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“Thea,” Thomas responds. His face lights up so much that damn if I don’t feel jealous. The unknown Gabby is bad enough. I don’t need some drop-dead gorgeous woman looking amazing right now when I’m fat and exhausted. I mean, there’s no way I could compete with her, anyway. She’s like model perfect. Her hair falls around her shoulders, it’s a longer afro, light brown with a tint of red. She’s got the prettiest eyes that look blue and sometimes silver. It’s startling, but breathtaking. She’s wearing black leather pants, like I’ve worn a time or two when Dad takes me for a trip on his bike. She also has on a brown t-shirt with a grunge design with white lettering that reads, “Heart-Shaped Box”. She’s wearing a bomber jacket, too, and I’m suddenly feeling really frumpy. I didn’t do anything other than brush my hair and throw on a pair of maternity jeans and a sweater. Honestly, this is about as good as it gets, but I wish I had at least thrown on a little more makeup. Glancing at her full lips and perfectly arched eyebrows makes me want to cry.
“T,” she says, and when she smiles she gets even prettier and I decide I hate her. The two of them hug and I can’t stand to see Miss Perfection hug the man I love. I find myself walking towards the door. Screw it. I’m pregnant. There’s no waiting to go to the restroom. Thomas doesn’t notice. Thea is telling him about her new bike she apparently got while he has been in Virginia. Part of me is pissed he doesn’t notice and the rest of me is relieved. I think I might cry and I don’t want to do it in front of him.
I make it out the door and I hear footsteps. I pinch my nose and hold my head down. I turn around expecting to see Thomas and instead his brother is standing there looking at me—and it’s not a nice expression.
Shit. I wonder how much it would cost to grab an Uber all the way back to Virginia…
Chapter 29
Thomas
Seeing Thea brings back old memories and all of them good. Growing up, Thea and Kayden were really close. When Thea moved to her aunt’s to try her hand at modeling, they kept in touch, so I expected her back, but not tonight. I love Thea as much as I love Kayden. She’s damn good people and we leaned on one another through the years. She was the person I confided in on how my stutter made me feel. She may not have understood completely, but she did more than anyone else and it was safe to unload on her. I can’t wait for her to meet Lyla.
“W-want you to meet my woman,” I tell her when we pull away from one another.
“Dad told me you were having a baby. I mean, dang, T, what happened to the guy who told me he never wanted kids?”
“Things ch-change.”
“I can see that, but you look really happy.”
“I am.”
“You must be to break the whole no kids pact we had,” she laughs.
“I just hadn’t m-met the right woman,” I tell her with a grin.
“Where is this miracle woman at?” she says.
I turn, anxious for Lyla to meet Thea, only to find she’s not there.
Mom speaks up. “She went to the restroom,” she says, standing up to hug Thea.
“I will never understand how someone so beautiful could come from such an ugly asshole, Bull,” Dad says, coming in to hug Thea, too.
“I’d argue with you, but the girls take after their momma. Always have. Come here, baby girl,” Bull murmurs, letting go of Aunt Skye to go to Thea. She smiles, wrapping her arms around Bull.
“I’m not your baby anymore. That’s Skylar,” she argues, talking about her little sister who is in college in Ohio.
“Oh stop. You’ll always be our baby and you know it,” Skye admonishes. “All three of you kids are spoiled in your own ways.”
Thea crinkles her nose, obviously not agreeing, but not about to correct her mother.
“G-g-gonna go check on Lyla.”
“She’s fine. Dom followed her to make sure she made it okay,” Mom says, as she and Skye start talking about some kind of girl’s night they all have planned. My heart freezes mid-beat. The last thing I want is for Dom to be near Lyla. When she looks at him, is she like Gabby and sees the better brother?
Shit.
I walk out of the room, intent on finding my woman and maybe spanking her ass for leaving without telling me.
As I clear the doorway to head toward the restrooms, I hear movement behind me. I look to see Thea following me. She shrugs and I wait for her. She was in an accident when she was younger and it messed her leg up. She has trouble walking, although she does her best to hide it.
