Page 130 of My Ex's Brothers

“Just saying…” Richie holds his hands up. “I’m retired. I ain’t got nothing else to do.”

“Two days out of the week,” I say with a raised eyebrow. “You get her the other five days.”

Richie waves me off as Dane kisses my cheek. “Packed you some extra cookies, sweetheart. They’re in the bottom of the bag.” He slides my lunch box toward me.

“Come on, we’re going to be late!” Tripp says. “You can be five minutes to late to work, but I have class and Professor Hancock is a—” He presses Lyla’s head against his chest and covers her exposed ear with one hand. “—d-i-c-k.”

She squirms and laughs, and Dane huffs out, “Language, Tripp!”

“I spelled it!” he hollers back, and I roll my eyes, grabbing the keys.

“Gotta go,” I say as I kiss Dane quickly while Richie grabs his coffee.

Once we get to the University, Tripp helps me get Lyla out of her car seat and carries her all the way inside. He does this every day he has class, and I can’t say I mind it one bit. Watching him with her always makes me smile, but our schedules rarely match up due to my job and his impending graduation. He’s already been accepted on the roster for the Badgers next year. I steal a look at him with Lyla as he tickles her, walking us into the building.

It’s strange because technically we’ve only known each other for less than a year, since my prior meeting with Tripp wasn’t much. But in the past few months, I feel like I’ve gotten to know him on such a deep level that it’s like I’vealwaysknown him, despite our age difference, despite our lives being in two completely different places.

Together, we just…work.

“Alright, princess, you have fun, okay?” he says, kissing Lyla’s cheek before handing her off to me. He leans in and kisses my cheek, whispering in my ear that he loves me and he’ll see me later in a much darker tone than should be appropriate for public or the workplace. My cheeks heat and then he lets us go, heading off for his English Lit class.

The day goes by relatively smoothly without any bumps. Dane texts me three times to check and make sure I’ve eaten, and to remind me about the cookies.

Richie texts me once to show off his newest build—a custom motorcycle he’s been building himself over the past six months. Since he officially retired from the Badgers, he’s been busy. I know he likes to keep himself occupied with things.

And I know that this whole pregnancy thing isn’t easy for him, but not in the way I think people would expect. When I told him—well, technically when I toldallof them—I thought he was going to pass out. Even though we know there’s no chance he’s the father, I know it’s messing with him a little bit.

I’m sure it’ll be different when I start to really show, but for right now he’s content to keep his hands busy building motorcycles and working on cars, if only to go easy on me. He knows he can’t be as rough as he normally likes, but I can’t say I dislike the softer side of Richard Rose. The side that always has my pillows fluffed so I’m comfortable when he fucks me into the mattress and utters the dirtiest fucking things to me in the sweetest tone I’ve ever heard.

After work, I head to Tripp’s practice and watch him until he’s done, and then we pick up Lyla and head home.

On days Tripp has class, the car rides to and from work are something I look forward to. Because of his schedule, we don’t get as much time together as I’d like, but we make the most of the time we do have. I know it’ll be different once he graduates, and I remind myself of that every day when I miss him. All the way home, we listen to the radio, both of us singing while Lyla laughs in the back seat at our horrible karaoke skills.

When we get home, Dane’s in the middle of tossing something in a pan, and Richard is already camped out on the couch, waiting for us.

“Hey, baby,” Dane says as he slings the towel over his shoulder and meets me and Lyla at the door.

He picks her up and kisses her until she’s squealing.

Then he kisses me, melting every bone in my body.

“Hey,” I say breathlessly as he pulls away. When he does, I see Richard, staring at me from across the island.

I make my way over to Richard as Tripp plops down on the couch, looking exhausted. He worked his ass off in practice, and while he would never say it out loud, I know the changes around here haven’t been easy for him. Late nights, early mornings…not to mention trying to balance a relationship with his pregnant girlfriend and her other two boyfriends who happen to be his stepbrothers.

It’s a bit of a soap opera, but it’soursoap opera, and I wouldn’t have it any other way—and I don’t think he would either, even if it isn’t always rainbows and sunshine.

Dane settles Lyla in her jumper while Richard takes over at the stove, and for a moment, I just stop. My heart swells in my chest and it hits me all over again that this is now my life. Some days it feels like it took forever to get here, and other days…well, other days it feels like everything happened in the blink of an eye.

“What?” Tripp asks, looking up at me from where he sits. His bright gaze meets mine and I can’t help but smile, feeling emotional.

It’s probably the hormones. I make my way over to him and take a seat beside him, curling up and laying my head on his shoulder. Dane looks at us, still kneeling in front of Lyla who’s giggling.

“Nothing, just…feeling a little weepy, I guess,” I say with a sniffle.

Before I can say anything else, Richard calls for Dane, and I smell smoke. Dane rolls his eyes and says if it wasn’t for him he doesn’t know how either of his brothers would be alive.

I smirk at his words as I watch him hip check Richie away from the stove. Richie makes his way over to Lyla and grabs her, and my heart swells once more.

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