Page 53 of Taken By my Brothers' Best Friends

I smiled. “I expect you to let this maybe baby’s papas take care of me.”

“Jesus.” He pulled the chair closer and sank into it. “I can’t hear that yet.”

“Are you going to stop being an asshole to them? They’re your friends, Mills. They fought me every step of the way into this relationship because of you, West, and Tate. They respect you and tried to stay away from me. My tenacity wore them down, though. As you said yourself, my tenacity is great.”

“In size.” Leaning forward, he placed his hand over my stomach. “How do you feel about this?”

I let out a laugh that sounded a little panicked, even to my ears. “Well. I definitely didn’t expect to get knocked up so soon after becoming sexually active but it figures. There’s three of them and it’s a lot of—”

“Vera!” Mills stood up and started pacing again. “Just don’t say anything else about that. Please.”

“If I’m being brutally honest and vulnerable with my big brother who isn’t super judgy and mean at times, I’d say… I’m terrified. I thought I was going to die last night. I was waitingto take my last breath. I think a part of me accepted it so easily because I finally got to feel what it’s like to love someone. And to be loved, whether they admit it or not. Then I didn’t die and now I feel… I don’t know. I guess I feel a little lost. I haven’t had a chance to see my guys and I freaking hurt all over. Hearing there’s a life growing inside me is just the cherry on top of the confused feeling cake.

“It’s like the movie stopped just before the climax. I still feel like I’m on the edge of something big happening. That feeling makes everything feel a little dangerous, you know? What if the guys don’t want a kid? What if I’m wrong and they don’t love me? I don’t think I can be happy just yet. Not about the baby. I’m too scared.” I bit my lip to stop myself from crying and looked up at Mills. “Is that stupid?”

He hurried back to the chair next to me and sat on the edge of it so he could take my hand in both of his. “No. I know what you mean. I’m sure Lennon, Reed, and Dean do, too. Coming back home from war felt a lot like that. It’s like you’ve been conserving your oxygen for months and suddenly you don’t have to but your lungs don’t know what it’s like to fully expand anymore. Suddenly the feeling of a deep breath is a threat. You’ve gone through something big, V. You’re safe now but your brain is still on high alert.”

The tears fell then. Thinking of my brothers, and the guys, feeling that way made me sick. I sniffed and Mills had to help me blow my nose. The awkwardness made me laugh and then we were both inexplicably laughing hard enough a nurse came in to check on us.

Once the nurse left us alone again, Mills reached up and ruffled my hair. “As much as I hate the idea of you and them together, that baby is going to be spoiled as hell by his uncles. You can be happy, kid. I’m not going to let anything hurt you again.”

“You can’t—”

“I’m going to get your baby daddies, Vera. Don’t talk me out of it.” He cringed. “And don’t make me say that ever again.”

CHAPTER 42

Vera

“Wait.”

Mills stopped by the door and glanced back at me. “Yeah?”

“Don’t tell them I’m pregnant.”

He frowned. “V. I watched them look for you. They’re not going to be scared away because of a baby.”

I swallowed and looked down. “Please.”

“You’re nuts, kid.” He sighed. “It’s your decision. I think you should tell them, though.”

I watched him leave and leaned back into my pillows. Resting my hand over my stomach, I tried to feel the life growing inside me. I knew there was no way to do that so early on but I still tried. I didn’t feel anything, of course, but that just made me feel worse. It wasn’t so much the idea of a baby that was making me panic as much as it was the idea of there not being a baby after getting knocked around the day before. How could I tell the guys and have them feel even a flare of hope for a baby if there was a chance I’d already lost it?

I didn’t even know if they wanted kids. I didn’t know enough about them to start a family, for sure. Not that I cared. I’d already made up my mind about them. In the face of death, it was them I wanted. There wasn’t a clearer picture to show me my feelings were real.

The door to my room slowly opened and I held my breath, the same way I had most of the night and day, before I’d found out my brothers were blocking the guys from coming. Just like all the times before, it wasn’t them.

Eve hurried to my bed and smiled. “I won’t take it personal that you look so down to see me.”

I shook my head and smiled. “I am over the moon to see you. I’m just shocked your men don’t have you in bed already.”

She leaned down and gave me a gentle hug on my good side before forcing me to prop up so she could braid my hair. “They don’t tell me what to do. They’ve become so fussy since finding out about the baby but I just ignore them.”

“This isn’t how I planned on seeing you next, you know? I wanted to put together a big thing as a congratulations. I was so shocked to see you here last night that I didn’t even mention your tiny little belly.” I rested my good hand on it and grinned. “You’re adorable.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m gassy.”

I let out a surprised laugh that jarred my arm and made me cry out in pain. Clenching my teeth, I blew a hard breath out through my nose and pouted. “This sucks.”

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