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“Oh my god, Tater!” I leapt up off the couch and my brother caught me. That was even better than I could have imagined. I always wanted a niece or nephew and was over the moon with excitement. “She’s having a baby!?”
“Yes, but we haven’t announced it yet.”
“I’m so excited!” I jumped up and down. “This will be the first grandbaby in our family and Marissa’s family!”
“Don’t forget, this baby will be the first for Jesse’s family too.”
“Wait.” Some of my excitement faded into genuine confusion. “Don’t you know who the father is?”
“The baby is ours. All three of us.”
“I’m so happy for you. All of you.” I planted my ass on the couch again as if I hadn’t been a jack-in-the-box the past few minutes. Something unsettling wormed into my brain, and I fidgeted with the tassels on a throw pillow next to me. “Do you think I can find that sort of happiness?”
“Of course.”
“I wasn’t trying to date Jesse in college,” I confessed. “I liked his attention and, well, my eyes are functioning.”
“He’s hot.” A grin broke over his mouth. “Like, he’s really hot.”
“Tater!” I laughed so hard I snorted. “You and Marissa are hardly chopped liver. The three of you could be on a magazine cover somewhere.”
“Thank you, but it’s more than looks. We all make better decisions with Jesse’s guidance, but I meant that you can absolutely find happiness. Didn’t you and Tanner talk?”
“Yeah, but he’s in a relationship with Dane.”
“They’ve been looking for their third partner for a long time. I bet you could balance them well.”
“Maybe.”
“I didn’t mean to get into serious stuff again, Tia. Let’s make the rest of the night fun, okay?”
“Okie dokie.”
“Be right back.”
I nodded, wanting to push away the gunk building inside of me. Too many things had happened in a short amount of time, and I had yet to process everything.
Watching my brother stride away to make yummy snacks for us and have a movie night like we used to chipped away at the wall I’d built around my heart. He would never judge me.
Besides, he was right about the relationship and the balance. I wanted to be in a relationship with both Tanner and Dane. Ever since Tanner mentioned it, I couldn’t get the idea out of my head. If we could move on from our past stuff. And if the crap I’d been dealing with in California didn’t pop up anytime soon. I could get my life back on track starting with making things right with everyone. And if I couldn’t? Well, I was adjusting to the idea of letting my friends and family help me get there.
Chapter 5
Tiana
Cautiously stepping down the stairs, I checked the entryway. My brother and Jesse stood there talking to each other, but they stopped when I walked up to the window. Checking the driveway, I saw Tate’s navy pickup truck and an unmarked police car. He dropped me off late last night after we watched funny movies for hours, but neither of them looked pleased to be here. Jesse had his handcuffs on his belt. I assumed he was armed as well, and his presence raised red flags.
All my rationale flew away as I slowly approached them. “What are you guys doing here?”
“There’s something I need to talk to you about, Tia.” Jesse nodded.
“Something bad has gone down.” Tate reached his hand out to me, but I swatted it away.
“I told you not to tell Jesse!” Screaming into Tate’s face, I nearly swung my fist at him. Bad people had my name in their mouths. I had zero leverage, but it was not my fault. “How dare you betray my trust?”
“It’s out of my hands, Tot. I told you I wouldn’t say anything, and technically I didn’t.”
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I shoved Tatum with the palms of my hands, ignoring whatever he was trying to clarify. This wasn’t like when we were kids and play-fighting. He was stronger than me, he always was, but he’d never show it. “How could you? I trusted you!”
