Page 35 of Can't Win 'Em All
“I know.” Sympathy washed over her features. “I’m afraid too. The only thing I know—the only thing every movie has in common—is that it’s going to hurt.”
I hadn’t gotten that far yet. “You should definitely get the drugs.”
She laughed, and it caused the air in the room to catch fire. For a moment—just a split second really—I wanted more. More than just friends raising a baby. More than just acquaintances going through the motions and being on our best behavior. I wanted the whole enchilada.
I wanted to fight with her. I wanted to love with her. I wanted to move forward with her.
Then reality smacked me across the face. We were not in a place for that. She was right. We’d always been friends. If we even considered allowing true emotions to overtake us, we would end up in a bad place. It was better not to risk that.
“So … how do we do this?” I held out my hands. “Like … should I tell my parents?”
“I’m going to let you handle that.” Ruby’s smile was kind. “You should figure out how you want to do it. I just dropped a bomb during a family meeting, and it did not go over well. Of course, your parents are different. They’ll probably be excited.”
“What about Zach? Livvie hasn’t told him yet, but she won’t be able to hold out for much longer.”
“I’m going to let you tell him too. Zach has to love me. I’m his sister. He can’t be mad at me either. It’s not allowed to be angry with your pregnant sister. It’s a law or something. You, however, might get a punch to the face.”
I hadn’t considered that, but it made sense. “I might need a day to figure out how I’m going to tell him,” I hedged, suddenly worried.
“It’s okay.” Her smile was serene. “Just let me know before you do it so I can be prepared for when he comes to me.”
“Because hewillgo to you,” I realized. “He’s going to want to make sure that I didn’t take advantage of you.”
“Yeah. You guys have some complicated stuff to deal with. You can always use the fact that he was boning your sister and kept it a secret for weeks to your advantage. You took that much better than he expected, so it’s only fair that he take this just as well.”
Hope reared up and grabbed me by the throat. “Do you think it will really work out that way?”
“No, but you might luck out.” Her grin was lightning quick. “It’s going to be fine, Rex. Just … take tonight and figure out how you’re going to tell him. Alcohol might be a good idea. When you know how it’s going to play out, text me so I’m prepared. Because as soon as you tell him, the rest of my family is going to find out the truth.”
“You don’t want to tell them yourself?”
“Nah.” She shook her head. “I’ve had my fill of family time. This one is on you.”
“No pressure, though.”
She grinned. “It’s going to be okay. They’ll settle. Once they do, we’ll be able to figure out how all of this is going to work. I got a crash course on all the stuff a baby needs today. It’s a lot.”
“Well, I want to be there for all of it.” I was firm. “That includes future visits to the doctor.”
“Absolutely. We can work all of that out. Just get through the notifications, and we’ll go from there.”
“Yeah, I’m definitely feeling pressure.”
“Better you than me.”
10
TEN
Rex might’ve been bold and brash when it came to protecting the casino. He was a big baby when it came to telling his parents and my brother about his impending fatherhood, however. Because I was annoyed—although I did my best to keep it under wraps—I decided to take the bull by the horns so to speak and force the issue.
“This is a terrible idea,” Rex hissed as he looked around my suite. I’d decided to have a catered meal so we could tell everybody all at once. “We should abort right now!”
I jerked my eyes to him, stunned. “What?”
Horror had him immediately shaking his head. “Not the baby. I’m talking about the mission.”
“And then what?” I asked reasonably. “What happens if we abort the mission—not the baby—and do nothing?”
