Page 59 of Double Daddies (Dirty Daddies Anthologies #8)

Chapter Seven

Cami

My brother is already sitting down when we finally enter the steakhouse. For one thing, he always arrives fifteen minutes early because he’s compulsively punctual, but my little freak out outside didn’t help, either.

Kingslay is getting to his feet when I spot him, and if he finds it weird that I walk in with not only Ben, but another man he’s never met before, he doesn’t say so. Instead, he shakes Ben’s hand, and then turns and accepts Ryle’s too.

Ryle pulls out a chair, and I sit, thankful to not be holding myself up by sheer willpower.

A waitress bustles up as soon as we’re all seated and takes our drink orders. Then Kingslay looks at me, and I know it’s coming. He’s not a man who wastes time.

“Well. I’m sensing there’s a story here.”

I tear the top of the straw wrapper and peel it off the straw. I begin fidgeting with the wrapper, tying it into knots over and over again.

“Cami?”

I jerk the wrapper hard, and the paper rips.

I frown at it, and reach for another straw, tearing the top off the wrapper to begin anew.

I can feel all of them looking at me, and the heat of their stares is almost too much.

It’s enough to make me wish I’d brought Helen or Rayna with me to even out the male testosterone just a bit.

I look at Ben, silently pleading with him to rescue me. I don’t know what to say, or how to start this. Almost imperceptibly, he shakes his head, and I feel a flare of panic. Isn’t this his job as a Daddy—to help me? To protect me?

My wide, anxious eyes must communicate my questions, because under the table his hand finds mine. He strong fingers entwine with mine, holding me firmly. At the same time, Ryle scoots his chair closer to mine and his arm slides across my shoulders.

Letting out a slow exhale, I force myself to face Kingslay.

His familiar eyes, moss green with brown flecks, look back at me.

His expression is inscrutable, but I see the lowered brow over his right eye, his tale-tell sign that he’s worried.

His concern, evident probably only to me, spurs me to speak.

“I’m pregnant.”

Silence greets my blurted pronouncement, and Ben’s fingers squeeze mine again. I can feel Ryle’s body shift toward me.

Kingslay is aware of these things, even though his eyes never leave my face.

I know this because my brother is the most perceptive person I’ve ever met.

All doctors have to be, but he is especially gifted.

This ability makes him a great surgeon… but these powers make it hard to hide anything from him as a little sister.

“Is there anything else you want to add to that, Cami?” he asks, his voice soft and smooth, as though this is a conversation about work, or something mundane.

“Um…” I shift my gaze between Ben and Ryle and then back to my brother.

I bite down on my bottom lip, pinning it down, refusing to let it tremble.

But he sees what I’m not saying. He always has.

I hate it, and I love it at the same time.

I don’t trust myself to say anything else without breaking down.

“Okay.” He nods once. “Okay. How are you feeling?”

I’m so caught off guard by the question that I laugh. “How am I…”

“Yes. Mom had terrible pregnancies. It’s why it’s only us two.”

I’m so surprised by this turn of conversation, yet so relieved and grateful.

I squeeze Ben’s hand back for the first time, and I feel myself relax.

“So far I feel okay. I only got sick in the beginning.” I move my free hand to the wooden table and rap my knuckles on the white tablecloth, knocking the wood beneath it for luck.

“That’s good. When are you due?” He’s shifted into doctor mode, but this is good, too. Solid. Familiar.

“Mid-June.”

He nods. “That’s a good time for it. You’ll be warm for the winter and done before the worst heat of the summer.”

I relax further. He seems to be taking this all in stride. “Yes.”

“Mom and Dad don’t know.”

It’s not a question, but a statement. There’s no condemnation in it, either, but I feel my eyes prick with tears.

I do my best to blink them back—already an emotional person by nature, I haven’t enjoyed how pregnancy has magnified this part of my personality.

“I didn’t know how to…” I suck in a sharp breath and let it out in a whoosh. “I didn’t know what they would say.”

Kingslay’s eyes flick between my men for the first time. Then his gaze rests on my face once more. “I just think they’ll be happy to hear they’re going to be grandparents. If you tell them that, I know they’ll hop on the first plane.”

Family acceptance of my strange situation wasn’t something I even knew I wanted until just this moment. I can feel my chest tighten with hope and fear I hadn’t even realized I was carrying around. “You think so?”

He scoffs. “Cami, come on. I know so, and so do you. It’s not even a question.” Without waiting for a reply, he turns to Ben. “So, you still rooting for the Celtics?”

“Boston forever, you know that, man.”

Kingslay gives him a lopsided grin. “You’ll get ‘em next year, huh?”

“You know it.”

“You must get tired of saying that every year,” my brother quips.

Ben chuckles. “It’ll happen. Just you wait.”

“Cami’s kid will be driving by then.”

“Then I’ll have two reasons to celebrate that year,” he rejoins good naturedly. He pushes his fist toward Kingslay, who bumps it with his own.

Then my brother turns his attention to Ryle. “What do you do for work? If I had to guess, I’d say business consultant, or funeral director.”

Even though I’m used to my brother, I’m pretty sure no one has ever said anything like this to Ryle, and my mouth drops open. “Kingslay?—”

“It’s okay, Cami. He’s your brother, he has every right be curious,” Ryle cuts off my objection. He faces Kingslay. “Funeral director would have been my first choice, but I inherited a business from my father.”

My brother’s eyebrow raises, but he nods.

“Either way, your sister and your future niece or nephew will be well taken care of.”

Kingslay sits back, looking back and forth between the three of us. His eyes finally settle on Ryle and he nods. “Oh, I have no doubt.”

At that moment, our server approaches with appetizers my brother must have ordered before we were at the table. She sets each plate down, asks who wants drink refills, and hurries away to her other tables.

I reach for the plate of sweet potato fries—my favorite. I bring one to my mouth and take a bite. “So, what about you? Are you seeing someone?”

To my surprise, my brother’s face tightens. It’s only there for a second, then it disappears so fast that if I didn’t know him as well as I do, I would assume I’d imagined it.

“Nothing serious.”

I munch thoughtfully on my fry and wash it down with water. Ben and Ryle keep insisting I’m not hydrating enough. “Why? Because she doesn’t want it, or because you have commitment issues?”

My brother scowls. This too is a surprise—he’s normally pretty easy-going.

“What? You can roast my boyfriends, but I don’t get to ask about your love life?” There. I’ve said it: boyfriends. And that’s what they are. Somehow, saying it aloud, saying it to one of the most important people in my life, makes me feel calm for the first time since I walked in.

Kingslay eyes me thoughtfully. “You know what, Cami? I’ve gone pretty easy on you here, why don’t you return the favor?”

I’m ready to retort, to push him to admit what’s going on, but I see in his face that this isn’t the time, or the place. So I decide to let it go. “How’s Duke and the gang?”

He relaxes, and I see the look of gratitude he shoots me before he answers. “They’re good. They’d all love to see you.”

“Maybe when you’re off for maternity leave,” Ben says. “If you’re up for it.”

I shoot him a grateful smile. “That would be fun. I better get a sidecar for the car seat,” I tease.

“I think we’ll take the Audi,” Ryle interjects. “Let’s err on the side of caution until the baby is at least a year old, hmm?”

“You chose the wrong girl if you want safe,” Kingslay counters before I can respond. “That’s the thing about our family. We’re wild.”

“That’s why our parents became doctors,” I quip.

“And that’s why you need a Daddy,” Ben whispers in my ear, making a shiver run through me.

Ryle doesn’t say anything, but he catches my eye, and his gaze communicates without words.

I feel called out—but I also feel seen. I grin and reach for another fry.

The food is delicious, and the company is better as the conversation flows with ease and humor.

Before I know it, we’re all full and two hours had passed.

By the time dinner is paid for, it feels like Ryle has been a part of our group forever.

“How are you doing?” Ryle murmurs to me as he helps me into my coat.

“Good,” I whisper back, lifting my face for a kiss.

He obliges, and the sensation of his lips on mine makes my pussy quiver. He offers me his arm, and I accept. He leads me out of the restaurant, just behind Ben and Kingslay who are back to their Celtics verses Lakers banter.

Now that the dinner is finally over, and it went better than I could have hoped, I keep glancing at Ryle, noticing how handsome he looks in his suit.

He catches my eye and winks, making my mind fast-forward to all the other exciting possibilities that might lay in store for the three of us. The night is still young.

“Gentleman, can I have a moment with my sister, please?” Kingslay asks.

Both of them look to me, filling me with a rush of love. They take such good care of me. I nod.

“Sure. See you later, Kingslay. Be safe on those roads.”

My brother clasps Ben’s hand in a hearty shake, then turns to Ryle. “It was nice meeting you.”

Ryle drops his arm from mine and steps forward to shake my brother’s outstretched hand.