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Lucy ignored his disapproval. Focusing on her daughter, she let go of my fingers so she could move to her mother and pull Ava from her arms. She hugged the baby to her chest and kissed her forehead before returning to my side so I could reach out and pet Ava’s hair too. And then her gaze finally strayed to Noel.
He folded his arms over his chest and lifted an eyebrow.
“So…” Lucy announced with a big sigh. “As you can imagine, Vaughn and I had a bit too much to drink last night and got a little carried away.”
Her dad released a pent-up breath. “You know what?” he finally said, lifting his hands and shaking his head. “I’ve overreacted before in these types of situations.”
When I furrowed my brow, wondering just how many times he’d caught Lucy with another guy, she glanced over and explained, “He wigged out years ago when he learned his sister had married his best friend behind his back.” Then she added, “Teagan’s parents.”
My eyebrows lifted. “Oh. Wow.”
“So I’m going to keep it together this time,” Noel was saying before he glanced my way. “I like you, Vaughn. And everything I’ve seen and heard about you impresses me. I would actually be relieved if you ended up with my daughter. So just tell me when the wedding is,” he finished, spreading his hands as if it were as simple as that, and marriage would solve everything. “And I promise I won’t lose it.”
“Dad,” Lucy scolded, while my stomach plummeted.
Black dots danced in my eyes, and the room pitched woozily.
But marry Lucy?
The idea was such a shock to my system that my knees gave out and I found myself sinking into the chair closest to me.
“This is not a good time for that,” Lucy warned, her voice stern.
“And why not?” her father pressed, his tone just as hard.
“Noel,” Aspen cautioned quietly.
“What?” he growled. “I’m just curious why our daughter doesn’t think now is a good time to—”
“Because we just realized a few minutes ago that today is the one-year anniversary of Ava’s conception, and Vaughn isn’t taking it well to learn that he now shares that date with his deceased brother. Okay? It is not a good time.”
I hissed a curse under my breath and pressed my palms to the sides of my head, squeezing them in as if I could literally force out every bad thought in my brain of exactly what I’d shared of Lucy’s body with my brother. But the images I kept creating wouldn’t leave.
Not at all comfortable with the fact that Lucy had told her parents everything, I could only flash my gnashed teeth as I watched her dad pull back in surprise and glance cringingly my way as if sympathizing with my pain.
“And I have to admit,” Lucy went on, her voice wavering unsteadily. “I’m feeling pretty shitty and awful for putting him through all this in the first place.”
I glanced over to discover she was starting to cry again. “God,” I muttered, pushing to my feet and stepping toward her, only to jar to a halt because it didn’t feel as if I could embrace her in front of her parents. “You’re not shitty or awful. I told you; you didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Yeah, right.” She sniffed and wiped at her face. “I can only imagine how disgusting you really think I am for—”
“Stop it,” I hissed, shaking my head. “I don’t. Not at all.”
“Well, then...” Aspen stepped forward to ease the baby from Lucy?
??s arms. “We’re just going to bring Ava back later.” Then she glanced at me sadly before turning back to her daughter. “You two work this out.”
After sending her husband a significant glance, she turned and started for the front door.
Noel heaved out a sigh, then grabbed the diaper bag and baby carrier before starting after his wife. He gave me a kind, fatherly pat on the shoulder as he passed, murmuring, “Don’t fuck this up.” Then he kissed Lucy’s cheek, telling her he loved her, and he disappeared from the house as well.
34
VAUGHN
After the door shut, silence filled Lucy’s living room.
Throwing my head back, I smoothed my hands over my hair, then blew out a breath and faced Lucy again.
