Page 73 of Twins For My Bestie's Brother

Her smile disappears. “I’m not.”

“Yeah, you are.”

Lily’s face softens. “I just don’t want to be a burden to you, Jackson.”

“You’re not a—“

She places a hand on my chest. “Go and enjoy. I’ll check in later and join you, okay?”

I want to push back more, but I know not to push women too much when they want their alone time. It’s just . . . Lily hasn’t wanted that from me since we got together. The tides are changing, and I’m not ready. Not yet. “Okay.”

She gives me a peck on the lips. “Don’t worry about me.”

“Impossible,” I say with a hesitant smile.

She laughs and pushes me back slightly before closing the door in my face.

What the fuck is going on? Now I’m worried about her and frustrated that she’s not letting me help or letting me in on what she’s feeling. I thought we were closer than that. We love each other, for God’s sake. What is there to hide?

I wander back through the suite, trying to will myself to leave. Fuck it. I’m on ski time. I snag a miniature bottle of whisky from the stocked refrigerator and knock it back like a shot, then head down to meet Danforth at the Nexus.

If I can’t be the man I want to be and take care of my girl, I’m going to have a good time.

Chapter 23

Lily

Istand with my back against the bathroom door until I’m sure Jackson is gone. The bathroom is so steamy it’s starting to be suffocating and the bath is already filled to the brim.

The pregnancy test sits on the sink which is only feet away but may as well be miles since I can’t see the little test window.

Just my luck. I waited hours to take it after Carina grabbed one for me from her personal stash. She had to hype me up for hours to get me to a point where I was willing to accept there’s a possibility I’m pregnant.

And now . . . I’m going to find out.

I push myself away from the door and tiptoe toward the test as if it might run away if it sees me coming. I hold tight to the towel wrapped around my chest, my knuckles aching as I peer down at it.

Carina has the nice test, the expensive ones where you don’t have to rely on reading lines. So, after I wipe the steam away from the window, it’s not hard for me to learn the truth.

Eight letters in a black, blocky font.

Pregnant.

My body recognizes the gravity of the message before my brain. My cheeks grow hot, my mouth numb, my stomach fluttery. I can’t tell if the feelings are bad or good. I think I’m just in shock. I grab the test and realize in the process my hands are shaking.

Pregnant. I’m pregnant.

Thoughts don’t do the message justice.

“I’m pregnant,” I say out loud, a mere whisper on my lips. Then, an indefinable sound jumps out of my mouth. It’s a type of gasp that is both full of grief and wonderment. Grief at the life I had planned out for myself for the next nine months. And wonderment at how it will change. Tears burst from my eyes. It takes me off guard.

It’s been fast from the beginning, Jackson and me. I accepted it was the natural order of things when you have known someone so well for so many years. You say “I love you” on the first date, and you’re already looking at building a future together.

It may sound crazy, but this just makes sense. A baby to join us even closer together.

If this had happened with Will, it would have been a tragedy. This is . . . it’s everything.

I drop the test, the truth, into the sink and clap a hand to my belly, smiling through the tears. It’s unchanged. At least as far as I know. There’s always been a little pooch of softness there that fluctuates depending on the time of the month. I wonder when it will start to change.

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