Page 113 of Bully for Sale

“No. They’ll want to focus on their own lives. We need people older than us. Someone more experienced to guide us. Like parents.” Unfortunately, they couldn’t rely on their own parents at all. They’d all three betray them profoundly while claiming to want the best for everyone.

Ned’s brow wrinkled thoughtfully. “Heath and Adrien?”

“If they even want to help us? They have their own family and lives.”

“They will. I know it.”

Ezer hoped so. They sat together in another long silence, Ezer’s enormous belly shifting with the babies’ movements.

“Ned?”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“I mean, I forgive you.”

“All right, but for what? There are a lot of things you could forgive me for,” Ned said shamefacedly.

“I forgive you for being a coward in the past.” Ezer touched his stomach. “And I also forgive you for being braver than me right now.” Tears slipped down his face. “I don’t think I have it in me to do the right thing if it comes down to me or the babies. But you do, I trust you.”

“You do?”

“Yes.”

“But why? After everything?”

“Because I know you love me. There’s no one else in the world I can say that about with real certainty. You love me forme, therealme. Not some vision of me you used to have in your head. You love the bratty, angry me, not just my best self. I’m not even sure you’ve ever seen my best self. So, I know you’ll still love me even if we lose them.” He touched his stomach.

“But willyoulove me?”

Ezer touched Ned’s cheek, running his finger over the days of stubble. “I’m working on it. Iwantto love you at least. It’s a start.”

“Wanting to love me is good.” Ned hesitated and then asked, “How can I make you want to love me even more?”

“Just keep on being brave.”

Ned kissed Ezer’s cheeks, his eyelids, and his nose. “I’ll show you that I can be brave enough for you.”

“I know you can,” Ezer breathed, exhaustion falling over him, but with Ned next to him, determined to take charge if the worst occurred, he finally felt as if he could truly rest.

PART SIX

Birth

Chapter Thirty-Four

Shockingly, Ezer recoveredbetter than anyone expected.

To Ned’s distress, the hospital saw no reason to keep him admitted, even though Ezer’s organs were still being crushed by the babies, unless they wanted to proceed with the cesarian now. Since they’d both agreed to give the twins a chance to get bigger and stronger, so long as Ezer wasn’t in imminent danger, they were obliged to return home.

Ned was an emotional mess about it, but there was nothing to be done. He’d do his best to make sure Ezer stayed on strict bedrest, remained unstressed, and agreed to call an ambulance at the least indication there was a problem.

Nedwasrelieved, though, that after the confrontations with Ezer, Pete, and Heath, George had indeed backed off from his plans for his other sons. In fact, he took his omega, his alpha baby, and Rodan out of the city for a retreat in the countryside to“re-establish equilibrium in the household,”as he put it. This was reported to Ezer and Ned by Yissan who came to stay with them, purportedly to “help out” during this delicate time of Ezer’s confinement. But he spent most of his time by the pool, sucking on his beloved cigarettes, and making dreamy escape plans with his beta lover, John Stone.

For his part, John was currently hiding out until his father got over being denied Yissan, then they both planned to leave town. To do what? Ned had no idea. But given Yissan’s general uselessness, Ned didn’t care so long so long as he didn’t stress his brother out with any of it.