Page 139 of Three Pucking Ex's Brothers

I half expect her to push me away, but she doesn’t. She wraps her arms around me and starts crying. I slide her down my body and embrace her tight. So tight, I don’t think I’ll ever let her go again.

She cries into my shoulder, and for a moment we just stand there. Holding one another and crying tears of what I hope is happiness.

At least for me, it is.

I hold her out to look at her, her tear-stained cheeks. I wipe them away without a second thought.

“I’ve missed you so much,” I say.

She looks to Freddie and Rush, who both look like they’ve seen a ghost.

“I’ve missed you too,” she says. “All of you.”

Freddie lets out a choked sound as Rush says, “Forgive me, but that’s a little hard to believe since you haven’t spoken to us in nearly a month.”

I loosen my grip on her waist, but don’t let go completely as she nods.

“I know, and I know I should have said something, but?—”

“We know about Brett,” Freddie says. “He told us all off. Mom and Dad too. Said some shitty things, but…we know you two…called it quits. For good.”

She nods. “I did. He said if I stayed with him, moved with him to Canada, I could have everything I want,” she says through choked sobs. “But I told him he hasnothingthat I want.”

I pull her close, and she sinks into my hold like she’s always been here. Like nothing’s changed.

It hasn’t for me.

I still feel for her the same as I did that night. The night she left.

I knew then that she didn’t do it because she wantedhim.She did it because he was being a dick, and she wanted to protect us. Because she lovesus.

But Freddie and Rush wouldn’t hear it. It took everything in me to keep them from chasing her and Brett down, that night. But I knew it wouldn’t have helped matters.

Nora needed to come back tous.And I knew she would. I had faith.

“Which is what I wanted to talk to you about,” she says as she heads toward my brothers. I keep my arms on her, guiding her steps. She walks so delicately, it’s like she’s worried she’ll break.

I will never let anyone break her. She’s mine, I don’t care what anyone else says.

“I should have called. Texted, but I needed time to…process everything. Then I spent the week with my parents after everything, and it just…I needed some time on my own to think about things. About what Ireallywant.”

She looks between us, her eyes cloudy with tears. “And then I got sick, and?—”

“Sick? Are you okay?” Freddie asks, and his words are genuine.

He moves a step closer to her, and I note the way she looks up at him. Like he’s the sun, the moon, and the stars. Like no time has passed, and we’re right back where we belong.

“I am,” she says breathlessly “But I mean, I’ll feel better,” she says, sucking in a breath. “In about…eight months.”

It takes a moment for her words to resonate. The silence between us is palpable.

“You’re…” Rush’s voice sounds winded.

“Pregnant?” I ask, needing to be sure I heard her correctly.

“Yes,” she says, looking up at Freddie. “I wanted to tell you sooner, but…I wasn’t sure, given everything that happened if…if you would want anything to do withme, let alone a….baby.”

“You’re pregnant?” I ask again, tears flooding my eyes once more. I knew this was a possibility, when we…