Chapter 16 #2
I nodded, and Ville took off without a backward glance. I watched him go until he made it to the stairs, then turned my attention to my brother. Bodhi was staring after Ville too, but his expression was dark.
After a few seconds, he muttered, “Fuck that guy.”
“I intend to.” I was smirking when Bodhi whipped his gaze to meet mine. “Though I really prefer to be the one who gets—”
“Gah!” Bodhi cut me off, then shook his head. “I walked right into that one, huh?”
“Yep.” I snickered, which helped Bodhi relax some.
He took a breath and let it out slowly. I studied him for a few moments, trying to decide if I was going to broach the subject.
Then I decided if anyone could get away with it, it would be me.
Crew could as well, but he was focused on Mal and Pay, not to mention his broodmares. “Are you gonna fix things with Wren?”
For just a second, I was sure Bodhi was going to deny that anything was wrong. But in the end, he just nodded once. “As soon as I fix myself.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Bodhi, you know you’re not broken, right? And the longer you let—”
“You done?” Bodhi pointed to my nearly empty plate. “You should go on up. I’ll take care of this. Ville’s waiting for you.”
I wanted to push. I wanted to make him talk. But I’d gotten farther with him tonight than I had in the year since he’d come home. I decided to take the win. There’d be another day where I could get him to open up more.
“Thanks, Bode.” I stood and held out a fist for him to bump, which he did. Then he gathered up the plate and glass, and I left him to it.
But my mind was stuck on my oldest brother, his damaged relationship with his childhood best friend, and the way that weighed on Ville.
I wanted to force Bodhi to spill his guts, then sort everything out with Wren.
Only then could Ville actually grow to like Bodhi.
Or maybe like him again. I didn’t think they’d had problems in the past.
But the instant I set foot in my room, all thoughts of the outside world vanished.
Ville had stripped down to his boxers, which clung to his thick thighs.
He was staring out the window like the night sky had all the answers to his problems. The small bedside lamp was on, casting the room in a warm glow, and the shadows across his muscles made my mouth water.
The whimper was entirely involuntary. But it made Ville turn, and his gaze heated.
“You take a thorough shower?” He asked, voice at least an octave lower than it normally was.
I nodded quickly, then blindly shut and locked the door behind me.
Ville’s grin turned positively predatory.
“Good. Then get naked and on the bed. Face in the pillow and ass in the air. Because I am going to eat you out until the only name you remember is mine.”
I let out a moan as I scrambled to do as I was told.
Somehow, I got roped into stringing lights around the porch of the big house.
I wasn’t quite sure how that happened or why it was necessary.
Fern and Mom insisted though, something about the fact that now that everyone had arrived, and the wedding was only two days away, things needed to look nice for what would be the rehearsal dinner tomorrow night on the lawn.
Ville tried to insist on him being the one to climb the ladder but I kissed him until he agreed I could be the one to go up. He still didn’t like it, if the way he hovered at the bottom of the ladder was any indication. He had the thing in a death grip.
“You just like staring at my ass,” I teased as I clipped in the lights.
“The view is the only perk,” he stated flatly. “Hurry up so you can get down.”
I chuckled and focused on my task. I only had a few more clips to go, and I really should have gotten down and moved the ladder. But I was certain Ville wouldn’t allow the ladder to tip, so I leaned instead. I liked the way he yelled at me.
Just as I straightened again, Juanpablo let out a raucous bray, and a second later, Demi’s SUV came tearing up the drive, way faster than she should have been driving. She practically screeched to a stop and threw open her door.
“Get down right now!” She shrieked. My instinct was to yell back, to insist I was fine, but then I saw her eyes. It wasn’t about me being up high. Something else was going on.
I scrambled down as fast as I possibly could and she was right there by the time I had feet on the ground. She grabbed my wrist in a vice-like grip, her fingers digging in. I winced, but she didn’t let up.
“What happened?” My heart was pounding so fast and my mind was in overdrive, trying to figure out what had scared her so badly.
Demi didn’t say a word. She just yanked me toward the house.
I hadn’t been prepared for it, and I stumbled over my own feet.
But Ville was right there to keep me upright.
One glance at him and I knew he was about to say something.
I grabbed his hand instead, tugging him after us, and squeezed.
His eyes were venomous but he kept his mouth shut.
Like a weird little train, we walked into the house.
Demi kept pulling, even though I would follow wherever she wanted.
The moment the kitchen came into view, she stopped dead.
Nick was chopping with professional speed, his knife flying over the cutting board.
He didn’t even look up. But Mom froze where she was mixing spices.
By the smell of it, I was guessing it was her famous pork rub.
I knew ribs were on the menu for tomorrow night.
“You!” Demi bellowed, pointing a finger at Mom. “This is all your fault!”
“What in the world?” Mom asked, eyes wide. She set down her spoon and rose to her feet, but Demi wasn’t done.
“You did this to me! It’s all your fault!” An errant curl fell in her face, and Demi angrily swiped it away. “If it wasn’t for your genes, I wouldn’t be in this mess.”
Nick set down his knife and left the room, not saying a single word. Mom took a step forward, but Demi let out an honest to goodness growl, and she stopped. Demi still had her fingers clamped around my wrist, so I let go of Ville’s hand and wrapped my hand around hers.
“D?” I asked, voice low and calm.
“Triplets!” Demi’s voice was insanely high. “I thought four kids was a lot. But no! Because of your damn genes, I’m going to have six. Because triplets!”
The silence that followed her announcement was so loud that my ears rang. Mom recovered first, her face breaking into a wide, sunny grin. She clasped her hands together and bounced twice on her toes.
“Oh, sweetie! You’re pregnant again! How wonderful.”
“Did you miss the part about triplets?” Demi shrieked.
Then she sucked in a shuddering breath and whipped around, her eyes wide and terrified.
I grabbed her up quickly and hugged her tight.
She was suddenly shaking. “Ultrasound showed three sacs, three heartbeats. It was just supposed to be to try to figure out how far along I am.”
First things first. I tilted my head so I could speak in her hair. “What’s the guess?”
“Maybe eight weeks? I go back in two to see again. I…I…Emery!”
“Ville, chair,” I ordered and he jumped into action, pulling one of the dining room chairs over so I could lower my twin into it. Demi sat hard, and I crouched down, holding her hands in mine. “It’s gonna be okay, D.”
She shook her head rapidly. “They’re gonna come early and have to be in the NICU.”
I was not one to lie, but especially not to my twin sister. “Without a doubt.”
“I’m going to have to have a C section.”
I nodded. “No way Dr. Gomez will even try for a VBAC. Not with your history.”
“There could be twin to twin transfusion, or growth restriction, and they’re gonna be so little and—”
“Breathe. We aren’t going to borrow trouble. We’re going to take each day as it comes and deal with whatever comes up.”
Demi needed to hear it. Just my words allowed her to breathe, so she wasn’t on the verge of hyperventilating anymore. Her grip was still so tight that I was worried my hands would bruise, but that was okay.
“Luke’s ecstatic. But I could get preeclampsia or gestational diabetes or placental abruption—”
“Hey,” I said, cutting her off again. “What did I just say?”
Her smile was a little watery. “No borrowing trouble.”
“That’s right.” I adjusted my position because my legs were cramping. Once I was settled on my knees, I got her to let go of one of my hands so I could smooth her curls out of her face. “We know the potential complications. We know the risks. We’ve got this.”
Demi gulped air and then her head shot up. I turned to look at Mom too, who was hovering just outside of our little twin bubble. Demi held out her free hand to Mom who took it fast. Demi’s inhale was shuddery.
“Mommy, I’m gonna have three babies. At once!”
Mom laughed, and her eyes were wet, as she swooped in to hug Demi. “My darling girl, you always did outshine me.”
“I didn’t want to do it this way!” Demi yelled, and then a second later she was laughing, the good kind of soul healing laughter. I knew this wouldn’t be the last time her worries would overwhelm her. But for the moment, things were better.
Her laughter was infectious, and soon we all joined in. It took a few minutes for us to get ourselves under control. Demi hiccupped a few times, which set her off again, and then finally she could breathe again.
“This is just ridiculous. I’m yeeting the tubes when they cut me open, I swear to god.” Demi shook her head, but her smile was much more like her regular one. “Chances were higher that it would be a multiple, but freaking triplets?”
Ville cleared his throat, and when I looked up at him, his eyes were soft. “I think that if it was going to happen to anyone, it was good it happened to you.”
Demi tilted her head. “Why’s that?”
Vile stared right into her eyes. “Look at this wonderful family you have. The best support system. You will never have to worry that you don’t have good people to rely on.”
Demi squeaked, bounced to her feet, and threw herself into Ville’s arms. He looked stunned for a second, then wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly.
And I knew just how good those hugs were for putting you back together.
Ville excelled at shoving me back into my body, and right now, Demi needed that too.
Seeing them together made my heart melt. This man, whom I cared about so much. More than that, maybe, though I wouldn’t even allow myself to think about that. And he was holding my twin together, just as he would me.
I was going to fall apart when our time was over and he left. There was no doubt about it.