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“No one knew,” I reply as I walk onto the couch. “Well… Brienne knows. And Danica.”
“Brienne knows?” Drake explodes but immediately drops it down ten notches. “And she didn’t tell me?”
I sit on the end of the couch, curling my legs under me. “I asked her not to.”
“Why not?” Drake demands.
Kiera sweeps out her arm dramatically. “This is why… your attitude is crappy.”
Drake’s face flushes and he deflects. “He’s not long-term material, Kiera. That’s why I don’t want you to mess with my mates. They’re not the settling-down type.”
“I wasn’t looking for a settling-down type, Drake.” My brother frowns at me. “Bain gave me exactly what I needed, which was a casual fling with no commitment.”
“You don’t want monogamy?” he asks, brows knitting even tighter.
“We have monogamy, but that’s it. It’s fun, it’s casual and up until today, it was most likely temporary.”
Drake sits forward, rests his elbows on his knees. “What’s Bain going to do?”
I smile at my brother. “I note you don’t ask what I’m going to do.”
Drake waves his hand. “You’ll keep the baby. Never a doubt about that.” I don’t disabuse him of that sweet idea, but I had serious doubts. It wasn’t until I saw that Bain wasn’t overly freaked out and was supportive of whatever I wanted that it became clear to me what I’d do. “So I ask again, what’s Bain going to do?”
I shrug. “We haven’t discussed details, but he’s going to support me, the pregnancy. He’ll co-parent. That’s about as far as we got before you interrupted us.”
“Sorry about that,” he mutters. “I’ll knock from now on.”
I smile. It’s wan, but it’s the best I’ve got right now. “I didn’t want to hide this thing with Bain from you. I knew you’d be mad and I didn’t want to argue. And really… it’s none of your business.”
“Your life is always my business,” Drake growls. “And that includes your love life.”
“Hypocrite much?”
Drake’s eyebrows shoot up. “Pardon?”
“Pardon?” I mimic sarcastically and point at the kitchen table. “It wasn’t but five months ago we sat over there and I tried to ask about your love life and you told me it was none of my business.”
“That’s because I’m a man and can take care of myself—”
I whip a pillow at him and it smacks him in the face.
Drake grins at me and tosses the pillow back to the couch. “Fine. I understand your reasoning. But Bain? Why him?”
“Can you explain your attraction to Brienne?”
“Got about ten hours?” he quips.
“Exactly,” I say with an emphatic nod. “It’s more than what you see as a teammate.”
“So, you’re serious about him?” he queries.
“No,” I say, way too fast. I’ve been programmed to deny my feelings for Bain. But this is Drake, the one person I can be fully honest with. I take in a breath and let it out. “Actually… I’m not sure what it is. It was supposed to be casual, no strings. But little by little, we’ve committed to each other in small ways.”
“Monogamy,” Drake points out.
“That… and we’re spending time together outside the bedroom.” Drake grimaces, but I push on. “I like him as a person. He’s funny and smart. He’s a good guy. I like being around him. He’s just… easy and solid.”
“Are you going to get married?” he asks.
