Page 65 of Rulebreaker

“That’s what I thought too.” Aspen smiles.

“Also what I thought when I found out I was pregnant,” Briar says, looking away. “I thought my life was over.”

“You must have felt so alone,” Willow says softly, reaching for her hand.

“At first,” she admits, the glazed look on her face telling us she’s a million miles away. Then she blinks, refocuses. “But once I told Dash, well, the guys took me under their wing and I’ve never been alone.”

“Do you think about him?” Aspen asks gently. “Frankie’s father?”

In my limited experience, Briar never, ever shows vulnerability, but the emotion in her eyes is impossible to miss.

“I try not to,” Briar admits, “but sometimes I can’t help it. Especially when I look at her.”

“Does she look like him?” I ask curiously.

“Yes.” She pulls in a shaky breath. “But he’s gone and now there’s West. Who’s amazing. I think I’m going to introduce them. I mean, she knows him already, but we’re getting to the point where he’s going to become Mommy’s Boyfriend, as opposed to Uncle Banks’ teammate.”

“Yeah?” Jade stares at her. “Like, it’s official?Boyfriend and girlfriend?”

Briar’s cheeks redden. “Well…yeah. We had the, um, exclusivity conversation.”

“Exclusivity?” I ask. “Like, no dating other people?”

“Yup.” Briar’s face is still bright red.

“How come you’re blushing?” I ask suspiciously. “Do we not talk about sex in this group? Because Jade and I absolutely do…”

Jade giggles. “Oh, we talk about sex. It’s just that Briar hasn'thadany to talk about!”

“Wait–you haven’t had sex since you got pregnant with Frankie?" I stare at her.

It doesn't seem possible, but Briar’s face gets even redder.

“You know almost every detail of my sex life,” Jade grumbles. “And you can’t tell us about yours?”

“There’s been nothing to tell!” Briar protests. “Yes, part of it is because of Frankie and being extra careful about anyone I bring into her life. Not to mention the four Neanderthals in the other room who don’t give me the slightest modicum of privacy… but West isn’t afraid of them. Or the fact that I come with a kid. Or my history with her dad.”

I put my hand on my chest. “I might have fallen a little in love with him now too.”

“Same.” Willow grins at me.

Briar sighs, a small smile playing on her lips. “He’s wonderful. Truly.”

“Wonderful enough to make you forget Frankie’s father?” Jade asks quietly.

All playfulness gone, Briar takes a moment. “You know, I see him every time I look at my daughter. That will probably never go away. I loved him fiercely. Despite what happened, he was a great love of my life. I don’t know if he wasthelove of my life, we didn’t have enough time for that, but he was the love of my life until now. And no matter how many times I wish thingscould have been different, he’s gone and I’m finally moving forward.” She smiles sadly. “I can’t ever forget Frankie’s father because she’s the living personification of him, but I’m starting to forget the love I had for him. Even though it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. And West is great. I seriously think that he could be my future.”

Her words hit me right in the gut.

Ihaveto pull up my big girl pants and tell Atlas the truth because the consequences of not telling him could be devastating. I’ve been around the block enough times to know a love like this–and a man like Atlas–doesn’t come around every day.

Losing him is unthinkable.

“Oh, yeah!” Aspen squeals in obvious delight. “You have a boyfriend!”

“Who has a boyfriend?” Banks asks, coming around the corner and frowning.

Briar rolls her eyes. “See what I mean?”