Chapter 22 Jules
JULES
“Are you pregnant?”
The question spilled out of Ava faster than she could stop it. I could see the regret on my sister-in-law’s face the second she’d asked it, but there was nothing she could do to take it back.
I was shaking.
Fear rattled my body.
This couldn’t be happening. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to happen.
Ava shifted uncomfortably in the tense silence that settled over the four of us, her expression twisting with agony.
Tate couldn’t take his eyes off Beau, or more specifically, the way Beau was holding my hand.
And Beau, to his credit, seemed to understand that I was struggling, so he offered my hand a reassuring squeeze as he stepped closer to me.
Like he wanted me to know he’d protect me from anything.
“Please don’t say anything,” I begged, my voice a pained rasp.
Ava’s mouth fell open. “It’s true?”
There was no point in hiding it. They’d already heard it, already seen the sonograms the receptionist had handed to me.
My chin tipped down to confirm, and I explained, “I just had my first appointment, and we’re still trying to adjust to the news ourselves.”
For the first time since we’d come face-to-face with them, my brother spoke.
“Based on what I saw as we made our way over here, you seem well-adjusted already, Jules. What I’m thinking is that I might need to visit a doctor myself, so I can have my hearing checked.
Because it sounded like that receptionist called you Mrs. Easton, and you didn’t even flinch. ”
My stomach dropped. My heart was in my throat. Tate and Ava heard far more than I thought, and my brother’s face was ashen.
“Beau and I got married.”
Tate looked like he was about to go ballistic. Ava was just plain shocked. “You’re married?” Tate’s voice bordered on lethal.
Tears filled my vision. “I am. We did it yesterday. And I’m begging you not to say anything to anyone.”
“Do you intend to?” His tone was so cutting, like it was taking every ounce of restraint to hold himself back from shouting every raging thought running through his head.
Tate didn’t wait for me to respond when he shifted his attention to Beau and asked, “You married my sister without her family there?”
Beau’s fingers twitched. “You’re her brother?”
Tate narrowed his eyes on Beau. “Kind of strange, don’t you think? You don’t even know your wife’s family.”
“Tate,” Ava whispered, leaning into him. I could see the desperation in her eyes; she felt awful about this. Probably both for Tate and for me.
My brother didn’t give Beau a chance to respond. He fired another question at him. “How dare you?” He slid his eyes to mine, and just beneath the rage glittering in them, I could sense the sadness. “Why, Jules? Why would you do this?”
“Tate, please,” I begged, tears sliding down my cheeks as I shifted myself even closer to Beau.
“Please, what? Jules, you’re pregnant and married, and nobody in your family knows about it,” he clipped.
Nodding, I said, “I know. I’m sorry. And I hate that you’re finding out like this, but I’m begging you not to say anything.”
“We won’t,” Ava assured me. Tate’s eyes cut to hers, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Ava stared him down and repeated, “We won’t. This is hers to share.”
Disgust washed over him as he turned his attention back to me, his mouth twisting like he’d popped something bitter inside. “But the problem is that my sister has yet to confirm if she plans to do that any time soon.”
Without thinking, I parted my lips to respond, and the words just spilled out. “In three days. At the lake house. During the Fourth of July festivities.”
Tate’s brows shot up. “Oh, this ought to be wonderful. I suspect I could tell the family that there’s no need to purchase any entertainment, because you’ll be bringing the fireworks with you.”
I stumbled back at the words, the hurt they were meant to inflict. Beau reacted and shifted his body to steady me.
Over the years, there had always been teasing amongst my siblings and me, but they’d never been downright cruel. I wasn’t so stupid as to believe that this news wouldn’t take them by surprise, but Tate’s reaction was beyond what I had imagined.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
Ava cut in. “It’s okay, Jules. There’s no need to be sorry. We’ll see you at the lake house, and we won’t say a word.”
Unable to speak, I bowed my head in thanks.
My sister-in-law urged her husband to move past us, leaving Beau and me standing there.
That’s when I realized what I’d done. I tipped my chin up to find him staring at me with such concern. “Are you okay?”
“I’m sorry. I… I panicked and promised to go to the family’s Fourth of July celebration. But I know it’s not your thing, so I can just go by myself and do this—”
“Jules, angel, breathe,” he urged gently.
I took a few settling breaths.
He cupped the side of my face and brushed away my tears with his thumb. “I’ll go with you. You’re my wife. This is our baby. I’m not sending you there to do this alone.”
I bit my lip, recalling how awful the scene with Tate was. “He’s so angry with me, and he’s not the one I’m most worried about.”
Beau offered a sympathetic look before he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me toward his chest. As I sobbed there, feeling such immense worry over what was to come, Beau stroked my hair and kissed the top of my head while he murmured soothing words.
It didn’t help me to feel reassured about facing my family’s reaction to the news I had to share, but it did ease some of the fear I had about how I’d get through this no matter how they responded.
Because my husband was going to be by my side through it all.
“I feel like the roles have been reversed.”
Beau’s voice, holding a hint of amusement, floated through the cabin of his car. I glanced at him and saw that, despite the lightness in his tone, he wasn’t trying to make light of anything. He merely wanted to ease the heaviness in my heart he’d seen for the last two days.
“What do you mean?”
He reached across the center console and took my hand in his. “I understand why you’re feeling so many nerves about this, but shouldn’t I be the one who’s more concerned? I mean, I’m meeting your entire family for the first time. Not just your parents.”
He had a point. If anyone should have felt discomfort about this, it should have been him. Beau probably did. But because he knew how much I was battling with everything ever since the encounter we’d had with Tate and Ava, I suspected he was doing his best to put on a brave face.
“Honestly, you shouldn’t be concerned. In any other scenario, if we were simply dating, and I brought you to something like this, there wouldn’t be a thing for you to be worried about.
My family has done this five times already, and they’ve never been anything less than welcoming.
I know because I was on that side of it before. ”
Beau squeezed my hand. “Alright. So, let’s go in with a positive mindset. I’m not saying everything we have to share won’t come as a shock, but maybe it won’t be as bad as you think.”
I wanted to believe that.
Truly, I did.
And if it had been Wyatt or Cooper that had been there outside the doctor’s office two days ago having that reaction, I might not have been as concerned as I was now.
Tate wasn’t generally a guy who got riled up like that, so it was anyone’s guess how the rest of the family would take the news.
Even my sister was a wild card in this situation, because she was fiercely protective of me. Of everyone she loved, really.
Wanting to offer him reassurance, I said, “Maybe you’re right.”
“Alright. So, are you ready to do this?”
I wasn’t. Not at all. I couldn’t bear to see the disappointment I suspected I’d see on their faces. But I answered, “Yeah. Let’s do it.”
Beau came around to open my door, and he linked his fingers with mine. If nothing else, we’d present a united front to my family, and hopefully, they’d be able to see that I was being cared for and happy.
We made our approach, the cars in the driveway indicating everyone else was already here. With Beau still holding my hand, we rounded the side of the house and followed the path that led to the backyard, where I knew we’d find my family waiting.
His fingers tightened around mine, and I wondered if that was an attempt to reassure me that everything was okay, or if the reality of this situation was setting in for him. For a guy who’d never really been interested in meeting anyone’s family, this was a huge step for him, too.
So, I came to a stop just before my family came into view and looked up at him.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I just want you to know that it means the world to me to have you here with me. Thank you for not making me do this alone.”
The corners of his eyes crinkled with his smile before he touched his lips to mine in a chaste kiss. “I’m quickly learning there isn’t much I won’t do for you.”
Warmth bloomed inside me at the appreciation I felt for him and how much he’d changed in less than two months to be this man for me.
I tugged on his hand, and the two of us continued our journey to the backyard.
Unsurprisingly, and much to my relief, my niece was the first to spot me. “Auntie Jules!”
Beau and I came to a stop as Rosie ran across the freshly manicured grass on her bare feet toward us.
“Hi, Rosie.” I crouched, arms outstretched, waiting for the collision.
The second her body collided with mine, I scooped her up and showered her with kisses all over her face and neck.
The sound of her giggles helped to ease some of the tension I’d been feeling.
“I love this dress you’re wearing today. ”
“Daddy bought sparklers.”
My eyes rounded. “He did? Oh, I bet those are going to be so fun to light up later today. Can I do some with you?”
She nodded, her eyes sliding to Beau.