Page 26 of Risk (Gods #3)

“Correct me if I’m getting any of this wrong,” Zeus says, looking between Kaden and me, and he’s pissed, his finger back to tapping on the tabletop.

“You’re not with my best friend. You had a one-night stand.

” He looks sick, even saying those words, and I totally get it—no one wants to discuss their siblings doing it.

“And now, you’re pregnant with twins, and you’re keeping them. Am I missing anything?”

“No…that’s about all.”

“This is fucked,” he huffs, pushing up from his seat, staring down at Kaden. “You’re my best friend. I treat you like my own fucking family! And you go behind my back and sleep with my baby sister?!”

“I know it looks bad, but—”

“Bad?!” Zeus cuts Kaden off. “That’s putting it mildly. It’s so fucking far from bad! I can’t believe you did this. I trusted you with her. I fucking asked you years ago if you had a thing for her, and you said no! You lied to me, brother.” He jabs his finger into his own chest.

I’m still stuck on the fact that he asked Kaden years ago if he was into me. My head nearly snaps off my neck at that news.

Kaden stands, too, and moves around the table, in Zeus’s direction, but keeps some distance between them. “I know. I screwed up, man. I didn’t think it was worth telling you that I was into Missy because I was never going to do anything since I was older than her and she was your sister, Zeus.”

“And yet here we fucking are.” Zeus throws his arms up in the air.

“I think we all need to take a breath,” Lo says, standing from the table.

I don’t think Zeus and Kaden will get into it, but they definitely need to take a few minutes to cool down.

Zeus’s angry eyes turn to Lo. “You already knew about this?”

Lo nods. “I found out a week ago.”

Zeus and Ares both swing their eyes to me, and what looks a lot like betrayal is in both of their expressions. I need to tell Ari that Cam knew before she did, but I’ll save that for another day. Right now, I can’t handle her looking at me the way these two are looking at me.

“It was when I literally first found out. I panicked and called Lo because…” He’s my twin. But they’re my big brothers. They practically raised me after Mom died. But how do I say that without hurting them more? “I knew Lo wouldn’t be disappointed in me,” I add quietly.

Zeus pinches the bridge of his nose. “Jesus, I’m not disappointed, Miss. I’m…”

“I’m disappointed.” Ares’s words are cutting, and they fucking hurt. He stands, shoving his chair back. “I thought you were fucking smarter than this, and now, you’re throwing your life away after a one-night stand.”

I stand, too, with indignation. “I’m not throwing my life away.”

“And what are you going to do about school?” Ares folds his arms across his chest.

“I haven’t figured everything out yet, but I’ll continue going to school and get my PhD.”

“How?”

I frown at him. “Well, I usually walk there. But when I get really big later on in my pregnancy, I might take a cab.”

It’s Ares’s turn to frown at me. “Do you realize how fucking hard it’s going to be? Not only the pregnancy itself and the fact that you’re carrying twins, but once the babies are born, continuing on with your studies while caring for two babies?”

“I know you’re worried, and I also know it comes from a place of love.” Which is why I’m letting Ares saying he’s disappointed in me go, even though it really stung. “But I’m not going to be alone in this. Kaden is going to be a hundred percent involved.”

“Damn fucking right he is,” Zeus bites. “So, what’s your plan to handle this?” He gestures between us both.

I glance at Kaden. “Well, we don’t have everything figured out yet—”

Zeus’s laugh is harsh. “I’m assuming you’ll be moving in together. Are you planning on getting married?”

“What?” My eyes widen with shock. “It’s not the fucking 1950s, Zeus! And to answer your question, Kaden and I are not together. We’re not going to be together—”

“And why the fuck not?” That’s Ares.

“Because we don’t want to be.” Well, Kaden doesn’t want to be with me, and I’m not sure I could take the risk, being with him. “We’re friends. We don’t like each other that way.”

“You liked each other enough to get—” Zeus gestures to me with his hand, seemingly having trouble saying the words.

“Pregnant? Knocked up? It was just a onetime thing.”

“Well, you’re having kids together, so you should be making some sort of commitment to each other.”

“Zeus, we had two kids before we got married,” Cam says.

His eyes move to Cam. “Dove, we were committed to each other.”

“And we didn’t have the easiest of starts, and things worked out in the end. You, of all people, know what that’s like, how life throws us curveballs.” She moves in front of him and cups his face with her hands. “What Missy and Kaden both need right now is our support, not lectures.”

I watch as Zeus’s eyes soften on her. He puts his arm around her, pulling her into his side.

“Of course you have my support,” he says, looking at me. “I’m just…this was the last thing I expected you to tell us today. It’s just been a shock, is all.”

“I understand.” I can feel my eyes starting to get damp. Damn stupid hormones, making me weepy. “I didn’t exactly ease you all gently into it.”

“It’s fine,” Ares assures me. “Like Zeus said, it was just a shock, is all. You know I’ve got your back, always. And I’m sorry about saying I was disappointed in you. I would never think that, not truly. I was just…”

“It’s fine,” I whisper. “I get it.” I know my brothers love me, and they would never do anything to hurt me intentionally.

The sound of a chair scraping back gathers all eyes to my dad as he stands from his seat, where he’s stayed quiet this whole time.

He shuffles over to me, standing before me, and reaches out, almost hesitantly, to take my hand, and I let him. The feel of his soft, leathery palm against mine evokes emotions in me that I’ve locked inside for a long time.

The little girl who just wanted her dad to see her, notice her, love her still.

I swallow the lump forming in my throat.

“You’re so much like your mama,” he says in his scratchy voice, caused from all those years of drinking and smoking. “Not just in the way you look, but you have her strength too.” His other hand cups my cheek. “I know I don’t have the right to be—”

I part my lips to correct him, like I always automatically do because it’s inherent in me, but he shakes his head.

“I know I don’t have the right to be,” he continues. “But I’m proud of you. Proud of everything you’ve accomplished and continue to accomplish. And I know you’ll handle having these babies with the same strength, grace, and tenacity that you put into everything you do.”

The fact that he used the word grace is what spills the tears over my cheeks. My mom’s name was Grace. So, I’m sure he knew what he was implying, using that word in that context.

He’s saying I’m my mama’s daughter, and I’ll be as good a mother as she was.

“Thanks, Dad,” I whisper.

He gives me a smile that looks sad and wipes a tear away with his thumb before stepping back.

My brothers are all watching the exchange with a quiet intensity.

Kaden’s arm goes around me, hand curling around my waist, pulling me into his side. “You okay?” he asks quietly into my ear.

I nod in response. “Are you okay?” I whisper to him.

He’s been quiet through most of this conversation, letting me lead the way, but some of the things said tonight probably weren’t nice for him to hear.

His eyes trace my face, like an invisible caress. “If you’re okay, then I’m okay.”

My heart gives a good punch against my rib cage.

“Well,” Ari says, breaking the tension with her natural cheer, “we have two new lives joining our family, and I, for one, think this calls for a celebration! Do you have any champagne?” she asks Cam. “Obviously, nonalcoholic for me and Brett and the mama-to-be, of course.”

Mama-to-be.

I’m going to be a mom.

To two children.

Of course, I knew I was going to be a mom, but that’s the first time anyone has actually said it to me.

I haven’t thought of myself as becoming a mom because I’ve been more focused on the fact that I’m having these babies—well, I’ve more felt like they’re having me—than thinking on the fact that, in seven months or so, two tiny people are going to be calling me Mom.