Chapter 19
Reese
"Your lover boy sure was eager to get the twins out of the house," Reagan says, stretching her legs across the couch where she's been planted for the last hour. Her hand rests on the small baby bump that's just starting to show beneath her oversized t-shirt.
I almost choke on my wine. "He's not my lover boy."
"Bullshit." My sister's eyes narrow on me with that patented big-sister glare that makes me feel like I'm twelve again. "I've got pregnancy brain, not fucking blindness."
I avoid her gaze, suddenly fascinated by the liquid swirling in my cup.
We've got the house to ourselves for the first time in forever.
Penn and Ramsey took the twins to the park, claiming the three-year-olds needed "manly time," but we all know it was to give Reagan a break.
At six months pregnant with baby number three, she's been exhausted.
"Whatever," I mutter, taking another sip. "We're just—"
"If you say 'just friends' I swear to god, I will throw this pillow at your head, and I don't miss." Reagan shifts, wincing slightly as she adjusts her position. "Look, we need to talk."
The serious tone in her voice makes me sit up straighter. "About what?"
Reagan sighs, running a hand through her dark hair. There are new strands of gray at her temples that weren't there a year ago. Motherhood and being married to Penn will do that to you.
"About Ramsey," she says finally, "About what you're getting yourself into."
My stomach drops. "What do you mean?"
"Reese, I've seen how he looks at you. How he's always looked at you." Reagan's voice is gentle but firm. "And I've seen how you look at him lately. Whatever's happening between you two...it's not just friendship anymore, is it?"
Heat rushes to my face. I consider lying, but what's the point? Reagan has always seen right through my bullshit.
"We kissed," I admit. "A couple times. And we've been...I don't know, dancing around each other. But nothing's happened. Not really."
"Yet," Reagan adds, her eyebrow arching knowingly.
I shrug, not denying it. "Maybe. I want it too."
Reagan closes her eyes for a moment, like she's gathering strength. When she opens them again, there's a resolve there I recognize all too well.
"Four years ago, I told Ramsey to stay away from you."
"You WHAT?" I nearly spill my wine, setting it down with a thud. "What the fuck, Reagan?"
"Calm down," she says, holding up a hand. "It was right after you moved in with us. I mean I told him jokingly the first time he saw you, when you called me after Penn’s little movie night package, when you were at the fuck ass boarding school."
"What the actual fuck?" I stand up, pacing the living room floor. "You can't just drop a bomb like that. What do you mean you told him to stay away from me?"
Reagan watches me with that infuriatingly calm expression she always gets when she thinks she's being the responsible one.
"I saw how he looked at you the first time he saw you on that FaceTime call," she explains, rubbing her belly absently. "Penn has just sent you the package. It was like...fuck, Reese. It was like someone had just shown a starving man a feast. Penn saw it too."
"So what, you just decided to police who I could be something with?" My voice rises, anger bubbling up. "I was seventeen years old!"
"Yeah, exactly, and he was nineteen and already had a reputation that would make a fucking porn star blush." Reagan shifts again, wincing as the baby kicks. "Listen, I've known Ramsey a lot longer than you have. The way he watched you, even through a goddamn screen—it wasn't normal, Reese."
"Define normal," I snap, crossing my arms over my chest.
"He knew everything about you there was to find out.
You know how fucking good he is at hacking.
Kept finding excuses to be at our place whenever you might call again.
" Reagan's voice softens slightly. "And when you finally moved in with us after our sperm donor kicked the fucking can?
Shit, Reese. I practically had to threaten Penn that his cousin better keep his dick in his pants when it came to you. "
I sink back onto the couch, trying to process this. Four fucking years. Has Ramsey wanted me for four years?
"Why didn't you ever tell me this before?" I ask, my anger deflating slightly.
"Because I knew you'd react exactly like this," Reagan sighs, her hand making small circles on her bump. "Look, I'm not saying he's a bad guy. He's family, and I love him. But Ramsey's...intense. He gets fixated on things. People."
"I'm not a thing," I mutter.
"No, you're not. You're my baby sister who's been through enough shit already." Reagan reaches for my hand, squeezing it tightly. "I just wanted to protect you."
"From Ramsey?" The idea seems absurd now, after everything we've been through together. "He's never been anything but good to me."
"Because he's been on his best behavior," Reagan counters. "You haven't seen what he's like when someone tries to take something he considers his."
I stare at her, my heart pounding in my chest. "What do you mean, 'something he considers his'? Has he done something I don't know about?"
Reagan shifts uncomfortably, avoiding my eyes. "Let's just say Justin wasn't the first guy who got warned off. He was too stupid though and stayed around."
"What the fuck?" I stand up again, unable to contain my nervous energy. "Are you seriously telling me Ramsey has been scaring off guys who were interested in me? For four fucking years?"
"Not all of them," Reagan says carefully.
"And who the fuck made him the judge of that?" I snap, then immediately deflate, sinking back down onto the couch. "Jesus, Reagan. Why didn't you stop him?"
She gives me a look that's half-amused, half-exasperated. "Have you ever tried to stop Ramsey Blackwood from doing something he's set his mind to? It's like trying to stop a fucking freight train with your bare hands. Plus, I happen to trust his judgment on this."
"You both just…manipulated everything from behind the scenes?"
Reagan sighs heavily. "We were trying to protect you."
"From what? Getting fucked properly?" The words fly out before I can stop them.
Reagan's eyebrows shoot up. "Jesus, Reese."
"No, seriously. What exactly were you protecting me from? Having a relationship with someone who actually gives a shit about me? Who would walk through fire for me?" My hands are shaking now.
"It wasn't that simple." Reagan rubs her temples. "You were vulnerable. New to college. Still dealing with Dad's death—"
"Don't you dare bring him into this," I snap. "That man was a fucking monster, and you know it."
Reagan doesn't flinch. She knows exactly what our father was. "That's my point. You'd already been through enough trauma. The last thing you needed was to get tangled up with Ramsey Blackwood."
"Why? Because he's fucked up too?" I challenge. "Newsflash, Reagan—we're all fucked up. You, me, Penn, Ramsey. We're all carrying our own damage."
"There's damaged, and then there's the Blackwoods," she says quietly.
I shake my head, a bitter laugh escaping my lips.
"The Blackwoods? You act like I don't remember Ramsey beating that guy with the tire iron, or that I haven't heard whispers about what Penn's done.
" I lean forward, holding Reagan's gaze.
"The Blackwoods are my family. You made it that way, but even if you hadn't… I'd still choose them."