34. Braxton
34
brAXTON
I swear my heart doubles in size. Pregnant? Birdie has been the best thing in my life. Bringing another child into the world with Sofia would be twice as good. I didn’t realize just how badly I wanted it until she told us.
She wobbles there, fingers twisting together as we stare at her. Her face is paler than usual, blotchy, like she’s resigned to stand her ground about the baby.
I’m on my feet without thinking, wrapping her up in my arms. “That’s fantastic news!”
Sofia sags against me with a half laugh, half sob, like she didn’t believe this would be a happy moment. Like we might reject her for it.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her how much I daydreamed about this very moment. A reason that she might stay with us after all of this.
The last few days without her have been tormenting, worse than having her around and not being able to touch her.
Now, though… Now, we can tell Birdie. We can make bigger plans. Bigger moves.
But fuck, I don’t want to overwhelm her even more with everything I’ve been hoping to have with her.
My hand smooths down her back, my other arm tightening around her shoulders to cradle and support her.
I drop kisses onto the top of her head as I commit every detail of this to memory. Sofia is having our baby.
She takes in a shaky breath, nails digging into my back. I want to give her all of my strength.
Orion appears behind her shoulder, and I hate to relinquish her at all, but I do.
She turns slowly in place, and I keep my hands on her hips as he embraces her. His face drops to her neck, breathing her in. He kisses her cheek and under her ear, and she lets out another strangled noise halfway between happiness and sorrow.
I peer over at Cedric, who seems stunned. It’s the first time I’ve seen him visibly shocked. He’s blinking before he pushes to his feet. I pivot to give him access, catching tendrils of her hair as she leans into him next.
Tears track down her cheeks as he takes her face in his hands. “What are all of these tears about, Sofia?”
His thumbs brush the tears away as he examines her, back in control once more.
“Part relief, part hormones?” A bit more hysterical laughter catches in her throat as she looks back at him.
One thing we can all count on with her is that she’s strong enough to stand up and face reality. Face us.
“I’m keeping her.” Her hands come up to cover his, and Cedric pauses for a breath before he leans in to kiss her.
Her hand drops, and I snatch it up, twining our fingers together.
Sofia looks at Orion as if to repeat what she said, and his lovesick expression seems to be more than enough for her.
When those vibrant blue eyes are focused on me again, I laugh a little. “We’re having a girl?”
Her real laugh breaks through this time, letting her head fall back with her joy. “I don’t know for certain. It’s just a feeling.”
Sofia touches my cheek, her thumb stroking the back of my jaw as she smiles. My relief is a tangible weight off my shoulders. I don’t want her to regret this, regret us.
“I know this is a bomb on top of everything else, so if the shock wears off and we need to talk things through, just…” And she’s back to being her take-charge self.
“Oh, Soph, we’re going to have a lot of things to talk through. Don’t worry about that.” I drag her in for a kiss.
My mind is moving us super-speed into a shared living space, her belly swollen with our baby, not having to let go of her for more than a few hours at a time.
When she pulls back, concern clouds her happiness again. “You have to tell me what the fallout is for you guys. Please. I feel so guilty.”
I huff a laugh. “None of this is your fault.”
“But I should have said something when Dr. Squires approached me the first time. We could have?—”
“Could have what? Hidden it better? Those files were stolen from you. You had little control over that.” Cedric brushes her hair off her shoulders and neck to lay a kiss on her skin.
“Still, I’ve caused a lot of trouble for the three of you.”
“Pretty sure we each made the first move.” Orion’s brow lifted, his golden boy good looks accentuating that fact. “I mean, I’ve seen the video. I don’t know who hasn’t.”
Heat spears me. Yes. It was beautiful. A teaser. The start of a story I want to keep telling.
The way her heart glimmers in her eyes says that she does, too.
“I’ve been talked to by a few higher-ups, but my tenure saves me. No one has mentioned any disciplinary action,” Cedric says, deadpan as always. He doesn’t boast or show how lucky he must be feeling. Tenure doesn’t save us from this kind of thing on a regular basis.
The situation must have tipped that in his favor.
I bow my head a little. No one’s talked to me about it. Although the look Charles gave me when he saw the clip… My tattoo identifies me to those who know me.
And Charles was there when I got it touched up a few years ago. His anger at my betrayal was a hard punch in the kidneys.
“No one’s approached me. Not even your father.” I brush the hair from her face again, and her features soften.
“He’ll come around.”
I smile sadly. “He will. I should have told him long ago.”
“Apparently, he’s known for quite some time.” Her brows raise incredulously. “Or so my mother says. He wishes one of us told him, but he gets it.”
The twitch of Orion’s mouth tells a different story. A new hire. A history. “I’m pretty sure they’re going to fire me, but they haven’t said so yet. I think they want to wait until I’ve handed in my grades for the semester.”
The empathy on Sofia’s face has no pity in it. She is awfully good at that. “We’ll figure something else out.”
I don’t begrudge him the way Sofia wraps him up in her, the motherly compassion at work as Orion soaks her in. She is certainly worth the lost job. Although this might mean his career as a teacher.
“Wait.” He pulls back, cupping the back of her head. “What happened for you?”
She pats his cradling hands with amusement. “They said I could graduate early if I pass all of my finals.”
“What about your thesis?” Cedric asks behind her. His eyes darken as he waits for her answer. It’s obvious he doesn’t like having that taken away from him.
She pouts for a moment before she breaks into a grin. “They loved it.”
“Of course they did.” My pride pushes a smile across my face, but it drops as she wobbles a little. God, she must be exhausted.
“They’d be stupid not to.” Cedric catches her elbow, seeing the same thing I did.
I nod him toward the couch, and we all help her make her way there.
“I’m going to make you some tea.” Cedric tips her chin up to look at him. “We’re going to have to take better care of you, sweet girl.”
“Thank you.” Sofia sinks into the cushions, but after a second, she jolts, grabbing my arm. “Oh, have you seen what happened to Birdie’s video?”
Panic cranks in my chest. I swear if people are making fun of her, I will…
“It’s gone viral.”