Page 64 of Waiting to Love You

Connor grabs a can from Vance and cracks it open. “We knew Bristol had a daughter, but not who the father was. We assumed she was waiting to see where things went between you two before saying anything, but if we had known…” His voice trails off as if he was searching for the right words.

“You’d have done the same thing.” I chuckle, popping my can open and taking a huge gulp. “Now that I’ve had time to think, I don’t know if I’d done anything differently in your position.”

“Thanks. For understanding, I guess,” Vance says as he sets his beer on the coffee table and flips the pizza box open to grab a slice.

“Do you still love her?” Brady asks, taking a healthy pull from his beer and leaning against the couch beside me.

“What kind of fucking question is that?” I snap, crossing my arms defensively over my chest. “Of course, I fucking love her. Those feelings don’t just disappear because we had an argument.”

“This was a little more than an argument,” Vance responds as he shoves a slice of pizza into his mouth.

“That’s fucking disgusting.” I snicker while taking another swig of my beer. “But I’ve been in love with Bristol since I first laid eyes on her over a year ago. I’ll be damned if I let her or my daughter get away without a fight.”

“Just what we wanted to hear.” Vance claps me on the back. “But maybe take a shower first. You are ripe, my friend.”

“I’m going now.” I leave my beer on the coffee table before heading into my room.

When I came back, the guys have made themselves at home. Connor is sitting on the couch, staring at his phone with a soft smile on his face, while Brady is seated next to him on the couch, and Vance is sitting on the floor in front of him on the other side of the coffee table, a deck of cards laid out between them.

“What are you playing?” I ask before leaning over the couch between Connor and Brady to grab my beer.

“Go Fish,” Vance’s eyes never leave his cards.

“And I’m winning.” Brady smiles, showing his hand to me.

“Sure. Sure.” I chuckle, taking another sip of my beer. “You know I have a television, don’t you?”

“Where?” all three men respond in unison as I grab the remote control from beside the light and point it toward the empty wall. A large projection screen drops from the ceiling.

“That wasn’t there when Audrey lived here, was it?” Connor asks in awe as I turn on the satellite TV and drop the remote on the couch.

“Nope. This was something I bought just for me. I refuse to watch the game on a tiny-ass TV ever again.”

“Every Sunday, Seth is having us over to watch the game,” Brady says as he snatches the remote off the couch and starts flicking through channels before settling on some action movie.

“We’ll see,” is the only response I give him as I come around the side of the couch near the door and sit in the lone armchair by the window.

We all sit there and watch the television in silence for a few moments before Connor speaks up.

“So, what do you plan on doing now that you know about Rebekah?”

“I asked him the same thing earlier. Maybe he’ll answer you,” Brady grumbles as he shoves another slice into his mouth.

“First, I need to see both of your wives.” I nod toward Vance and Connor. “I’m hoping for a crash course in all things baby.”

“I raised a kid, too, you know,” Connor grumbles, taking a long pull from his beer.

“You can come, too.” I raise my now-empty beer in his direction. “I don’t know a damn thing about babies outside of the little I learned in the foster homes.”

“Seli asked Bristol and Audrey to do the same thing for her.” Vance laughs, placing his bottle on the table in front of him. “She said what better way to learn how to take care of babies than from another mom?”

“After I wrap my head around having a daughter, then it’s time to make sure my girl knows nothing has changed. She’s it for me, and there isn’t a damn thing she can do about it now. She’s stuck with me.”

“I don’t think she’ll have a problem with that,” Connor says as he slaps me on the back and grabs another slice of pizza.

“Now that that’s all settled, can we stop with all the feelings and drink some beer?” Brady grabs another beer, cracks it open, and chugs it. “I have no intention of leaving here sober.”

“Can he sleep on your couch? I have no intention of dealing with his drunk ass tonight,” Vance asks, eyeing Brady’s swaying form skeptically.

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