Page 80 of Utah

“Like what?” Evie walked up behind him and brushed his shoulder with hers. “Porno mags?”

“Gross. Please don’t ever say that again.”

My sister and I laughed at his obvious discomfort. Anything at all to do with us and sex made him cringe, but I couldn’t blame him. The thought of him and Kyla… nope, couldn’t even think it.

To get my mind off all things my brother and his girlfriend, I turned my attention to Evie, who wore the biggest grin while reading something on her phone.

“Is that Ben?”

She swore she wasn’t ready to jump back into the dating world, so I was surprised when she told me she agreed to go out with him. Then one date turned into two, and so far, they’d been out six times, and she really liked him. None of us had met him yet, although I’d seen a picture. She gushed about his brown curls and his dimples, and I had to admit he was quite handsome. Not my type, but then again, no one compared to the large, bearded, tattooed man I loved.

“Yeah.” Her fingers flew over her screen. “He’s making me dinner tonight and asked what time I’d like to come over.” Her eyes landed on me. “Do you need me to help you unpack?”

“No, don’t worry about it. There’s not that much. Go and enjoy yourself.”

“I don’t like him,” Knox blurted as he looked over her shoulder at her phone.

“You haven’t even met him,” Evie countered, shoving the device into her back pocket so he couldn’t read any more of her messages.

“Who doesn’t like who?” Utah walked through the front door and headed straight to me. I’d picked up a small box from on top of the counter and had it in my hands when he approached, the scowl on his face borderline amusing. “What did I tell you about moving anything?” He leaned in close to whisper in my ear so no one could hear him. “You’re gonna get punished for that later.” He kissed my cheek and removed the box from my hands. “Now, who doesn’t like who?”

“Knox doesn’t like Ben,” Evie answered.

“He’s your older brother. He’s not gonna like anyone you date. Shit, he barely likes me, and I’m the best guy he knows.”

“First off… true, but secondly, he’s right. I’m not gonna like anyone you go out with, especially after what’s his fuckin’ face.” His attention bounced between me and Evie. “No one is good enough for either of you. Remember that.”

I looked at Utah to see his reaction to my brother’s statement, but he didn’t appear bothered. In fact, he shrugged and nodded, essentially agreeing with him.

While Knox and Evie started talking about something else, I grabbed Utah’s hand and pulled him closer to ask him a question with a bit of privacy.

“Do you really think you’re not good enough for me?”

“I don’t think it, babe. I know it.” I parted my lips to protest, but he shook his head. “I may not be good enough for you, but I’m the closest to what you deserve, which is a man who will love and cherish you for the rest of his life.”

Every time Utah spoke with an iota of sentiment, I was reminded of how far he’d come, not only with me, but in his own life. I didn’t think I could love him more, but for the millionth time, I was just proved wrong.

“Can I at least say we’re perfect for each other?”

“I can live with that.” He placed his hand on my protruding belly as he often did, only this time, he yanked his arm back as if he’d been shocked. “What was that?”

I’d first felt our baby kick three days ago when I entered my twentieth week, and when I’d told Utah about it, he was elated but also disappointed he missed it.

“That was the little bean kicking me.” I grimaced when the baby kicked once more, pressing against my rib cage. I reached for Utah’s hand and placed it on my belly. Nothing happened. I moved his hand around in a circle, feeling for movement. Then it happened once more, this time less painful.

“Oh my God.” His eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. “That’s amazing.” The smile on his face mirrored mine, and this was only another example of why I believed Utah would be an amazing father. He wanted to be there for every milestone, no matter how small.

“What’s going on?” Evie asked, peering around Knox.

“The baby’s kicking,” he answered, his elation written all over his handsome face.

“Can I feel?” she asked.

“In a minute.” I wanted to share this special moment with Utah as long as possible. After four more kicks, he leaned in to kiss me as he dropped his hand.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

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