Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
“You don’t have to do that. I never mind staying with the kiddos when you travel. And as owner, Brienne needs to travel with the team.”
“No, she doesn’t,” Drake says and I blink in surprise. “She travels because she wants to… so we can spend time together. But that was back when we were trying to carve time out of all the responsibilities we have. Now that we’re living together and now that we’re going to get engaged—”
I grin. “She has to say yes first.”
“She’ll say yes.” My brother’s confidence and ego know no bounds. “The point is, we don’t need to rely on you. You’ll have the chance to go back to school and I think you should aim to start this upcoming fall.”
“I can’t do that while pregnant,” I exclaim.
“The hell you can’t. Plenty of women go through graduate school while pregnant. Hell… Molly did her second year of law school while she was pregnant.”
Molly’s our cousin and a complete overachiever, but I understand what he’s saying.
“And Brienne and I are going to pay for your degree,” Drake adds.
“No way. No fucking way. I don’t need a handout. I can get loans and grants.”
Drake again holds up his hand and waits for me to snap my mouth shut. “Brienne is a multibillionaire. I’m worth millions. You’re a peasant compared to us.”
I roll my eyes.
“We want to do this for you. You’ve done so much to support me and this is a gift I want to give to you. So please… just accept it.”
And… I burst into tears, big fat drops pouring out and dripping down my face. I’ve been crying so much about being pregnant, I didn’t think I had anything left. The tears obstruct my vision so I don’t see Drake rise from his chair, but I feel his hands on my wrists, pulling me off the couch.
He tucks me into his safe embrace and kisses my forehead. “I love you, sis. And I’ve got you. Even if that fucker Bain leaves you high and dry, you have me and you’ll never have another worry in your life.”
I sob harder but feel the need to proclaim, “This must be hormones.”
Drake chuckles. “Yeah… I’m sure that’s what it is.”
♦
I’m not naked when Bain returns only because I’m starved. I’d been too stressed to eat this morning, then Drake stayed awhile to talk. With things good between me and my brother when he left and the solid decision to proceed with the pregnancy, my body now demands nourishment.
I tell Bain that very thing when he walks in carrying a pizza. He laughs but gladly leads me into the kitchen. I don’t get any of the “you’re eating for two” jokes, but instead, he says, “I’ve heard pregnancy hormones make you horny. You’ll need to keep your strength up.”
I have a slice of pizza halfway to my mouth and it’s a good thing I hadn’t taken a bite as I would’ve choked.
His expression is innocent as he picks mushrooms off. He knows I love them and suffers their presence, even though they gross him out. “What?” he asks as I laugh.
“I’m always horny for you,” I say. “We didn’t need to get pregnant for that.”
Bain’s smile is soft. “I like how you say ‘we.’ We didn’t get pregnant… We’re a team.”
I can’t describe the flush of warmth that lights me up from within. His proclamation that we’re a team is more romantic than any declaration of love. At least to someone like me who is afraid that loving someone can be very dangerous.
“You seem awful Zen about this whole thing,” I say conversationally, trying to dig down to what seems to be his complete acceptance.
Bain flicks a mushroom off his finger, grimacing as he wipes his hand on a napkin. His gaze comes to me. “I called my mom. It was a good conversation. There were a lot of reassurances that I can do this and having their faith in me makes all the difference. While she had no thought she’d be a grandma this soon, she’s pretty psyched about it.”
“Really?” I ask, insanely curious about Sheila Hillridge. Bain’s told me some things about his parents and I know he’s close to them both. He models himself after them in that they were both free spirits when they met. They didn’t want to settle down and start a family until they’d had all the time to do things for themselves. That included solidifying careers—he’s a research biologist and she’s a college English professor—as well as having children. Bain was following their same life journey… live wild and free while you’re young and don’t settle down too soon.
“They want to make a trip here soon to get to know you,” Bain says before taking a bite of his pizza and my jaw drops.