Page 88 of Filthy Twisted Devil

“Maybe I have been, but I’m not now. I’m allowed to change, Brin.”

She rolls her eyes. “Yeah, right. You tell yourself that, but you can’t seem to get rid of that mean streak, can you? You’re still trying to punish me for Beau, and that’s not fucking fair. You didn’t have to sleep with my best friend to get back at me!”

My knees practically go out from under me. It doesn’t matter that I technically haven’t slept with Eden. The sheer fact that Brinley thinks I’d be capable of using her like that makes me feel like a complete piece of shit.

“That’s not true.” My voice sounds weak, even to me.

“It’s not? So how come you kept hanging around her, even after you told us all it was fake? Why, after knowing her for a goddamn decade, did you finally decide Eden was worth your time? Why were you stringing her along when you knew the last thing you wanted was a girlfriend? I can’t think of a single good reason, other than you’re pissed at me for dating Beau.” She shakes her head. “It’s mean, Luke. I thought you grew out of that, but I guess you didn’t.”

My mind tries to grasp at words and form arguments, but the words don’t come. All I can do is sputter out a denial. “That’s not what happened, not even close⁠—”

Brinley holds up a hand. “No. I don’t want to hear it right now, Luke. We’re here to support Cat and Nate. That’s what today is supposed to be about, and that’s the only thing I’ll be discussing with you today.”

She shoves past me and stomps down the hall. There’s enough noise coming from the living room that my guests might not have heard our argument, but if they see Brinley’s scowl, they’ll figure it out fast. I have to pull her back and make her listen to me. She’s got it all wrong.

Except one part of me, the part that grew up sharing a bathroom with her, keeps asking the question underneath the question: if my own sister can believe I’d use Eden as a weapon, what does the rest of the world think I’m capable of? What does Eden think, in the hours I’m not there to prove otherwise?

The second I make it back to the living room, Nate walks through the elevator door. He’s wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt, which feels wrong somehow. I’ve never seen him dressed so casually outside of the gym, and I’ve definitely never seen him with tears in his eyes.

Pippa practically springs across the room to him, hope and worry on her face.

“What happened?” she demands.

“Cat had our daughter, and they’re both healthy and happy,” he says, and the room fills with cheers and screams.

Pippa promptly begins sobbing, and Ryan pulls her into his arms.

“You’re an auntie, Pips,” Ryan says, stroking her back. “The world’s best auntie, and you haven’t even met her yet.”

James puts his arm around Maura and looks fondly at the baby dozing in her arms. “Hazel’s first friend,” he says.

Nate turns to the medical staff. “Everyone, thank you for standing by. The midwives say everything looks good, and you can all go home. I appreciate your being here.”

“When can we see the baby?” Brinley asks. I know her well enough to hear the forced cheerfulness in her voice. Across the room, Beau’s brow furrows as he picks up on it, too.

“Once the doctors are finished with the elevator,” Nate promises. “Cat wants to tell you the name herself.”

There’s a flurry of activity as the medical team gathers their things and heads downstairs, each with a handshake from Nate. Then Maura heads up to the penthouse to put Hazel down for a nap. Even though they have a nanny there, Maura still has the baby monitor in her hand when we all head down to Nate’s apartment.

The living room is messier than I’ve ever seen it. Nate usually keeps the place spotless, but now, there are blankets, magazines, half-drunk glasses of water, and the general debris left from the hours spent waiting out Cat’s labor.

“Do you think fatherhood is going to make Nate chill out a bit?” I murmur to Beau, who snorts.

“No way. By tomorrow, this place will be spotless, and he’ll be forcing hand sanitizer on anyone who walks in.”

“Shame. I could get used to casual Nate.”

We follow Nate down the hall to his and Cat’s bedroom. He opens the door, and a scowling midwife almost as tall as me emerges immediately. She gives each of us a death glare in turn.

“You will not speak loudly and you will not disturb the mother or child,” she commands. “If you act out of turn, you will be removed. You understand.”

The last two words are delivered as an order, not a question. I nod fervently, and as I glance over at the other guys, I can see them all doing the same. Even James looks cowed.

“Alright,” she concedes. “You may enter. But I will be watching.”

She steps away from the door, gesturing for us to enter.

I lean close to Nate before I follow everyone in. “That midwife is one of your hired bodyguards, right?”