Chapter Eight
The silence in the office was heavy. Marlin hadn’t expected Curran to tell anyone that he was the father today, least of all Birch.
He was pretty sure that Curran hadn’t meant to if the way he was staring at his brother was an indication of anything.
His eyes were wide, his mouth slightly open, and he looked like he was about to bolt.
Marlin felt the same way. He wasn’t ready to deal with Birch now that he knew. He’d only just found out about the baby half an hour ago. He’d thought he’d have time and that he and Curran would have a conversation about what they both expected and wanted before involving their families.
It was too late for that. Birch had been involved, all right, and while he was still staring at Curran, Marlin knew that wouldn’t last.
“Can you forget I said that?” Curran asked.
Birch blinked at him. “Can I forget that you just told me that my best friend is your baby’s father?”
Curran grimaced. “If it makes you feel better, he didn’t mean to get me pregnant.”
Birch slowly turned to look at Marlin. From his expression, Marlin could guess that it did not make him feel any better.
“I told you to protect him,” Birch said.
There was nothing Marlin could say to that. Birch had told him to protect Curran. He’d trusted Marlin with his brother, and look how that had ended up.
“You know, I really fucking hate you,” Curran snapped.
Thankfully, that shifted Birch’s attention away from Marlin. “What are you talking about?”
“You remember why we fought just an hour ago, right?”
“Curran.”
“Don’t Curran me. I told you to stop being overprotective. I told you I don’t need your protection. Why are you already forgetting about all of that?”
“I’m not forgetting about it. I just thought I could trust him.”
The words broke Marlin’s heart. He wanted to tell Birch that of course he could trust him with Curran, but maybe he couldn’t.
Curran crossed his arms over his chest. “And what about this situation means that you can’t trust him? You know him. You know the kind of person he is. He’s your best friend because he’s a good person, and you love him, so why wouldn’t you want me to be with him?”
Surely it couldn’t be a good idea for Curran to confront his brother like that, especially after the bomb he’d just exploded over their heads. Marlin wondered what would happen to him if he tried to intervene.
He wasn’t sure he wanted to find out.
“I don’t care that the two of you are together,” Birch said.
Marlin blinked at him because he was sure he hadn’t heard that right. Birch didn’t care if his brother dated Marlin?
“What?” Curran asked, sounding like he couldn’t quite believe it. That made two of them.
“You can date whoever you want, and you could do a lot worse than Marlin. I’m honestly not sure you could do better, so I don’t have anything to say about that.”
“Why are we fighting, then?”
“We’re fighting because you got pregnant, Curran. You didn’t think, and while I’m sure you’ll be a great father, this entire situation is a mess. We’re also fighting because that’s what we seem to be doing every time we talk lately.”
Curran’s shoulders slumped. Marlin had to resist the urge to step towards him. He wanted to support him, but he was a bit afraid of Birch. He didn’t think his best friend would hurt him or anything like that, but it didn’t feel like a good idea to step between the two brothers.
“I’m sorry,” Curran muttered. “I don’t want us to fight, but you have to admit you’re not making it easy.”
“I can do that,” Birch easily agreed. “So I’m going to be honest. You’re my little brother, and part of me will always want to protect you.
I’ll try not to be too overbearing, but it’s not going to be easy, especially considering the situation.
” Birch sucked in a breath. “I don’t care that you and Marlin are together. I’ve known about—”
“We’re not together,” Curran blurted out.
Once again, Birch stared at him. “Why not? You slept together. You’re having a child.”
“We were both drunk, and something that shouldn’t have happened, happened. That’s all there was to it.”
“Curran.”
“Birch. I don’t want to talk about this.”
Killian cleared his throat. “Well, this is a surprise,” he said, looking from Curran to Marlin.
Marlin wanted to disappear. He’d never told anyone about how he felt for Curran, but he was pretty sure that Killian knew. He had no idea if Birch did, but even if he did, Marlin didn’t want to talk about it, either.
“It’s a surprise for me, too,” Curran snarked. “But I’ll deal with it.”
“Congratulations to both of you,” Killian said, fully turning toward Marlin. “If you need time off work, let me know.”
“He doesn’t need time off,” Curran answered before Marlin could. “We talked earlier, and we’re good.”
“We are?” Marlin asked him.
Curran scowled. “For now, yes.”
“Marlin, why don’t you walk Curran home?” Killian suggested.
When Curran turned to glare at him, Killian gave him his most innocent smile.
Curran visibly deflated. He probably wanted to refuse, but Killian was the king, and Curran wasn’t as close to him as Marlin and Birch were.
He wasn’t intimidated by him, but it was clear that he didn’t quite know what to make of Killian.
“I can do that,” Marlin confirmed. “I’ll grab lunch on my way back.”
“Bring back something for all three of us, please.”
“I don’t need to be walked home,” Curran tried to argue, but there was no heat in his voice anymore. He knew he’d been defeated.
Killian nodded. “Maybe not, but I think we’d all feel more comfortable knowing that you’re not alone out there, considering what happened in the dining hall.”
Curran groaned. “I really wish Pearl hadn’t talked to me.”
“Hopefully, she’ll leave you alone from now on.”
Curran moved toward the door again, but just like last time, Birch caught his wrist. For a moment, they stared at each other, and Marlin got ready to intervene. Birch would never hurt Curran, but they both needed some time and space from each other.
“We’ll talk?” Birch asked.
Curran smiled at him. “We will, eventually. It’s not that I don’t want to talk to you. I just haven’t talked to Marlin yet, either. Everything’s been a mess, and before you say it, I know it’s my fault. I’m not saying it isn’t. I just need a little time.”
“I can give you that,” Birch murmured.
“Good.” Curran glanced at Marlin. “Well? Are you coming?”
Marlin scrambled to catch up as Curran strode toward the door. All of this was too much for him to be able to deal with today, but did he have a choice?
* * * *
CURRAN WANTED THIS mess to be over, so the sooner he could get Marlin to walk him back to his rooms, the better it would be.
It wasn’t like he wanted to be away from Marlin—between his feelings for Marlin and his hormones, he wanted nothing more than to cuddle with him—but he was overwhelmed.
He hadn’t been planning on telling anyone about the baby today.
He certainly hadn’t been planning on telling Birch who the baby’s father was.
He was glad he had, though. He still had to tell his mothers, but the big hurdle was out of the way. He could finally relax and stop hiding.
He left the office, knowing that Marlin would be right behind him. He didn’t have to check. He waved at Tito, who looked confused but waved back, then strode out into the hallway. He could feel Marlin behind him, but he didn’t turn.
Part of him wanted to scream. What was Marlin going to say?
Curran had no doubts that Marlin would want to be in the baby’s life and do what was best for them, but what about what was best for Curran?
Curran didn’t even know what that best was.
He just knew that he wanted Marlin and that he had zero chance of having him.
They walked in silence for a while, and Curran was grateful.
It gave him a little time, but unfortunately, it wasn’t long enough for him to stop freaking out or to think of something to say.
Maybe it was best for him not to say anything at all.
He doubted that Marlin would allow him to get away with that, unfortunately.
“So,” Marlin eventually said.
Curran resisted the urge to groan. “So.”
“I know you don’t want to talk to me right now. That’s fine.”
“Is it? I’m sure you want answers.”
“I do, but I don’t think you have those answers.”
Curran could have cried. “No, I don’t. I mean, I know how this happened, but that’s about it.”
“I’m sorry that you had to deal with this on your own. I understand why you didn’t come to me, though.”
Curran sighed. How did Marlin have the power to make him feel guilty about this? “It was nothing against you.”
“I know. The situation is kind of complicated.”
“Kind of?”
“Well, I thought Birch would have a different reaction, so that wasn’t bad.”
Curran agreed. He’d expected his brother to explode, but instead, Birch had understood.
He’d said that he didn’t care that Marlin and Curran were together—they weren’t—but Birch knew how Curran felt.
Curran was pretty sure that the only one who didn’t was Marlin.
Clearly, Birch had thought that Curran had finally talked to Marlin and that they’d gotten together, and now, Curran would have to tell him that no, he hadn’t, and that the only reason Marlin had been with him was that they’d both been drunk.
Their situation was going to get messier before it got any better, wouldn’t it?
“About what Birch said,” Marlin continued.
Curran needed him to stop right now. “It’s fine. I know you don’t see me like that, and I don’t expect anything from you, not even with the baby. You didn’t want this. I don’t want you to be stuck with it because you made a stupid mistake.”
“I don’t even know where to start,” Marlin said with a frown. “I’m not stuck with anything, just like you’re not.”
Curran looked down at his stomach. “Well, I kind of am.”
“You know what I mean. Having a child with you isn’t being stuck. I’m honored.”