store. I answered it when I saw it was Tank.

"Lester alive?" He asked.

"For now," I said. "Pretty hung over."

"Where are you? I'll take him off your hands," he sighed.

"I'm at the store in the design district. I don't mind taking him home," I said.

"No, you need to be there for Ric." He said.

"I'll see you in a few minutes then."

Les stood at the counter, trying to flirt with Jess but she wasn't having it. She might be soft spoken, but she knew a player when she saw one. Elena was too busy busting his balls to even consider him. Les put his hand to his chest, feigning hurt.

I smacked him upside the head softly as I came to stand beside him. "Stop harassing my employees." I told him.

"I wasn't harassing them," he grumbled.

"Sure sounded like it." I grinned. "Tank's picking you up in a few."

He winced. "I don't want to deal with him this morning."

"Too bad. I have to get back to the hospital. Rachel is in labor."

"Damn, is that where you were this morning?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, I was just laying in bed, lounging."

I walked towards my office. "Don't aggravate my workers, and don't harass my customers. I know where you live, and I know where you sleep. It would be unfortunate for something were to happen to those precious baseball cards of yours."

"That's fucking evil, Beautiful," he grumbled from the front as I unlocked my office door. I spent a few minutes in the office before checking on Les and the girls. They all sat behind the counter talking; Tank pulled up a few second after I stepped through the threshold.

Tank walked in and I watched as he scanned the store, his gaze abruptly landing on Elena. He froze mid-stride as their eyes met. I watched her blink in a cute doe-like fashion. I grinned to myself.

Tank POV:

I didn't like the fact that Steph had been drug away from Ric to tend to Lester and his antics. I pulled up in front of Steph's store, the one I had visited in the middle of the night months ago.

I walked inside and surveyed the place. My eyes settled at the counter; on the stool behind it, a woman sat. She was gorgeous. She had silky brown hair fell in curls around her face, hazel eyes that were a tad more green than brown, a cute nose with a slight up-turn at the end, and lips that looked as soft as a pillow. She titled her head slightly as she looked at me, blinking with big eyes. A slight blush spread over her cheeks the longer we stared at each other.

"Tank, thanks for coming to pick him up," Steph said, drawing my attention away. "Let me introduce you to the girls."

"I don't think y'all met at the wedding," Steph said with a gleam in her eye. "Tank, this is Elena," she said, pointing to the dark hair beauty. "And this is Jess."

"Nice to meet you two," I said, offering my hand. Jess shook it and gave me a friendly smile. As soon as Elena's hand touched mine, a shock went up my arm and fluttered in my chest. and It was anything but unpleasant. She smiled softly at me.

"It's nice to meet you, Tank." She raised an eyebrow. "But your parents didn't really name you Tank, did they?"

"No ma'am." I chuckled. "It's a nickname."

"Hmm," she said. "I guess you aren't going to tell me what your name is, are you?"

"Not unless you pry it out of me." I smirked at her.

"I have my own methods to get the info I want." She smirked, eyebrow cocked, biting her bottom lip, eyes hooded.

Oh yeah, this was going to be good. I had a feeling this wouldn't be a quick one and done.

Steph POV:

After Tank and Les left the teasing ensued. Jess and I teased Elena; she had gotten Tank's number. I sat on the counter after gathering my things to spare her a moment.

"He's Carlos's best friend," I told her. "If you're not serious, make sure he knows that up front."

"Steph, I think this is different," she said with a smile.

I grinned. "Good," I said.

XXXXXX

I walked back into the hospital room. Carlos looked relieved while Rachel seethed. Carlos pulled me down for a kiss.

"You okay?" I asked him.

He sighed and nodded. "Better now that you're back," he said. "What took you so long?"

"Ohhh, you're going to want to hear this!" I grinned, pulling my chair up next to his.

After I told him the whole story, he grinned. "Tank's in deep already." Carlos grinned again. "If it's anything like us, he's not going to be able to keep from falling hard."

I grinned and heard Rachel scoff. I ignored her. "How far along?" I asked.

"She's at five now," he said, running a hand through his hair.

"Have you tried getting up and walking around?" I asked Rachel, turning to include her in the conversation. "I read that it helps."

"I don't care what you read!" she snapped at me. "You're not the one pushing this baby out!"

I sat back and waited. The doctor had been making her rounds when I came in, so I knew she would only be a few minutes. After checking everything, she told Rachel it might be a good idea to walk around. She agreed begrudgingly.

XXXXXX

At two thirty in the morning, Julie Rose Manoso was delivered. She was swaddled and handed to Rachel. Carlos watched intently. Julie was a gorgeous girl. She had her father's brown eyes, his skin tone and black hair.

She suckled greedily, and once she was done, Rachel passed her to Carlos and then fell asleep quickly after that. I sat on the arm of Carlos's chair, looking over his shoulder at the little bundle in his arms.

"She's gorgeous," I whispered. My voice tight, a ball of emotion stuck in my throat. Carlos nodded, he seemed to be at a loss for words.

"Do you want to hold her?" He finally asked.

"Can I?" I asked breathlessly.

He set her in my arms as I settled into my own chair. Carlos kissed her forehead before kissing me softly. "I love you, babe."

"I love you, too, Carlos."

Julie may not be mine, but she would be raised as mine. I wouldn't treat her any different because I didn't give birth to her; I didn't think I could love her any more than I already did. I couldn't wait to see what would come.