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Scarlett - Two Years Later

“ A re you sure she should even be here?” Gemma asks Bennett as they set down bins on the kitchenette counter.

I huff out a breath, annoyed that they’re talking about me as if I’m not in the same room as them. “ She is right here, thank you very much. And she feels just fine and wouldn’t miss her baby sister moving into college for anything in the world.”

Gemma and Bennett share a frightened look before glancing back at me.

“Good! I didn’t mean to upset you, Scar.

I’m so glad you’re here to share this moment with me, I just wasn’t sure if you should be walking up all these flights of stairs while you’re twenty-eight weeks pregnant in the middle of an August heat wave. ”

“Now that I’m up here in your room, we’ll let the guys do the heavy lifting and I’ll help you unpack and set up your room.

” I fan my face which is drenched in sweat while taking in her two-bedroom suite with a living room and kitchenette.

“You’re so lucky. I didn’t get a suite my freshman year, I had to share a shoe box sized room with my roommate who was a complete stranger.

We got along just fine, but I’m so happy you’re rooming with Eva. ”

Gemma gives me a genuine smile. “Yeah, me too. And Eva said Colt will be here in a few minutes so he can help Bennett unload the rest of the bins.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize Colton went to Abbott U,” Bennett cuts in .

“That’s because he hasn’t for the last two years. He just transferred this year after playing the last two seasons in Boston at Emery.”

I bite my lip, but the timing seems uncanny considering Colton was one of Emery’s leading scorers for their hockey team last season.

“What made him transfer?” Bennett asks before I can.

“The coach for Abbott recruited him heavily, and with his sister committing here and Nathan playing for Minnesota, it was kind of a no-brainer for him,” Gemma explains.

I shoot a look at Bennett that I hope says oh, how lovely .

“That’s great,” I tell her.

“Is it?” Bennett asks, which has me shooting him another look that says poker face, dammit !

I’ve told him countless times that the more we show our distaste for Colton, the more she’ll naturally run right into his arms.

Bennett clears his throat. “Right. That’s quite the coincidence, Gems. But I’m sure you’ll be so busy with your studies and meeting other freshmen, that you’ll hardly have time for Colton. Besides, AU has a huge campus.”

“It’s actually the craziest of coincidences. Because he’s a transfer, Colt is living in our same dorm since they’re co-ed. And he and I are both even in the same philosophy course together.”

“You’re shitting me,” Bennett mutters.

“Afraid not, big guy!” Colt says as he comes up behind Bennett and pats him on the shoulder. I fight back a fit of laughter when Bennett gruffly shrugs him off.

Completely undeterred, Colt moves toward me and rubs my belly like he has a death wish as my husband moves to swat his hand away.

“Don’t touch my wife,” Bennett growls and Colt shoots his hands up in surrender.

“I was just checking in. How’s the baby watch going?” Colt asks me .

“Checking in on what?” Gemma asks him, humor lacing her tone.

“On my fave little mama and our new babe. When do you guys find out what you’re having?”

“We already know. Everyone else will find out when our baby decides to make an appearance. Now, please don’t ever reference my wife as your favorite little mama again. And it’s my baby. Well, ours. Scarlett and I are the ones who made the baby.”

“Thanks for the health lesson, Cap. Not sure we’ve gone over baby making much in anatomy and physiology yet.”

Bennett shoots me a pleading look. “For fuck’s sake, Red, I think I’m gonna kill him.”

“Murder trials are long and if you miss the birth of our first born I’ll wind up in prison for killing you.

Now, play nice.” I turn to face Colt. “Don’t touch an overheated pregnant woman without her consent or you might lose a hand you’re fond of.

Colt, be a dear and help Bennett grab the rest of Gemma’s things from the car. ”

Bennett pulls me in and places a chaste kiss on my forehead. “God, I love you, baby girl,” he whispers for only me to hear.

“Love you too, Daddy,” I whisper back and a low grunt rumbles through his chest. I shoo them out of the suite so I can have a quick chat with my sister.

“Gemma, can you shoot me straight?”

“Always.” She hesitates, “Well, I lied. That color of sundress does make you look a bit washed out, but I figured that’s because you’ve been so careful with your sun exposure during your pregnancy. And there probably isn’t too much that fits you right now. So I lied. I’m sorry.”

I bring my hand to my forehead, feigning annoyance. “Not what I was referring to, but good to know. I meant about Colton. Are you two . . . ”

When she continues to stare back at me blankly, I decide to just come out with it.

“Are you two sexually active?”

A loud thud followed by the sound of a box dropping on the plank floors is all I hear before an “Oh fuck!”

Slowly turning around, I find a wide-eyed Nathan Connelly staring back at me. He shifts his weight side to side sheepishly, likely from secondhand embarrassment.

“Sorry, ma’am,” Connelly says.

“Ma’am?” I question. “Nathan, you ma’am your elders, not someone who is only old enough to be your big sister.”

“Sorry, Scar. And sorry, Gems. I’ll just put this in Eva’s room,” he says and scurries into the room on the left.

“So?”

“Scar! You can’t just ask me that. And like I’ve told you a million times now, Colton and I are just friends . He’s like an older brother to me,” Gemma whisper-hisses.

“Okay. And if that were to change—if feelings were to develop—you’d tell me right? I just want you to be safe after everything that’s happened. Just because you’re at college now doesn’t mean I’ll worry any less.”

“You’ve got my Dexcom notifications, along with about a half dozen other people. Eva gets them too, so I’m good.”

“I get them too, Scar. And I’m actually taking a few hybrid classes this fall part-time, so if Gemma ever needs anything or a ride back home to visit, I can help,” Nathan cuts in when he comes back out from Eva’s room.

“That’s so kind of you, Nathan,” I say just as Gemma says, “That’s completely unnecessary. And since when do you get my Dexcom notifications? ”

“I’ve gotten them for the last two years. Bennett gave them to me the night of your hospitalization when I found you at the rink.” Nathan shrugs as if it’s no big deal, but looking over at Gemma and the figurative steam blowing from her ears, I’m going to guess that’s anything but the case.

“You what?!” She’s seething mad, and Nathan is clearly wiser than his brother because he has the wherewithal to step back. “Are you trying to tell me that for the past two years you’ve been, what— monitoring me? I’m not your problem, Nathaniel Connelly.”

“It’s just Nathan, and you know that. And I wasn’t monitoring you, I was keeping an eye out for my little sister’s best friend. Who just so happens to be the sister of my team’s owner. Who also happens to be one of the most stubborn people alive.”

“Can you just cut the shit, Nathan? Why didn’t you tell me? Oh my god—” she cuts off and gasps. “No. It wasn’t why you . . . Tell me you didn’t . . .” Gemma stutters to a stop.

Nathan puts his hands out in front of him and steps toward Gemma as if he’s approaching a wild animal.

“Don’t go there right now. Just forget we ever had this conversation, Ruby.

I’ll see myself out, and I’ll keep my distance.

Promise me that whatever story you’re spinning in that pretty head of yours stops right now. ”

Okay, my level of confusion is off the charts right now, and I know it’s not solely due to pregnancy brain. Did he just call her Ruby?

“How can I not? Did you seriously—” before she can finish her sentence Nathan spins on his heels and marches out of the dorm suite.

“What the hell just happened? What am I missing here, Gems?”

She shakes her head to herself and clears her throat. “Just forget about it, Scar. I know I’m going to.” On that note, she storms into her new bedroom and slams the door shut behind her.

Seriously, teenagers !

Looking down at my growing bump, I mindlessly rub my belly and say, “Promise to go easy on your mama, okay? As you can see, I’ve already been through the thick of it with these teenage years.”

Strong arms wrap around my waist and long fingers intertwine with mine. “You should put your feet up, Mama. I’ve got a few more loads to bring up and then I’ll grab us some lunch. What are you craving?”

I bask in Bennett’s strong embrace and breathe a contented sigh of relief. “Our little one is craving Chinese again.”

“Oh I could fuck with some chicken fried rice right now,” Colton declares from the doorway.

Bennett’s answering growl of annoyance vibrates against my back. “Fuck. Off. Colton,” he tells him and I can’t help the giggles that slip free.

After Benny convinces me we should let Gemma have some time to herself to get settled, we say our goodbyes and I’m not surprised when I cry the entire way home. My hormones have made me highly emotional, which doesn’t bode well for moving my little sister into college.

“Let’s get you upstairs, Red,” Bennett suggests after he cleans up our Chinese food littering the kitchen island. “I’ll rub your feet and you can take a nap while I bring Gunner with me to the store. Do you have anything you want me to grab while we’re there?”

“Could you add more kiwi to the shopping list?” I ask, practically drooling just thinking about how good a kiwi parfait sounds right about now.

“Anything for my girls,” he says as he wraps his arms around me and rubs my belly.

A few minutes later when I’m set up in bed, Bennett begins to rub my feet and calves, fretting over me because he thinks I overworked myself this morning. “Can you believe we’re going to have a baby girl in only a few months?” I marvel, mindlessly rubbing my belly.

“I always had a feeling we’d have a girl first,” he surprises me by admitting.

“You’re already so great with Gemma, I know our little one hit the jackpot with the best girl dad in the world.”

“Thanks, Red. I hope she looks just like her mama and acts like her too. Speaking of her impending arrival, we should probably settle on a name. Or at least narrow down the list.”

“What do you think of Everett? I kind of like the idea of our kids’ names ending in ‘ett’ like ours,” I suggest, holding my breath to see what he’ll say.

“I love it, and it goes perfectly with the middle name we decided on after your grandfather,” he points out.

“Everett Josephine,” I hum, completely content at this moment.

“Our little Ever girl is going to turn my world upside down just like her mama,” he sighs and I can’t help but fall a little more in love with him right here and now.

The way he’s looking at me has warmth spreading over my body like a warm embrace.

Bennett’s love and devotion to not only me, but this family we’ve built together is something that still leaves me speechless.

My love for him grows with each day, and I’m eagerly awaiting for the day when he’ll hold our baby girl in his arms for the first time.

He said he hopes she looks like me, but I’ve been envisioning a baby girl with a head of chestnut hair and hazel eyes and a grin just like her daddy’s.

Either way, she’ll be the most loved little girl in all of existence.