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Being the oldest, Aiden had stepped up to the plate and taken on the responsibility of being the man of the house and primary caretaker of his mother during her cancer scare, but his father’s infidelity had always made it difficult for him to really connect with a woman on a deeper level than just sex . . . until that fateful night with Daisy in San Francisco. Everything about that weekend had changed his life and future in ways he never could have imagined or predicted.
Leo had been an angry and brooding teenager over their dad’s blatant rejection, and Dylan had become quiet and withdrawn, though over the years, Aiden was happy to see that Dylan wasn’t nearly as serious as he’d been in high school. And Leo, well, he’d settled down in college, met a girl his freshman year who he fell hard for and had every intention of marrying once they graduated and found stable jobs . . . until she’d dumped him the day of their wedding.
Yeah, that situation had pretty much put Leo’s heart on lockdown, not that Aiden could blame his brother.
Their waitress came by and took their orders—he went for his normal bacon bleu cheese burger and a pale ale on tap—and once she’d delivered all of their beers and they were alone again, both of his brothers looked at him expectantly.
“So, what’s this big news you need to tell us?” Leo asked.
Aiden realized that there was no easy way to ease into the announcement, and he wasn’t one to beat around the bush, anyway. “So, yeah . . . I’m going to be a dad.”
Leo stared at him, his expression unchanging, clearly not believing a word he said. “No, really, stop dicking around, Aiden.”
Dylan rolled his eyes as h
e swallowed a drink of his beer. “Yeah, it’s not even April Fool’s Day, so quit being a dumb ass. As if we’d ever believe that you were going to have a kid. You don’t even date.”
Leo smirked at Dylan. “Well, technically, you’re the dumb ass because he doesn’t have to date to impregnate a woman. One little slipup and bam, you’re tied to a kid for life, whether you like the woman you screwed or not.”
Dylan visibly shuddered. “Jesus, I can’t even imagine.”
Aiden watched his brothers go back and forth as if he wasn’t even there. As if what he’d just said was all a big joke. And while he could understand why they’d think he was yanking their chain since they always bullshitted around, in this case their comments were derogatory and disrespectful toward Daisy, even if they didn’t realize it yet—and it was something he wouldn’t tolerate.
“Both of you, quit being so fucking crude,” Aiden said, his tone direct enough that they stopped talking and looked back at him.
Leo’s gaze narrowed, then widened a fraction when he finally realized how serious Aiden was. “Oh, damn, you’re not kidding, are you?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Holy shit.” Dylan’s sudden shock wiped the humor right off his face. “Did you meet someone on the Little Black Book app and knock her up? Is that why you shut down your account?”
Aiden sighed. “No, I didn’t meet her on the app, and I shut down my account because I don’t plan on hooking up with anyone else in the foreseeable future.” The only woman he wanted, quite honestly, was Daisy.
Dylan sat back in his seat, as if he was trying to process everything he’d just learned, while Leo remained quiet, too. Thank God their waitress arrived at that moment to deliver their meals, which gave them all something to do for a few minutes while the realization sank in.
After a few bites of his burger, Leo finally spoke. “So . . . where did you meet this woman?”
Dylan’s eyes were on Aiden, too, his curiosity unmistakable. “I work with her. Her name’s Daisy Parker.”
Dylan’s jaw nearly came unhinged as realization dawned. “No wonder you were acting so fucking weird when I told you I wanted to ask her out!” His voice was filled with accusation. “Why the hell didn’t you just tell me you two were dating so I didn’t make an ass of myself when I asked her out on the phone today and had to endure an awkward-as-fuck rejection.”
His brother’s indignation made Aiden chuckle, which earned him a glare and middle finger salute from his youngest sibling.
“Wait, you know her?” Leo asked, looking at Dylan in confusion. “You’ve met her already?”
Dylan set his burger down on his plate. “Yes, I’ve met Daisy. I’ve been working with her on an app for one of her clients. She’s very sweet . . . and totally not Aiden’s type.”
“Whatever,” Aiden said with a deliberate smirk. “She’s my type now.”
“Asshole,” Dylan muttered.
Clearly, his brother was still peeved that Aiden had essentially set him up to get turned down by Daisy, though in Aiden’s defense, he hadn’t known that Daisy was pregnant on that day. He’d just been acting on that she’s mine caveman mentality.
“How long have the two of you been dating?” Leo asked.
“Well, we haven’t really dated,” Aiden said, which earned another round of what the fuck frowns from both brothers. “I mean, I’ve known her for three years, so it’s not like she’s a stranger. We’re friends, and I never intended to cross that line and have sex with her.”
Dylan scoffed. “You didn’t intend to have sex with her?” he asked incredulously. “What, did you fall on Daisy and your dick just happened to slip into her?”
