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Lines I might want to will into existence, now that I was starting to wrap my head around the idea of fatherhood.
Tish and Rhett had not stopped their conversation while I pondered the meaning of family and my actually having one of my own, holy fucknuts.
“Look, it’s not my fault he doesn’t want to talk about this shit, Ging. The guy is hurting. You know how he gets. Add in Ezra being Ezra and probably having the subtlety of a bulldozer, and can you really say you’re surprised Co opted to stay home rather than do some big crazy Burns holiday scene?”
“I’ve been working for months to make that scene happen.” Tish’s voice broke at the end, and I had to fight every urge that demanded I tug her behind me. I’d face every threat for her. Battle anyone that might do her harm—even if it wasn’t intentional.
But that wasn’t what she needed from me right now. I had to stand with her and wait to see how I could help.
Rhett shoved a hand through his hair. “I know you have. Ez does too, which is how I drew the short straw to tell you about Co. He didn’t want to hurt you. None of us do. But our brother is frigging stubborn as hell.”
“Which one?”
“All of us and you too and Dad. It’s a Burns trait.” Rhett glanced between us, his brow sliding into a lazy arch. “Back to that thing about this one being family too. Did I miss something? Though he did propose back there, but he seemed as surprised by it as anybody.”
“He what?” Tish sent a look over her shoulder, her expression a mix of confusion, shock, and annoyance. Those were probably three of the ingredients in her special blend coffee from Macy, along with an extra dollop of snark topped with a little sweetness.
“We’ll talk about it later.”
“So, no one is gonna tell me—”
“Tish might be—”
“Nope, no one is going to tell you.” Tish’s expression could’ve killed me where I stood if I wasn’t well used to her dynamic death rays. “Some things need to be verified before people go around telling people stuff.”
“Some people already told some people because some people think they should have a right to since the stuff is theirs too.”
“Who did you tell? Ugh, damn motormouth. You’re lucky you’re cute.”
“Is that what the name comes from? I assumed it was a nickname for scoring with chicks.”
I had a moment’s gratification when my girl turned her irritation on her brother.
“You are not funny or cute and I’m mad at you.”
“Why? Because I’m the messenger of bad news?”
“No. Because I don’t see you enough and I miss you.” She tugged on a lock of his dark hair and he drew her into a hug that apparently signaled the skirmish was over.
As we were trudging back to the reception room in the main building, I realized it was over between the siblings but not with us.
She waited until Rhett walked ahead and was busy on his phone to dip her hand into the back pocket of my trousers. And not for a celebratory ass rub either. More like a reproachful pinch.
Which my traitorous dick didn’t mind.
“Who did you tell?”
“Just Caleb.”
Her look of pure horror couldn’t even be obscured by the fat flakes drifting down in the oncoming twilight. “Him? Why not take out a freaking billboard? And if Luna starts groping my belly—”
“Can I watch?”
“You are such a male.”
“Guilty as charged.” I puffed out an icy breath when Ruby sped up despite the snow-covered sidewalk. I gripped her elbow to make sure she was steady, maintaining my hold even as she flashed me a stare cold enough to grow icicles on the tip of my nose. “Stuff should be verified soon is all I’m saying.”
“I know that. And I will.”
