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I’m faster in this denial and it’s accurate beyond measure. “No way. Neither of us is interested in that.”
“Good,” Drake says. “You get married if there’s love and I’m not hearing that’s what this is.”
If you had asked me ten seconds ago, I would have laughed at the notion of loving Bain, but the minute Drake dismisses it as plausible, there’s an ache in my heart.
I shove it away, not willing to be worried about those things.
“Are we good?” I ask him.
“Yeah… we’re good. But Brienne’s not. She’s going to get a piece of my mind for not telling me.”
“Oh, no you don’t,” I snap at him. “You leave her alone. I asked her to keep a confidence and she agreed. You don’t get to interfere with that.”
Drake glares at me, but he knows I’m right. I also know he’ll probably still give her shit about it, but I know Brienne will put him in his place.
Finally, he sighs and settles back in his chair, propping one ankle on the opposite knee. His fingers pick at the piping that runs along the armrest. When his gaze rises to meet mine, he asks, “Your life is about to change in a big way. I don’t need to tell you how hard parenting is because you’ve helped me with the boys. You’ve been more of a mom to them than their own mom.”
“I think I’m pretty qualified on what to do once it comes out, but I’m a little freaked about pregnancy.”
Drake grins. “I don’t envy you that.” But then his expression sobers. “However, I’m worried about what this means for your future.”
I scowl in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“You had big plans,” he says softly, and I note a bit of guilt in his tone. “You put your dreams to go back to school on hold to help me with the boys. Don’t think I don’t appreciate that sacrifice because I have guilt about it every day.” I start to protest, but he holds up a hand to shut me down. “Brienne and I had been working on a solid plan to alleviate you of that. She’ll stay back with the boys when the team travels, and we can use a sitter for other times we need coverage. I honestly thought you might go back to Minnesota.”
“You don’t have to do that. I never mind staying with the kiddos when you travel. And as owner, Brienne needs to travel with the team.”
“No, she doesn’t,” Drake says and I blink in surprise. “She travels because she wants to… so we can spend time together. But that was back when we were trying to carve time out of all the responsibilities we have. Now that we’re living together and now that we’re going to get engaged—”
I grin. “She has to say yes first.”
“She’ll say yes.” My brother’s confidence and ego know no bounds. “The point is, we don’t need to rely on you. You’ll have the chance to go back to school and I think you should aim to start this upcoming fall.”
“I can’t do that while pregnant,” I exclaim.
“The hell you can’t. Plenty of women go through graduate school while pregnant. Hell… Molly did her second year of law school while she was pregnant.”
Molly’s our cousin and a complete overachiever, but I understand what he’s saying.
“And Brienne and I are going to pay for your degree,” Drake adds.
“No way. No fucking way. I don’t need a handout. I can get loans and grants.”
Drake again holds up his hand and waits for me to snap my mouth shut. “Brienne is a multibillionaire. I’m worth millions. You’re a peasant compared to us.”
I roll my eyes.
“We want to do this for you. You’ve done so much to support me and this is a gift I want to give to you. So please… just accept it.”
And… I burst into tears, big fat drops pouring out and dripping down my face. I’ve been crying so much about being pregnant, I didn’t think I had anything left. The tears obstruct my vision so I don’t see Drake rise from his chair, but I feel his hands on my wrists, pulling me off the couch.
He tucks me into his safe embrace and kisses my forehead. “I love you, sis. And I’ve got you. Even if that fucker Bain leaves you high and dry, you have me and you’ll never have another worry in your life.”
I sob harder but feel the need to proclaim, “This must be hormones.”
Drake chuckles. “Yeah… I’m sure that’s what it is.”
♦
