Page 56 of Teasing a King

He says it casually, but I know the answer is important to him. I also know he’s probably not going to like what I tell him. I think about how I’d feel if Claire showed up pregnant by some guy she barely knew. I’d want to break the guy’s arm, at the least. Hell, Ronan had almost arrested Garrett when he’d caught him kissing Claire the first time. That scene is pretty funny when I look back now. But Claire had been pissed. Which is why I don’t think Luke will try to kick my ass tonight. He seems to care about his sister’s feelings. And she’d assured him that I’m a good guy and that she’s happy.

I take a breath and blow it out. “We met a few weeks before my brother’s wedding. She’d come into town to hang out with Hope, and we were introduced. But we didn’t really get to know one another until the night of the wedding.”

I see a muscle tick in Luke’s jaw as he stands at the line, readying to make a throw. “The night you got her pregnant, you mean?”

I hate the crude way he makes it sound. As if what we’d done had been wrong. As if what we have is somehow tainted because of the way we came to be together.

I look at Luke, my gaze unflinching. “I care about her,” I say. “More than you know.” I can’t say more. I won’t tell Luke I love Mya before I have a chance to tell her. “I know we started things off in a less than conventional way,” I continue. “But that doesn’t make what I feel for her and our baby any less real. I plan to be the best possible partner to Mya for as long as she’ll have me. And I’m going to be the best possible father to our baby. I hope that you’ll be a part of our family, too. And that you won’t judge your sister based on her relationship with me.”

Luke stares at me for a long moment, his eyes narrowed as if he’s working something out. Then, his face relaxes, and he smiles. He looks back to the dartboard and lets his dart sail. It hits just left of the bullseye. He turns back to me before going to retrieve his darts.

“You seem good for my sister,” he says, catching me off-guard with the compliment when I’d expected something different.

“Um,” I stutter. “Thanks. She’s good for me, too.”

Luke nods. “It’s good to see her happy,” he says. “Settled. Especially after the way she grew up,” he goes on. “Bouncing around from one place to the next, never having a real home. I worry about her. I’m glad she’s with you. Part of a family. She deserves that. So, thank you.”

He walks over to retrieve his darts, then walks over to the small table where our beers sit. As I listen to Luke talk about Mya, certain puzzle pieces fall into place, though I still have more questions than answers. Luke goes on, oblivious to my own internal revelations.

“She never really had anyone to look after her,” he says. “I’ve tried. For the past few years, at least, but she’s never been very receptive. Always wants to make her own way. Always insists she’s fine.” He smiles, holding up air quotes around the word ‘fine’ before taking a sip of his beer.

I huff out a small laugh at the accurate description of Mya, though I’m not amused. In fact, I’m starting to feel a sense of dread creep over me. Just what is Luke saying? What does he mean, she didn’t have anyone to look after her? And why had she never had a real home? I have so many questions, but I don’t want to interrupt Luke now that he’s talking.

“She’s always been stubborn and independent,” Luke goes on with a smile. “But she’s different now. Less closed off. Happier, I think. I’m not sure exactly what changed, but I think you’re responsible. You, the baby, your family, this town. Maybe all of it.” His smile widens. “Hell, she even hugged me back last night. That’s a first.”

I pull up every memory of Mya and try to remember if we’ve ever discussed our childhoods. I’d never noticed it before, but I realize now that she’s always shied away from talking about her own past. Every time the conversation has headed in that direction, she’s managed to steer it back toward me or the baby. I don’t know all that much about her from before she met Hope in college. She’s made vague references to certain things, but she’s never given me any real details. I don’t know anything about her parents.

Before last night, I hadn’t even known she had a brother. Half-brother, I correct. Which makes me wonder why she’d made that distinction. It’s clear she and Luke aren’t close, but lots of families aren’t close. Not everyone has dinner once a week with their siblings once they’re no longer under the same roof.

My first instinct is to be hurt. Why? Why doesn’t Mya trust me enough to let me in? But then I think about how we met, how we came to live together, the strange path our relationship took to get here. I still feel hurt, but I don’t blame Mya for holding back part of herself. Haven’t we both done that, to some degree?

“So, you and Mya are half-siblings?” I ask Luke as I step forward to line up my shot.

Luke nods and takes a long drink from his beer. “We share a father,” he says with a hint of disgust in his voice. “Such as he is.”

The last part is muttered as though it hadn’t been meant for my ears. But I’d heard him clearly. There’s obviously something about his father that he doesn’t like. But, what?

Chapter Twenty-Four

Mya

When Van comes home, I expect him to be sloppy drunk. He surprises me, though. While his breath smells slightly of beer, he’s clear-eyed and appears totally sober. I’d been lying in bed, reading a book when he’d appeared in the doorway, smiling as he’d looked at me.

“You’re home early,” I say, coming to my feet to greet him with a kiss.

Van takes my face in his hands, cupping my cheeks lightly as his lips brush mine. He’s infinitely gentle, even when his tongue brushes against the seam of my lips.

“I missed you,” he says.

I feel something in my chest squeeze. “I missed you, too,” I say, kissing him again. “Did you have fun with the guys?”

Van nods. There’s something odd in his eyes that I don’t recognize, but I don’t have a chance to ask him about it before he starts talking about his night as he pulls off his shirt and removes his belt. I watch him, eyeing every inch of exposed skin. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of looking at this man. He tells me all about Finn taking shots and Ronan babysitting all of them. He apparently played darts with Luke.

“We actually got along really well,” he says. “We have a lot in common, as it turns out.”

“Oh?” I say. “Like what?”

Van wraps his arms around me, and I smooth my hands up his bare chest. “We’re both good at darts,” he says, kissing my cheek. I wrap my arms around his neck.