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My mouth opened, and I wanted to ask him when I’d agreed to something like that. But, there was something more pressing that I needed an answer to.
“What happened to Louise?” I asked.
Jason stopped what he was doing and turned to me. He still looked happy, so I didn’t think anything bad happened.
“Oh, she left last night. It turns out; she wasn’t pregnant to begin with, she was just doing it to mess with me. But we talked things out, and she’s gone and won’t be coming back.”
I gaped at him, wondering if it could be that easy. I didn’t want to hear the details, though, so I was a bit afraid to ask.
“And what about all the rest of this?” I questioned because I couldn’t stop now that I’d started. “You should talk to me about these things before just deciding them on your own!”
Even as I complained, though, I didn’t sound put out. If anything, I was so giddy I was almost breaking out into giggles. The only reason I was holding back, was because I didn’t want to freak the toddler out.
Jason crossed the space between us; hands held out with a hesitant expression on his face.
“I just realized I’ve never tried to hold him. Do you think I could maybe…?”
He had this pleading expression on his face as he asked that I didn’t think I could say no to.
“All right, but be careful,” I warned. “Hold him like this…”
I lifted Jack up and set him in his father’s arms. He was still too young to realize Jason was his dad, and too shy to even speak around him, but he settled into Jason’s arms like he was meant to be there. Jason was looking down at Jack with this awestruck look on his face, which made me wonder if I’d looked like that the first time I saw him.
“Beautiful, isn’t he?” I whispered.
“Yeah,” he whispered back. He glanced at me with a grin. “I can’t believe how much of this little guy’s life I’ve missed already. Starting from your pregnancy till now.”
He walked over to the crib, still holding the toddler gently like he was a precious little gem. I followed, feeling a bit anxious because this was his first time holding a child. But, he set Jack down with no trouble. He was already asleep again, exhausted from the early morning and the taxi ride.
Jason wrapped his arms around me, catching me by surprise, but I leaned into it happily.
“Look,” he murmured into my hair. “I know…after everything, this might be a bit much to ask for. But, I was wondering, if you could move in here? We can move your stuff over the next few days, and you can sell your place or whatever. Just…stay with me here, please? I…want to be a better man, Rachel. For you and our son. If you could give me a chance…”
Jason’s voice changed as he spoke, starting from completely confident, and becoming small and coarse at the end, unconfident.
I could have told him he didn’t have to do the whole speech.
“All you had to do was ask, Jason,” I said, the words muffled in his shoulder. “My answer is yes.”
Jason didn’t reply, just squeezed me closer, and I sighed as my eyes slid closed and I leaned into his embrace.
Epilogue
Jason
“I still can’t believe this is happening,” I muttered under my breath.
Rachel, who was by my side with her arm wrapped around mine, smiled up at me. “What? That you’d get an excuse to dress in a dashing suit again? That we’d be here in the same place with your brother and you both aren’t being such damn grouches about it?”
I frowned at her. “Noah getting married,” I emphasized. “And us being so friendly that I’m joining the wedding after receiving an invitation.”
She gave me a curious look. “Why is that?”
I opened my mouth to give her an answer, only to stop and snap my mouth closed. Exactly what could I tell her, anyway? Noah and I…used to get along as kids. We were twins, after all, and spent most of the time together. I couldn’t remember when we’d drifted apart, and somewhere in between, I’d grown to distrust and dislike for my brother, and he the same.
But, why did I dislike him in the first place? I couldn’t pinpoint a reason. Had it… Been some stupid sibling thing for all those years we hadn’t gotten along?
“I don’t know,” I said honestly.
Rachel just scoffed at me, shaking her head. I rolled my eyes and looked around for the newlyweds until I found them. Noah and his new wife Kylie were still talking to some of the guests.
“Can we just go over there, say hello and leave?” I asked.
Rachel slapped my arm with her free hand. “Of course not! This is your brother’s wedding, Jason. Besides, we need to stick around for the reception.”
“You just want to be here for the cake,” I muttered.
Rachel giggled. “Well, true. And we did promise our young son some cake, didn’t we?”
I gasped. “Jack is too young to be having cake, Rachel! You can’t carry any for him! I want to hurry so we can send the sitter home and spend some time with our son, not poison him with cake.”
She just laughed at me. And even though I knew she was laughing at my expense, I couldn’t help smiling at how happy she looked. Impulsively, I pulled my arm out of hers and instead wrapped it around her shoulder, tugging her closer to me as I leaned down to her ear.
“You know,” I said, teasing, smirking when I felt her shiver under my arm just from my breath washing over her neck. “If you play your cards just right, in a while, that could be you dressed in all white, walking down the aisle to meet this handsome devil ready to make an honest woman out of you.”
She laughed, though it came out breathless. “Is that so?”
I grinned down at her. Not that I was stealing my little brother’s idea, but I would be proposing to Rachel soon. I’d had thought of waiting until Jack could walk for it, but that might be longer than I was willing to wait. I’d made my decision already.
“Well, if it isn’t big brother!”
I looked up with a wrinkle of my nose at Noah’s tone.
“I am the oldest,” I said with a sniff.
He laughed. “Only by ten minutes, though. You won’t be able to hold that over me for forever, you know?”
“Oh, trust me,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I definitely will be doing that for the rest of our lives.”
Noah and Rachel exchanged glances, then rolled their eyes. I narrowed my eyes at them, wondering when they got so close, and how annoying that was going to be for me in years to come. Then I caught sight of Kylie, where she’d hid behind Noah.
“Hey, there, sister-in-law,” I called, causing her to blush. “Why are you hiding? Come here and greet us. We’re relatives and guests, too, you know.”
She laughed as she came from around Noah. I reached out to pull her into a hug; then she turned to Rachel.
“Congratulations, both of you,” Rachel said sincerely, settling back under my arm.
“What she said,” I muttered, chuckling when Rachel knocked her elbow into my ribs for it. “Seriously, though. Congrats, little brother. Kylie, welcome to the family. We’re very happy and lucky to have you.”
I looked to Rachel to see if she approved. She nodded at me, looking impressed. I didn’t know whether to be insulted by that look or not. I can be decent when I want to be, Rachel.
“I should be thanking you,” Noah said, looking at Rachel. “I don’t know what you did to my brother, but you helped him make a quick turnaround.”
“From what?” I scoffed.
He rolled his eyes. “She made you into a better man. I never thought it would happen, you know? It just seemed impossible. I’m proud of you, as your little brother. You worked hard.”
I had a feeling he was subtly making fun of me, and I reached out my hand to ruffle his hair in retaliation. But he ducked away from the attack, laughing.
The murmuring in the crowd grew lower, as the slow music started to play. The room had been made on the dance floor for a couple of the hour.
“I think that’s your cue,” I told them, pointing the way for them.
“So it is,” Noah said. He offered Kylie his arm, and she took it. Then he turned to me. “The two of you follow. You’re going in after us.”
