Page 58 of Teasing a King

I take pity on him and reach into my purse for some over-the-counter painkillers. I shake out two pills and hand them to my brother.

“Take these,” I say. “And eat something with carbs.”

“Carbs?” Luke asks as he swallows the pills.

I nod. “Wyatt and Van swear carbs soak up booze.” I shrug. “I don’t have any evidence to back it up, though.”

Luke nods. “They’re good guys,” he says. “They all are.”

I smile. “I told you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Luke mutters, picking up his menu. “You were right. Happy now?”

“Overjoyed,” I say, looking at my own menu.

“I gave him my blessing,” Luke says. “For whatever that’s worth.”

“Who?” I ask. “Van?”

Luke nods. “I told him I could see how happy he makes you and that I think he’s good for you.”

Touched, I smile at my brother. “Thank you,” I say. “He does make me happy.”

Luke looks uncomfortable with the subject. “Well, a blind man could see that. I’m just glad you’re not alone anymore. Especially after the way our dad treated you. You deserve better.”

I feel that familiar lurch in my stomach at the mention of Charles Wolfe, my father. I try to ignore it, as I always do, but it’s not as easy this time.

I manage a nod. “Thank you.”

“I’m just trying to be a good brother,” he says. “Not that I know how.”

I smile. “I think you’re doing just fine.”

“Anyway, I’m happy you’re finally settled and with someone who treats you right,” Luke says, his voice gruff. “And I told Van the same thing. That I just want what’s best for you. That you deserve to be loved.”

My stomach lurches and I feel a sick sense of foreboding. “What else did you tell him?” My words are casual, but I’m screaming inside.

Luke shrugs. “Just that I was happy to see you in a good place, especially after the way you grew up.”

I stare at him, shock stealing my breath for a moment. Luke looks up from the menu to my face. He must see something in my expression that alarms him, because his eyes go wide.

“Mya are you okay?” he asks, leaning across the table toward me. “You’re really pale. Is it the baby?”

“You didn’t?” I whisper. “Tell me you didn’t tell Van my pathetic sob story.”

Luke’s face goes from bewilderment to understanding to regret in a few seconds. I feel a sinking in my stomach.

“How could you?” I demand.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “I didn’t know it was a secret.”

“That was not your story to tell,” I say, biting off every word.

“I thought he knew,” Van says. “Mya, you have to know I’d never intentionally hurt you. I’m sorry. You two seem so close. I thought you’d told him.”

I slump back into my chair, defeated. Van doesn’t love me. Not really. He spent last night hearing all the sad stories of my childhood from my brother. Then he’d come home to me and claimed to love me. And I’d believed him. Not that I think he was lying, exactly. Van’s honor wouldn’t allow that. But I don’t think he truly loves me. I think he’s trying to do the right thing. Luke told him I deserve someone who loves me, so he’d come home and told me exactly that. Hell, he might even think it’s true. But it’s not.

Luke’s words of apology have trailed off and he’s looking at me as if I’m a bomb that may explode any second. But that’s not what I am. I’m numb. I can’t believe I was stupid enough to believe this would work out. It never has before. Just because Van and I are having a baby doesn’t mean we’re supposed to be together. I’d let myself begin to believe otherwise. That’s why this hurts so much now. But I can stop it before it gets too far. Before we break our child’s heart along with mine.

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