AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“She’s not his mother,” Wyatt repeated, calmed by the feel of Fiona still leaning against him.
“As soon as Ken figures out who her source is, we’ll be fine,” Brady stated calmly. “But we need to be more careful around strangers, for now. And warn our friends not to talk to a certain blonde reporter. She’s not getting anything out of us, and if she approaches Noah, we’ll be ready.”
“And if anyone’s got any big secrets or crime in the works,” Tasha added, aiming for levity but eyeballing Fiona and Thoreau, “now would be a good time to start confessing.”
Wyatt glanced at Fiona, who looked over at Thoreau with an apology in her eyes.
“Confessing is good,” Ken agreed. “But I think we’ve got a handle on all… Yes, Fiona?”
Fiona had stepped into the middle of the room, her hand raised as if she were in a classroom.
“Fi?” Wyatt asked, shaking his head. What was she doing?
“There’s something I need to say to everyone. But first…” She reached for his hand and, when he took it, she stood on her toes to whisper in his ear. “I was scared, because of my parents. But it was never about you. I love you.”
He frowned down at her, wondering where she was going with this. “I love you, too, honey,” he whispered back, “but—”
“But you don’t even know what I’m talking about. I know.”
She looked around the room and took a bracing breath before announcing proudly, “I’m pregnant with Wyatt’s baby.”
Thoreau’s mouth fell open, Seamus laughed and Rory started clapping like he’d just seen the most amazing theater production of his life.
“Oh my God. Best. Soap Opera. Ever.” Rory gasped.
***
Wyatt sat on the couch with Noah, listening to the commotion going on upstairs. The meeting was over, and everyone else had gone—including Thoreau—but Fiona, Zach and Jae were dancing to some of the weirdest music he’d ever heard in Zach’s bedroom.
He glanced at the ceiling with a grimace. “It’s perky.”
“K-pop,” Noah said, looking bemused. “Jae says temporary immersion can make it easier to absorb a new language. It grows on you.”
“Well, I won’t miss his Disney phase,” Wyatt told him. Liar.
“Don’t worry, Disney is forever.” Noah took his hat off. “Sorry, it’s getting hot under there.”
“You don’t have to wear that around me, Noah.”
He sighed. “I know. Thanks.”
“Do you think Rory’s going to be okay?”
“About James? No. He’ll worry. So will Younger. I can’t believe Brady convinced him not to fly down there yet.”
“Any idea who Alex is?”
“Not a clue. I bet Younger knows. I can find out if you want. Play the burn-victim card.”
Wyatt laughed in surprise. “Too soon, brother.”
“Maybe.” Noah leaned his head back against the couch cushions. “Is it too soon to say congratulations?”
Wyatt glanced toward the ceiling again. Still dancing. “I can’t believe she told everyone.”
“There were only a few people here,” Noah pointed out. “And we already knew.”
God, the look on her face when she realized… “She handled it like a champ.”
“The point is, she wants the baby. She loves you, you love her, and Hugo’s brother is involved in a way that you don’t ever have to explain to me unless you want to.”
Wyatt ran a hand over his face. “I wouldn’t know how to explain it.” But they were definitely involved in something.
Noah shrugged. “No judgment. We’re way beyond that now. Anyway, it works for Jen and Rory, right? Teamwork makes the dream work.”
Wyatt sat up so fast he startled his brother. “What the fuck, Wyatt?”
“Why did you say that? Did Thoreau tell you to? Why did you talk about teamwork?”
Noah frowned. “I don’t know, Wyatt. I think I saw it on a poster in that office building before the explosion.”
Wyatt started laughing. He couldn’t help it. It was too much.
“What did we miss?”
Fiona was standing in the doorway beside the good-looking babysitter.
Still chuckling, Wyatt got to his feet. “We need to talk.” He turned back to his brother, letting his heart show in his eyes. “Can I call you later?”
“Yeah.”
“Will you answer?”
Noah’s lips compressed, his own eyes bright with emotion. “I promise I will. I love you, brother.”
“Jesus, don’t start or my eyeballs will sweat,” Wyatt pressed his fingers to his eyes, laughing. “And I love you, too.”
Fiona’s car still had a flat, so Wyatt guided her to his truck with a hand on the small of her back. He didn’t say a word as he got in, just made sure her seatbelt was buckled before he pulled out of the driveway.
“Big meeting,” Fiona offered hesitantly.
He nodded.
“Did you have a nice talk with Noah?”
Wyatt grunted in the affirmative.
“When you said we needed to talk, did you mean right away or at some point as yet to be determined?” A thread of frustration was working its way into her voice.
“We’re not fighting,” he informed her conversationally.
“We’re not? Well, that’s good.”
