Chapter Thirty-Three
ADRIAN
Boston
“Come on,” Hutch urged as he slid a clear shot glass across the old, cracked countertop in Ma’s kitchen—that I’d offered to replace a thousand times. “Out with it. What’s goin’ on?”
Blowing out a breath, I picked up the glass, knocked it back, and closed my eyes as the bourbon burned its way down my throat. “Isobel’s pregnant.”
“Oh, fuck. Really? Is it mine?” He laughed, slapping a palm against the side of my arm. “What am I talking about? Of course, it’s mine. At least that’s what the paternity test will say.” Warmth spread through my chest as I looked over at his easy smile, like this didn’t change everything. I’d even give him a pass on the smartass paternity comment. “That’s awesome, man. Kids are a trip.”
I nodded, using my fingers to spin the empty glass while I thought about the course of the last few months. I was excited. The thought of the woman I was pretty much obsessed with carrying my child was a heady feeling. It made me feel strong and virile. And also scared outta my fuckin’ mind.
What now? What if she decided she didn’t need me now that she’d gotten pregnant? I wasn’t even sure if she loved me.
“What’s wrong? It’s not like you’re in high school anymore. We’re almost forty-one. I’m honestly surprised you don’t have a dozen kids by now. ”
“I’m not the one that’s into free love and spreading my seed around,” I laughed, shaking my head at him.
“Hey,” he laughed, picking at the label on the liquor bottle. “I keep my shit wrapped up. Unlike someone, apparently.”
“She had an IUD, but I guess something happened and… But she’d… we’d been looking into her options to have a kid and…”
“Now you’re gonna have a baby.”
“Yeah, I’m gonna have a baby. We’re gonna have a baby.“ It was the first time I’d said it out loud like that. Not that Is was pregnant, but that I would have a kid. And the idea didn’t terrify me—mostly.
“You’re not gonna flake out, right? You’re gonna do the right thing?”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, asswipe. Yes, I’m going to do the right thing. I love her. And I’ll love this baby, no matter what.”
“Cause I’d hate to have to beat your ass if you did something stupid.”
“Good luck with that,” I chuckled, narrowing my eyes at him. He’d bulked up in the last month or so, and it’d likely be an unfair fight with his combat training.
“Although, I could easily just shave and then I could be Bel’s Daddy.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I growled, narrowing my eyes at my sarcastic asshole brother. “You stay the fuck away from my girlfriend, you pervert.”
“You sure that’s what she wants?”
“Don’t think for one second since confessed a fantasy that she’d be interested in you.”
“I’m not tryin’ to start a fight here, Ad. I was just yankin’ yah chain. I know Isobel wants to be with you. Every time I’ve seen you two together, she couldn’t keep her eyes off you. What happened to teasin’ about you being responsible for raising another human being? ”
“If you can do it, how hard can it be?”
“I was off getting shot at for half of Pen’s childhood. I’m not exactly the model of fatherhood.”
“But you’ve more than made up for it by now. That girl adores you.” I just hated that the thing that brought him back to us was getting half his leg blown off.
“That’s all you can do. Try to be there for them. I will never regret my time in the service, but you are lucky that you’ll get to be there for your kid in all the ways I couldn’t be.”
“I’m gonna try.” All I had to do was convince their mom I was in this for the long haul.
“When are you goin’ to tell Ma?”
“Isobel doesn’t even know I told you at this point. I just needed to confide in someone.”
“Aw, bro, I’m so touched you chose me,” he said sarcastically, and I flipped him off.
“Maybe once she’s in her second trimester. She’s had a few miscarriages before, so I’d hate for something to happen after we start telling people for real.”
“You know Ma—and Pops for that matter—are gonna ask if you want the ring.”
“I know.” Taking a deep breath, I scrubbed my hand over my face. “I don’t know if Is ever wants to get married again. Her ex was a dumbass who left some scars.”
“Don’t wait too long. Pops has been having good days lately. Might be somethin’ that’d be good for him to focus on. He’d like knowin’ grandma’s ring had found someone who deserved it.”
Nodding, I sighed. “Once we know the baby is healthy, I’ll bring her over to meet everybody. I’m sure Pen will want to meet her, too.”
“Pen will be fuckin’ stoked to get a cousin. I’ll make sure she’s here when you guys are ready.”
The only problem was that I wasn’t sure how ready Isobel was to be an official part of my family.
Time seemed to disappear over the next few months. Isobel was out of town half the time, and I was busy trying to train Sam’s replacement after he’d taken a promotion in the Chicago office. He’d been with me so long I’d almost forgotten he was around the same age I was when I’d gotten my first big promotion. Ten years later, I’d been recruited by Vivid, and it’d changed my life. Now I felt like I was always meant to be here.
Even though I felt guilty as fuck that I’d accidentally hired Andrea out from under Isobel, she was a lifesaver. She was organized and had a good eye for detail. It was almost criminal she’d been stuck as an office administrator for the last two years.
“Is there anything else you need me to be doing while you’re gone?”
Several people from the office would fly to Minneapolis today to attend Chase and Evan’s engagement party. I’d come into the office to make sure my emails were caught up before we left.
Isobel was asked to be a bridesmaid, but I was worried about the timing. She was due in late March and the wedding was tentatively scheduled for Valentine’s Day. Her OB had said as long as everything was going well, it wouldn’t be a problem to attend, but considering she was still puking her guts out every morning with no end in sight, I wasn’t so optimistic.
“Nah, I think we’re set.”
“How’s she doing?” Andrea asked, and I didn’t have to guess who she was talking about. With how much time she spent in my office, it was hard to hide Isobel’s pregnancy from her for more than a few weeks. Since I had a couch in my office, Isobel had taken naps in here more than once over our lunch break, so she could make it through to the end of the day .
“Still has trouble with the morning sickness, but I think her energy is finally coming back.”
“Has she tried ginger chews? A few of my clients when I was an au pair swore by them.”
“She hasn’t. I’ll pick some up for her. We’re willing to try anything at this point. She’s miserable.”
“Is there anything else I can do while you’re gone? I don’t want you to think I’m slacking off since you’ll be gone.”
“You’re doing great. Give yourself some time to rest over the weekend. I’m sure the next few weeks will be stressful. We’ve got some submissions to sort through.”
She nodded and then fled my office. I quickly finished packing my bags so I could meet Isobel at her place to head to the airport.