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“Melissa’s supposed to send one over this afternoon,” I say, and I’m hit by a new wave of nausea. I push up to my feet and head for the fridge. I grab a beer and hold it up. “IPA okay?”
Handing Beau a can, I crack open my own and fall heavily on the couch. “I’m sorry if I’m grumpy. I’m terrified. And hungover.”
Beau grins. “Get your hangovers in now while you still can. Being hungover with a kid is legitimately the seventh circle of hell. Worse than that, even.”
“Can’t wait.”
“Samuel says he saw you with a woman in your car yesterday.” Beau sips noisily on his can. “Said she had short brown hair. Didn’t Amelia cut her hair? She looked great at the engagement party.”
Jesus fucking Christ.
“I see what you’re doing.”
Beau holds up his hands, can clutched between his thumb and first finger. “Just trying to distract you. Change the subject for a bit.”
“Amelia is a subject that’s off-limits, understand?”
“Understood, yes,” he replies, although the gleam in his eye tells me he doesn’t understand and will probably bring her up again sooner rather than later because he’s nosy as all get-out. “I don’t wanna lecture you. I know there’s a lot going on inside your head, and the last thing you need is everyone giving you their unsolicited opinion. But because I’m your older and much wiser brother, I’m gonna do it anyway.”
“Gee, thanks.”
Ignoring my sarcasm, Beau forges ahead. “I was scared of being a daddy too. You remember the shit I put Annabel through. I was so scared and so sure I’d suck at being a partner and a parent that I pushed her and Maisie away. But turns out I’m a pretty decent dad. And you know what? I was totally unprepared for how hard it was, sure, but also how fun it can be.”
“Fun?” I scoff, gesturing to the carcass of the water table at my feet. “You think this shit is fun?”
Beau grins. “Doesn’t seem like it now, but I’m telling you, Rhett, there’s this joy in having a tiny human live in your house that just . . . it’s awesome. Especially at this age, when they’re generally pretty happy, and you can actually play with them. Having a kid means you get to be a kid again. Only it’s better the second time around because you can eat as many cookies as you want.” He pats his stomach.
“You have filled out since y’all got married.”
“Thank you,” Beau replies, this dumb, dreamy look on his face. “Annabel loves my dad bod. Like, loves it. This morning, she—”
“Please,” I groan. “For the love of God, don’t brag about your sex life. Whatever sex life I had is about to go down the drain, so . . .”
“That’s not true.”
I look at my brother. “It is, though. Everything’s over. The life I knew is gone for good.”
“Maybe that’s a good thing.” Beau looks up. “You have a cool place here, but ever thought of building something new on that lot? The one on the east side of the mountain?”
A couple of years back, I bought some acreage from The Farm as an investment. I got it pretty cheap—I am part of the family that owns the place, after all—and while it hasn’t appreciated the way some of the other properties in my portfolio have, it’s a gorgeous spot. Views for days, a stream, and lots of trees.
“I haven’t,” I reply. “I don’t need a new house.”
Beau lifts his eyebrows.
“What?”
“Nothing. I just wonder what you’re gonna do when Liam runs head first into that glass over there.” Beau nods at the glass-encased wine room tucked underneath the stairs. It’s like a little box, the wine racks that run from the floor to the ceiling packed with pricey bottles. “And that two-story master closet you have? Just wait until he climbs to the top and falls trying to reach for your hats.”
I close my eyes. “We bought gates. I thought you were done giving me your opinions.”
“Don’t hold your breath.”
“Baby Jesus, give me strength,” I growl, shaking my head.
Somewhere in the room, my phone rings, momentarily startling me from my self-pity. I make a dive for it, finding the phone underneath a package containing a stuffed giraffe that’s attached to a pacifier.
Amelia.
My stomach flips. Was I hoping to hear from her this soon, less than twenty-four hours after she left my place? Yes. But I certainly wasn’t expecting it. Hell, I half expected her to never get back to me at all. The question I asked was that indecent.
“Hello?”
“Rhett,” she says, and something inside me unlocks at hearing the familiar-yet-not sound of her voice. “Hey, it’s me. Amelia. You have a second to chat?”
“I do. Of course I do. What’s up?” I glance at Beau. He’s got his eyebrows raised. Who is it?
