All In: Betting on a Full House (Gambling With Love) Read online

  "Fine. I guess I'll have to wait until tonight to do this again with you."

  "Jonathan need a new stereo set?" I asked and she laughed. "Or new headphones?"

  "I'll pick some up on the way home tonight," she grinned before getting up.

  "I know how we can save some time this morning."

  "How's that?"

  "Share the shower. It's good for the environment too, saving water and all."

  "Right," she rolled her eyes. "Then let's go, big daddy."

  "Big daddy?"

  "Would you prefer little daddy?"

  "Hell no," I laughed.

  …

  Jess

  "Baby, I'm pretty sure that's supposed to close in the back," Tyler said when I hopped up on the OBGYN exam table in the required gown.

  "Nope. This place want's access to all the front goods, not my ass."

  "I want access to the front goods too," he said, and then he was standing between my legs, kissing me and feeling me up in the exam room.

  When there was a knock on the door Tyler jumped back quickly while I pulled the gown closed a second before it opened.

  "Hi, I'm Dr. Whitmore. How are you feeling today?" the middle-aged doctor with short pixie brown hair asked with a smile.

  I was still breathing heavy from our make out session when I answered. "Good."

  "Great. Just so you know, we treat twin pregnancies as high risk, because they tend to deliver early and have more complications. Not that you are having any complications, and we hope it stays that way. But we'll be seeing you every two weeks just to keep an eye on things."

  "Okay," I said with a nod.

  "Now, lay back. I'm just going to get a quick measurement of your uterus."

  I laid down flat on the crinkling paper and saw Tyler standing to the side looking a little freaked out, but sexy as hell in his uniform.

  "Hi, officer. Are you the father?" the doctor turned to ask him as she put on gloves.

  "I am."

  "Well, don’t worry, nothing crazy will happen today. You can stand over here with Ms. Dodson if you’d like," she told him and so he moved to my side.

  The doctor pressed around my lower abdomen, then used a tape measure. "Okay, you're measuring right where you should, about nine weeks. Have you had any pain or bleeding?"

  "No, neither."

  "Good. Let us know right away if you have either. I'd like to do another vaginal ultrasound today since you were only about six weeks the last time you had one, just to see how things are progressing. We'll do some more blood work today too."

  "Sure." I was glad we'd get to see them on another ultrasound.

  "Alright, go ahead and get dressed and head to ultrasound room two. The tech in there will take care of you," she said on the way out the door.

  Tyler handed me my clothes quickly, and fidgeted.

  "So, do you think I can come with you to the ultrasound?" he asked hesitantly.

  "Hell yes, you're coming with me," I told him, pulling my dress over my head and slipping my panties and shoes back on. I grabbed his hand and led him through the door down the hall to the x-ray tech's room.

  "Ms. Dodson? Come on in. If you'll remove your panties and then have a seat," the young blonde tech said when she saw us standing in the doorway. "You've had a vaginal ultrasound before, right?"

  "Yes, a few weeks ago."

  "Good, then you know they're not as bad as they look."

  She pulled the long dildo looking wand out and rolled a condom on it before greasing it up with lube. Tyler's face was so hilarious I laughed out loud.

  "That goes in you?" he asked, sounding appalled.

  "Yes, it's too early for the stomach kind of ultrasound."

  "I'm feeling hella inadequate right now," he said, making me and the tech laugh. The tech looked up at him and then did a double. I figured it because he was hot, but nope she recognized him.

  "It's Tyler right?" she asked with a big smile and he looked over at her in surprise. Only his last name was on his uniform.

  "Ah, yeah." When he looked at me I raised an eyebrow in question.

  "Baby, I've never slept with her," he said, reading my mind. "I've never slept with you, have I?" he asked her, not sounding completely sure.

  The tech laughed. "No, we haven't, I assure you. I was in a class with Lauren during the summer, and I met you when I was over at her house studying."

  "Oh yeah. Samantha?" he asked and she nodded.

  "Yeah. Oh God, you're not cheating on her are you?" she asked, looking back and forth between us, genuinely concerned.

  "No, they broke up, and I'm actually Lauren's best friend," I quickly explained, wanting to get on with the ultrasound.

  "You’re the father?" she asked, and I sighed.

  "Yep."

  "Wow, congrats. And you're having twins."

  "Yep."

  "Well, let's have a look at them," she said. "You ready?" she asked and, when I nodded, she slowly inserted the wand. Tyler grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze.

  "Alright, there they are," she pointed to the pair of fuzzy circles on the screen. "Let's tilt it just a little and, there, that's the head of baby A and that's its belly. Then here is the head and belly of baby B. Their arms are tiny, but you can see them sticking out on the sides right here."

  "Holy shit," Tyler exclaimed.

  "Wow, they're bigger, and look like real babies now instead of blips," I observed.

  "When will we be able to find out the genders?" Tyler asked after kissing my hand in his.

  "About another six or seven weeks. But here, listen."

  She measured something on the screen on each baby and then the sounds of a horse galloping came through the speakers. Then double horses.

  "That's their heart beats, both about a hundred and seventy beats a minute. Some people swear girls have higher heart rates than boys. So based solely on that, these might be little girls."

  I was speechless and amazed.

  "Does everything look okay with them?" I asked.

  "Oh yeah, everything looks great, and we're all done. Would you like me to print a few pictures?"

  "Yeah, we'd love to have a few. Thank you" I told her, wiping the moisture from my eyes. Tyler looked equally shocked and thoughtful.

  After they drew some blood in the lab, and scheduled my next appointment, we were ready to leave. As soon as we stepped out of the double doors, Tyler was on me, kissing me smack dab in the middle of the front entrance.

  "Tyler, everyone can see us!"

  "Marry me. Not because you're having my babies, but because I love you, and need you, every second of every day. I don't want to live without you."

  I looked up at him, still holding onto his shoulders as I tried to figure out if he'd lost his mind or was actually being serious. The look on his face was serious, and he was waiting for me to give him an answer.

  I knew I loved him, and I couldn't imagine not having him in my life. I believed him when he said he loved me for all the right reasons.

  "Jess?"

  "I love you, and I want to be with you too."

  A smile stretched across his face. "Is that a yes?"

  "Yes."

  He picked me up and kissed me, then cheers and applause erupted like in a movie. At first I thought I'd imagined it, but when Tyler put me down we turned back to the doctor's office doors and saw that a crowd had gathered. A dozen or more people, mostly woman, were standing there, wiping tears from their eyes.

  "That was so beautiful," a pregnant woman said.

  "I know right. Why can't my husband ever do anything romantic?" a nurse said as they all turned around to head back inside.

  "How ... how did they know?" I asked Tyler who was still grinning down at me.

  "Because we're that obvious," he laughed, kissing me again before taking my hand. "Come on, let's go call everyone and tell them all the good news."

  "So, when?" I asked.

  "As soon as we get to the truck."

&
nbsp; "No, not that. When do you want to marry me?"

  "Oh. Soon, not soon, whenever you're ready? We can elope to Vegas, or plan a big wedding, whatever you want, baby."

  "Vegas? This weekend?"

  He stopped beside the passenger door. "Alright. Let's do it," he said, then hesitated and looked down at the phone in his hand.

  "You'd rather wait?" I asked.

  "What? God, no. It's just, I know my parents would want to be there. I'm their only child and my mom has been looking forward to this since I was born. It's going to hurt them if I do it without them."

  "Then invite them. I want my brother there too. And Caleb and Lauren. Dylan and Will?"

  "Thank you," he said with a huge grin. "That would mean a lot to them, and Caleb's been my best friend forever. Lauren, she's nothing more to me now, you know that right?"

  "Yeah, I know. And she's my best friend."

  We climbed in his SUV and then Tyler used his phone to take a picture of the ultrasound and texted it to his mom. After we talked it over for a few minutes and decided to leave Friday afternoon for Vegas so we could get married at midnight, he called his parents.

  "Hey, Mom," he said, putting her on speakerphone.

  "Hey, sweetie! I just got the picture of the babies! They are so cute! How's Jess, what'd the doctor say?"

  "Jess is good, and the babies are doing great.”

  "Oh thank goodness! I can't wait until you find out what you’re having!"

  "We've got weeks to go, but the tech said with heart rates in the one seventies some would guess girls. But that's just a random guess."

  "Girls! I would love if you had girls. Or little boys, or one of each. I don't care which, just as long as they're healthy."

  "That's all that matters to us too. So, hey, what are you and dad doing this weekend?"

  "Nothing I know of, why? You all want to come back up here? We'd love to have you."

  "No. But we're going to Vegas on Friday, if you and dad want to-"

  "Rob! Rob!" his mom screamed and interrupted Tyler. "Guess what! Tyler's getting married this weekend! In Vegas!"

  We laughed at her excitement and gave her a chance to calm down.

  "Mom? I didn't say anything about getting married," he told her, giving me a wink.

  "What?" she asked sounding so disappointed.

  "Yeah. You didn't give me a chance to. Jess and I are getting married, and hope you'll come with us."

  More squealing came over the phone, and I swatted Tyler on his arm for messing with his sweet mom like that.

  "Mom? Mom? Mom! We've got to get to work but we'll talk more tonight okay?"

  "Okay, sweetie! Congratulations! We're so happy for you and already love Jess and Jonathan, and can't wait to make them part of our family."

  Tears welled in my eyes at her sincerity, and Tyler reached over to wipe a tear away when it fell.

  "I know. I can't either. Talk to you tonight. Love you."

  "Love you too!"

  Right after we hung up my phone rang. I pulled it from my purse and saw it was Lauren.

  "Hey," I answered.

  More squeals, so loud I had to pull the phone from my ear.

  "What's going on?" I asked, although she sounded happy.

  "Don't you play dumb with me, girl! Congratulations!"

  I looked at Tyler and he held his hands up. He'd been talking to his mom so he hadn't called or texted Caleb.

  "Ah, Lauren, what are you talking about?"

  She sighed indignantly. "You and Tyler got engaged! There's a picture of you two all over the internet and on all the local news websites."

  "What? You can't be serious. It just happened like literally five minutes ago. Who posted a picture?"

  "Oh, well I was wondering why you hadn't called. Hold on a second and I'll send you the link."

  A second later my phone dinged and I pulled it away from my ear to check it.

  "Oh my God," I mumbled, then showed the picture to Tyler. The headline was "Police officer proposes and sweeps pregnant girlfriend off her feet."

  "Oh fuck. My superior officers are going to lose their shit with this sort of publicity."

  The picture was actually beautiful. You could see the love between us like it was a tangible thing. With me in my white and blue dress, looking like a young, crazy in love bride, against him in all his gorgeousness in the dark blue police uniform, it was sweet. Tyler looked like every woman's fantasy - romantic and so damn hot. With a green and floral, manicured landscape behind us, and the morning sun shining down on us, making Tyler's blonde hair look like a halo, the picture was breathtaking. I was glad to have one of the best moments of my life frozen in time so I could always remember it, and never doubt that he loved me. I just didn't know how I felt about everyone else seeing our moment.

  "It's a great picture," Tyler said. "You look beautiful and happy."

  "I am happy," I told him, leaning over to kiss him. Eventually I heard Lauren's tiny voice hollering through the phone. "Oh shit. Sorry, Lauren," I told her, putting the phone back up to my ear. "So what are you and Caleb doing this weekend?"

  "Nothing, and we have to celebrate!"

  "Yeah, we do. You want to celebrate with us in Vegas?"

  Tyler's phone started ringing and more squeals sounded in my ear. "Oh my God! You're getting married? This weekend? Oh my God. I've got to call Caleb!"

  Then she hung up on me.

  "Fuck me. Here we go," Tyler said when he read the screen. "Sergeant? Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. Um, this weekend. Yeah, I am. I'll be in within a half hour, we had a doctor's appointment. Okay, thank you, sir."

  He looked stunned when he hung up. "How bad is it?" I asked.

  He shook his head. "It's okay. They're happy. Something about good publicity. The department's going to release my name to the media so they'll put it together with the shooting that's coming up for trial. He's right, I am a lucky man." Before he could lean over to kiss me my phone rang again, and it was Joe, my boss.

  "You better take me on to work or we'll never get anywhere," I told him, then put my seatbelt on and answered the ringing phone.

  "Joe?"

  "Jess! Congrats, although you just killed my damn trial. You and apparently every other woman in the city are in love with Evans. I'm really happy for you though."

  "Thanks, and I'm on my way."

  "Oh, take your time. We'll talk more later."

  "Thanks, Joe."

  "News travels fast, huh?" Tyler asked with a smile, then reached over to grab my hand, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles. "I've got to put something here, or the media's going to call me a cheap bastard."

  "What?" I asked. "Oh, a ring?"

  "Yes, a ring. Who proposes without a damn ring?"

  "It was heartfelt, and not some rehearsed speech. That's why it was so sweet and romantic."

  "Do you have a preference? Don’t women like decide on their dream ring when they're teenagers, or something?"

  I laughed. "No, well at least I never did. Honestly, I wasn't sure I'd ever get married, or have what I have with you."

  "That's a shame, baby. Let's go pick one out, then I'll take you to work."

  "I don't need a ring, Tyler."

  "It's not just for you. It's to show everyone else that you're mine, and we've made a promise to each other."

  "Or I could get a tattoo across my head that says, 'Taken,'" I joked.

  "Or that," he agreed with a sigh.

  I caved. "Fine, if it's that important to you, then you can buy me a ring,"

  Thirty minutes later I was sitting at work, trying to concentrate. It was hard to do with the perfect cut and clarity, round diamond ring sitting on my finger. Oh and hard to get past all the pictures from the internet that'd been taped to my computer, chair, and everywhere else in my office like wallpaper. The fact that I was pregnant or we hadn't been dating but a few weeks no longer bothered me. And why should it? I was getting married to a man I was head over heels in love with, and knew he fe
lt the same way.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Tyler

  When I clocked out and came out of the station at six p.m., media vans were lined up and down the sidewalk in front of city plaza. Jesus, these people were like vultures sweeping in. I didn't get what the big deal was, and didn't have time for them. I had a fiancée to get home to. But our department's PR people said I needed to drag the good publicity out as long as possible. Influence the jury pool, or whatever. Since I wanted a guilty verdict for the son of a bitch that shot me, and so I could keep my job, I'd suck it up and do my part.

  It wasn't all new to me. I'd had my fair share of experience with the media after the shooting, and then when I came back to work.

  "Officer Evans, are you heading home to see your fiancée?" one of the women with a mic asked.

  "Of course," I told her with a smile.

  "Did you plan to propose this morning or was it spontaneous?" This question from another reporter.

  "I didn't plan it, but in that moment I knew she was the only one I'd ever want, and couldn't wait any longer to ask her."

  "You were standing outside of an obstetrician's office. Are the rumors true, is your fiancée pregnant?"

  "Yes, we've known for a while that we're having twins, but that's not why I asked her to marry me."

  "Twins?" about four different reporters muttered.

  "Twins, but we don't know the genders yet." I figured what the hell, and pulled out my phone to show them the ultrasound picture.

  Oohs and awws erupted.

  "So when's the big day?" Someone asked. I debated whether or not I should tell them, but it wasn't like they were going to show up.

  "This weekend. We're heading to Vegas," I told them, unable to hold back the huge grin on my face. Cue a shit ton more questions, but I was done.

  "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a beautiful fiancée to get home to."

  "She's a lucky woman," one of the female reporters said.

  "No, I'm a lucky man to have such an amazing woman agree to marry me."

  I navigated through the crowd and headed to my cruiser, pulling out my phone. My mom had called and left a voicemail, and I had texts from Caleb, Lauren, Will, and a few of my fellow officers, giving me shit I'm sure. I scrolled through ignoring them all. There was only one person's messages I was looking for.