Page 58 of While We Waited

“Brace yourself,” Hudson mutters.

“Brace myself? Why do I need to brace myself? You said they’d like me.”

My heart hammers in my chest and I wonder how fast I can run away. I knew I should have driven my own car. But I haven’t driven my car since I’ve been living with Hudson. He growls whenever I pick up my car keys. Is it wrong to enjoy how much he prefers to drive me around?

“My brothers are hellions.”

“Is this her?” the young man on the step asks. Three more boys appear behind him.

Holy smugglers. They’re all tall and have Hudson’s brown eyes and brown hair. If it weren’t for their age differences, they could be quintuplets.

“Stop barring the front door and let them in.” A middle-aged woman pushes her way in between the boys. She’s tiny compared to the rest of them, but she shares their brown eyes.

“Mom.” Hudson greets her with a kiss on the cheek. “This is Nova.”

I smile at her. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Clark. I brought you these.” I shove the pink tulips into her hands. “My mom loved tulips. I thought you might like them as well. Hudson says your boys don’t bring you flowers.”

Mrs. Clark giggles. “Since we’re family now, you can call me Emma.”

Family now? My hand automatically reaches for my stomach. “I didn’t mean to get pregnant. It was an accident.”

Emma winks. “We know all about accidents in this family.” She glares at her boys. “But we use protection to prevent accidents as much as possible.”

One of the boys rolls his eyes. “Yes, Mom. We use condoms.”

Hudson slaps his shoulder. “Knock off the sarcasm.”

Emma motions us further into the house. “Come inside where you can properly meet my boys.”

“Hellions,” Hudson mutters underneath his breath.

“This is Brooks.” She points to the sarcastic boy. “And this is Logan, Owen, and Sawyer.”

“Your baby mamma is hot.”

Owen barely gets the words out before Hudson smacks him on the head. He falls forward and lands on his knees. He bursts into laughter as he rolls around on the floor.

“Boys,” a man grumbles as he enters the living room.

I stick out my hand. “You must be Mr. Clark. I was going to bring you flowers, too, but Hudson said flowers are for women. He’s wrong but I didn’t want to fight with him. I know how to pick my battles and flowers are not a hill I’m willing to die on.”

Mr. Clark chuckles as he shakes my hand. “She’s cute, Hudson.”

Hudson wraps an arm around my shoulders and hauls me near. “She is.”

What is he doing? Do his parents think we’re a couple? Oh no. I’m not prepared. Hudson didn’t warn me. I’m going to kill him later. A former football player can totally drown in his bathtub without it appearing suspicious, right?

“And she’s freaking out,” Logan says.

I gasp. “You’re not supposed to mention if I’m freaking out.”

His cheeks darken. “Sorry. I didn’t know.”

“Logan’s a nerd. He doesn’t understand social cues’.” Owen uses air quotes as if social cues is a made up term. “He prefers to stay home and study rather than go out.”

Sawyer snorts. “Not everyone enjoys jumping out of their bedroom window.”

Owen shrugs. “It’s the first floor. No big deal.”

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