Page 41 of Mending Scars

I sighed. “Life’s too short to hold grudges and take things for granted. You’re my only brother, and I wanted to try and make amends. Mom and Dad would’ve wanted that.”

We silently stared at one another until our waitress came back with our drinks. “Are you ready to order?”

“We need a few minutes,” Ethan responded without breaking eye contact. Brooke said something I didn’t make out and walked away, leaving us alone again.

After a minute or so, Ethan smiled. “I’d like that. Believe it or not, I miss your arrogant ass.”

I snorted as our waitress came back up to our table. She raised her eyebrows at us. “Ready?”

We scanned the lunch specials, and settled on sandwiches. When she walked away, Ethan asked, “Does this change of heart have anything to do with the woman you were with when I came to the gym?”

I smiled as I thought about Kaiya. “Yeah. She’s made a big difference in my life.”

“Tell me about her,” Ethan urged.

I took a drink of my water. “Kaiya is… something else.” I chuckled. “I’ve never met anyone like her. She’s shown me what real love is.”

“Sounds pretty serious.” Ethan raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah, we are. We just found out she’s pregnant.” The grin on my face spread wider.

“That’s great! Having a child is one of the most fulfilling things you’ll ever experience. Tristan is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

As if realizing he said something wrong, Ethan’s smile fell. “Look, I’m really sorry about what I did to you. Neither one of us planned to. We just fell in love. I don’t regret it, but I do regret hurting you in the process.”

A year ago, what Ethan had just said would’ve sent me into a furious rage. What they did had disrespected my relationship with my brother. It still annoyed me, but didn’t piss me off like it used to. “I know. Let’s just try to move on—put the past behind us.”

Ethan nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

Once our food came, we started talking about our lives—work, daily life, likes and dislikes, basically trying to get reacquainted. So much had changed since college.

While we waited for our tab, Ethan suggested, “Maybe we should all go out to dinner—me, you, Molly, Kaiya, and Tristan. Get to know each other better.”

I was not ready for that. Reconciling with Ethan was one thing, but Molly was a different story. “I’m not sure about that just yet. Let me think about it.”

“Too much, too fast, huh? I understand. Let me know when you’re ready.”

I nodded. “This was good. Maybe we can do it again next week—start off with that.”

Ethan stuck his hand out across the table. “Deal.”

I looked at it hesitantly before grabbing his hand with my own. “Deal.”

Ethan shook my hand firmly and smiled. He reminded me so much of my mom with his green eyes and light brown hair.

Maybe this’ll work out.

Our waitress came with our tab, and I took my wallet from my back pocket. Ethan protested as he placed his card on the table. “Let me.”

“It’s cool. I got it.” I slipped a ten on the on the receipt for my part of the lunch. I wasn’t ready to take anything from him.

Ethan chuckled and shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

We made plans to get together for lunch the following week—same time, same place. As I drove back to work, I felt like some weight had been lifted off me from trying to work things out with Ethan. I just hoped that he didn’t end up screwing me over again.

The day following our appointment, Ryker texted me questions he wanted me to ask my doctor about attending class. He’d read some of the packets Dr. Wallace had given us before going to work and had thought of a few questions when he got to the section on exercise. The fact that he took the time to read any of it warmed my heart—I didn’t think most guys would even bother.

I’d found out that I could continue kickboxing until I was about seven or eight months along, but I wouldn’t be able to keep doing the self-defense techniques the same. I wasn’t allowed to throw anyone or be thrown, spar, or take any type of hits to the stomach whatsoever.

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