Page 81 of Christmas with Brother's Best Friends

“You don’t have to,” I tell her, coaxing agreeing nods from the others.

“Why would we make you?” Josh adds.

Emma blinks at us in surprise. “I’d be asking you to share me. That doesn’t bother any of you?”

“We’re not carving you up like pie,” Max replies with a small gleam of amusement in his eyes. “We all get to have you. All of you. Your humor. Your beauty. Your intelligence.”

“Your stubbornness,” I add, making Josh and Max chuckle.

“I’d rather share you than lose you,” Josh assures me.

“And that doesn’t mean we’re settling,” Max tells Emma. “It just means we’re not threatened by each other.”

Emma still looks like we’re messing with her. “I don’t want to cause a divide between you guys. You’ve been friends forever.”

“That’s exactly why we can do this,” I reply before glancing at Josh and Max. “I trust them. They’re not going to hurt you. They’re only going to care for you, and that’s all I want. Your happiness. Your wellbeing.”

Emma blinks her eyes rapidly with a soft laugh. “I can’t believe this. Really?”

“What better setup?” Josh points out with a grin on his face. “We’re dating and preparing for our baby. I just feel bad that you have to deal with all of us.”

Laughter sounds around the table as I smirk and shake my head.

Emma wipes her tears away before they can fall. “There’s going to be a lot of fighting over baby names.”

“I already have some ideas, and they’re way better than anything you guys will come up with,” Max says with sheer confidence.

“You named your childhood cat Tom. I’m not trusting you with naming anything,” I tell him.

“What? Like Tom and Jerry. It was my favorite show!” Max defends himself.

“I think we’re getting off track, you two,” Josh tells us as he pushes at my shoulder to get me and Max to stop arguing.

A warm look settles on Emma’s face as she gazes at us. Seeing her more relaxed makes me feel much better, even if a serious topic still looms over our heads.

I hate to ruin this moment, but we should really talk about it.

“What are we going to do about our families?” I ask them, making the room fall silent.

Emma frowns and shakes her head. “I don’t know. I’m not ready to say anything yet. I just found out that I was pregnant.”

“And we just agreed to give dating a go,” Max adds.

“It would be a lot too soon if we told them immediately,” Josh says with concern in his eyes. “I don’t think we should push it just yet.”

“And you don’t need the stress of that right now,” I tell Emma. “We’ll just keep this between us until we feel like we’re ready.”

Emma’s shoulders relax. “You guys are okay with waiting?”

We all nod. Honestly, I don’t think any of us are rushing to tell anyone the truth. That’ll pop the little bubble we’re in, and I’d like to stay inside of it for at least a little while so that we can enjoy the news of being parents.

“However long you need,” I say as I give her a comforting smile.

Emma stands from her seat and walks around to our side of the table, reaching out to hug each of us. When she reaches me, she winds her arms around my neck, her cheek pressing against mine. “I thought I lost you.”

My hands roam up and down her back as I hold her close. “You’ll never lose me. I promise.”

Emma’s lips graze my cheek as she draws away from me to hug Max.