Page 78 of Nathan

My head jerks back. I hadn’t even thought of that. Realization flickers in Declan’s eyes as they cut to mine. Christ, what a mess. I sweep a hand over my face.

Getting to his feet with a heavy sigh, Declan puts his hand on my shoulder. “This must be a hell of a shock for you.”

I grimace. “It’ll take some coming to terms with, that’s for sure, but I reckon it’ll be worse for Indie.”

“I can tell her if you like.”

“No. If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to tell her.”

“She’s gone into the office for a few hours. I’d prefer to let her come home in her own time rather than summon her, if that’s okay with you.”

“Works for me.” It gives me some time to figure out how the hell I’m going to approach this with a woman who might be married to my brother, but one that, due to my own stubbornness and stupidity, I don’t know all that well. “I’d like you there when I tell her, Declan. And you, Dex.” I flash an apologetic glance at the twins. “Might be a bit of overkill if you’re there, too.”

“I’m mortally wounded.” Callum flashes a grin and gets to his feet. He ruffles my hair as if I’m still twelve. “Call us if you need us.”

After the twins leave, Declan disappears into his home office to catch up on some paperwork as well as, I think, give Dex and me some space.

My head flops back against the couch once we’re alone, and I pinch the bridge of my nose as a headache threatens. Dex sits quietly beside me, her presence a soothing balm to the lacerations caused by today’s revelations.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have gone poking around,” I say after a few minutes of silence pass. “Some secrets are better left buried.”

She sits up straight, locking her wise-beyond-her-years gray eyes on me. “Do you really think that? Deep in your heart? You honestly believe it’s better to never know where you came from? To not know that you have a half-sister? And do you think it’s right that Indie goes through life without knowing she has a living blood relative?”

See, this is the thing about Dex. She always manages to smack me right between the eyes with a truth I’m not prepared for.

“I guess not,” I begrudgingly admit.

“Come on.” She gets to her feet and hauls me to mine. “There’s little point sitting around here all afternoon waiting for Indie to get home from work. We can tick a few more things off my to-do list and take your mind off the upcoming difficult conversation at the same time.”

I capture her around the waist, pulling her flush to my body. “Have I told you lately how incredible you are?”

She taps her bottom lip. “Hmm, come to think of it, you have been slacking in the compliment department. If there was a report card on the subject, yours would read: ‘Must Do Better’.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I drawl, smacking her ass as she slips out of my arms. “Okay, Titch, lead the way.”

Five hours later, with sore feet and aching shoulders, my phone pings with a text. I read it, and my stomach hurtles to the ground at the message.

“It’s from Declan. Indie’s home.”

Dex slips her arm through mine and rests her head on my shoulder. “Are you ready?”

“Not in the slightest.”

“You can always take Declan up on his offer to tell her.”

“Yeah, I know.” I consider it carefully, weighing up the pros and cons. “Maybe that’s the best approach. She’s his wife, and he knows her a lot better than I do. I don’t want to say the wrong thing and upset her.”

I type out a reply letting him know we’re on our way, as well as my decision to let him do the talking. He replies with a thumbs up.

When we arrive, Indie is in the kitchen chopping vegetables, presumably for dinner. Declan’s on the couch reading emails on his iPad. I catch his eye, and he shakes his head to let me know he hasn’t tipped her off that anything is wrong.

She looks up and hits me with a bright smile. “Hey, there you are. Steak okay for dinner? Or are you guys planning to eat out?”

I don’t return her smile. I wonder if Declan feels as nauseous as I do. None of us know how Indie will react. Hell, I can’t get my head around the fact that my half-brother’s wife is my half-sister. It’s like an episode of Dr. Phil.

Declan sets his iPad to one side. “Babe, come and sit down for a minute.”

“Let me just finish this,” she says. “Two seconds.”

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