Page 67 of Not Quite Perfect

David poured wine in his and Theo’s glasses before holding the bottle up to Drew, who nodded in the affirmative. “No problem,” David said slowly, “except that you somehow managed to sound both sexist and supportive all in the same sentence.”

Alex slammed own his bottle of beer, the liquid foaming over the top and down its sides onto my tablecloth. “Are you questioning whether or not I support my siblings.”

“Not in the least. I know you want the best for them. Hell, you’re ready to kill me, and all I did was ask your sister to marry me.”

Drew gasped and his eyes dropped down to my left hand and then narrowed into angry slits. “When were you going to tell me?”

I pushed a lock of hair behind my ear and met my brother’s surprised gaze. “So umm … it turns out that I’m pregnant.”

He winced, but then immediately tried to cover his reaction with an over-bright smile. I didn’t hold his reaction against him, though; Drew had once confessed that he never wanted kids of his own.

“Congratulations?” he asked, clearly unsure whether this was a happy announcement or not. I understood his confusion. Based on Alex’s behavior, you’d think this pregnancy was a bad thing.

“Yes, congratulations are in order,” I told him, my hand once again dropping to my tiny pooch.

When I realized what I’d done, I raised it back to the table and reached for my glass of water. I’d need to work on that. I’d always abhorred those women who every time they talked about being pregnant cupped their bellies for added emphasis. Obviously, I was going to need to work extra hard to make sure I didn’t turn into one of them.

“David said he’d asked you to marry him. A babyanda wedding? Go big or go home, I guess.”

Theo took a drink of his wine to hide his smirk, and Alex clenched his fists on either side of his plate.

“No, we’re not getting married,” I clarified.

Drew’s brows collapsed into a deep vee. “But David just said he asked you to marry him.”

I took hold of David’s hand and squeezed it. “He did, and I said no. Or rather, not yet.”

“You did what?” His gaze flicked between David and me, and I could tell that he really had no clue what was going on. He looked as if I’d just told him up was down and black was white. Then again, our situation wasn’t exactly straightforward.

Truly, I got it.

I’dplannedto pull Drew aside after dinner for a nice long chat like we’d done in the olden days—you know, before our lives had been completely upended again with our mother’s latest marriage. But thanks to the pissing contest currently taking place between Alex and David, we were going with Plan B instead. Not that I’d actuallyhada Plan B. I was making it up as I went along.

I hated that I had to explain my decision at all, but until my brothers understood where I was coming from, they weren’t going to let this drop. Well, two of them at least. Thankfully, Theo had been much more pragmatic in his response. A slight shrug of his shoulder and a “you do you, Vick” had been the extent of his reaction when I’d taken him aside and gave him the lay of the land.

While I formulated my response, Drew jumped in with even more commentary. “Seriously. What’s wrong with you? You’ve been in love with him—” he notched his chin toward David “—since the moment you met. Who says no when the guy they can’t live without proposes?”

“Not that it’s any of your business … or yours—” I tossed an annoyed look Alex’s way “— but this isn’t the nineteen-fifties. The world will not cease to exist if we have a baby out of wedlock. If we’re going to get married, I want it to be because that’s what we want, not because society expects it of us. This is not a do-or-die situation.”

Alex grunted and returned to loading up his plate while Drew looked to David. “What is she talking about?”

David shifted uncomfortably in his seat and out of the corner of my eye I saw him shake his head infinitesimally at my brother. My gaze darted between them. “What’s that look about?”

“Nothing,” David answered tersely, his eyes bulging as if to warn Drew away from spilling some secret only he was privy to.

Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen.

I turned to my brother. “Spill the beans, Drew.”

David pushed his chair back, muttering under his breath. “I don’t know why I even bother.” Then louder, “If you need me, I’ll be fetching the pies.”

When he’d disappeared into the kitchen and was out of hearing range, I shot my youngest brother an expectant look. “Any day now.”

Drew ran his hand through his hair. “I honestly don’t know why he didn’t tell you this himself, but fine. Last month, I ran into David on campus. He was walking to his car, and I was … well, never mind what I was doing.” His cheeks turned pink, but he soldiered on. “We exchanged pleasantries as you do, and then he asked if he could take me to get a cup of coffee. He said he had something he wanted to talk to me about. When we got to the cafe, he pulled out his phone and showed me a picture.”

“A picture of what?”

Theo rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Have you always been this dense, or is this a new thing?”

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