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“What are you talking about?”
“Oh, no, I’m gonna be such a crap dad, coz I’m just so useless.”
“I don’t sound like that.”
“Shush. I’m not done. This is your come to Jesus talk, because even though you’re a total loser, I love you to pieces. Plus, I wantScarlett to be my sister. So here goes. Scarlett has been through more emotional turmoil in the past six months than anyone should ever have to deal with.” Holding up her hand, she started counting off on her fingers. “First, banging you. I mean, what a trauma. Then, falling pregnant. Then, finding out it’s twins. Then, finding out they have a rare disorder. Then, finding out the cure requires her to find her birth family. Then, all the stuff with meeting the family, the fallout from her adoptive family. All the while, growing two humans from scratch. It’s a lot, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And who was the one person who absolutely stood by her through every moment of it? Who got all the shit done that needed to get done? Who held her when she cried? Who pulled her back from the brink of breakdown? The one person she could rely on who never let her down, not once? You look like a guppy fish, staring at me like that.”
I snapped my mouth shut as my heart rate picked up.
“I mean you, dumbass. Just so we’re perfectly clear.”
Stef was not the kind of person to give you empty platitudes or say stuff she didn’t mean. “Uh, right. Okay. Thanks for saying that.”
“No problem.”
Grayson leaned down and pressed a kiss into Stef’s hair. “Christ, I adore you.”
“Of course you do. Is that spaghetti sauce nearly done? I’m starving.”
Wolfe grinned at her. “Yep. I’m just about to serve. You wanna let Esme know?”
“Sure thing.” Stef rounded the counter and, on her way back to the living room, stopped long enough to drape her arm over my shoulder and kiss me on the cheek. “You got this.”
As we all sat down to dinner, past me would have thrown up at how perfectly sweet and happy everyone looked.
Grayson pulled Stef close, nuzzling her affectionately before sitting. Wolfe kissed Esme, and the way she smiled at him made me look away. Esme’s youngest sister, Belle, insisted on sitting next to Grayson so she could tell him all about her art class. And Wolfe chatted with the older kids about their upcoming trip to Africa. It was all very wholesome.
I had convinced myself I didn’t need those emotional ties, that I wanted to live my life footloose and fancy free. But watching my brothers, I realized those “burdens” were actually what life was all about- of loving and being loved.
I was pretty quiet through the rest of dinner, giving myself a chance to actually imagine a future with Scarlett. The bone deep longing I felt for the picture in my mind had me all het up. I even thought about going to her right away to tell her. The idea hit me so hard I was halfway out of my chair before I stopped myself.
No, I was going to do this right. I was going to do it properly. I was going to show Scarlett exactly how much she meant to me, in terms she couldn’t doubt.
Once everyone had finished eating, I stood up and helped clear the plates.
“All good?” Grayson asked quietly, joining me in the kitchen.
“Uh, yeah, I think so. But I’m going to need a favor.”
“Name it.”
CHAPTER 43
Scarlett
Itook a deep breath and pushed open the heavy courtroom doors, my heart hammering so hard I thought I might throw up. The minute I stepped inside, my gaze went immediately to the defendant’s table.
Oh god. He was here.
A rush of emotions slammed into me - longing, hope, fear. Love. So much love.
His broad shoulders were squared, and his gaze was fixed straight ahead. Just the sight of him made my stomach flip, a visceral reaction I couldn’t control no matter how much I tried to steel myself. Part of me wanted to march right up to him and unleash the torrent of feelings I’d been bottling up. But another part felt frozen, paralyzed by the fear of laying myself bare only to be rejected again.
I forced myself to tear my eyes away, focusing instead on getting to our table and setting up my materials.