Page 60 of Risk

Kaden pulls into the drive behind Ares’s car. I’m relieved that Ares and Ari are already here, so I don’t have to make small talk.

“Ready?” Kaden says, turning the engine off.

“Nope.”

He takes hold of my hand. “It’s going to be okay.”

“Yeah,” I say, not fully believing it. Then, it hits me. “Shit! Did you tell them you were coming?”

“No, I didn’t know if you’d want me to—”

“Oh my God!” I cover my face with my hands. “Everyone is going to wonder why you’re here—well, except for Cam! What do we do? Should I get out and go in and then you come or—”

“Beautiful”—he cups my cheek, turning my face to his—“relax. We’re here to tell them that we’re having a baby—I mean, babies together, so, yeah, they might be confused at first, but they’ll catch on pretty quickly.”

“What, so I’m just gonna go in there and announce it right away? No time to work my way up to it?”

“It’s not you. It’s us.”

I love it when he corrects me like this to remind me that I’m not having these babies alone. It soothes the worries inside of me.

“And, yeah, there’s no point beating around the bush. We’ll go in, sit down, and tell them.”

“What if Zeus gets mad? I don’t think he’ll hit you, obviously.”

The last time my brother hit Kaden was in a boxing ring, and it nearly killed him. It’s still crazy awesome how they’re as close as they are now.

“Sorry, that was—”

I’m about to say insensitive when Kaden says on a chuckle, “Funny. And, no, Zeus won’t hit me. He’ll probably want to though because I would if I were him. He’s gonna be pissed off at me, not you. But I’ll talk to him, and we’ll sort things out. We’ve endured and come through worse.”

He’s right; they have. But the slight tremor in his voice tells me he’s worried.

I’m shitting my pants with nerves as we get out of the car and walk up the driveway and the steps. I pause at the front door and take a deep breath.

I feel Kaden’s hand press on my lower back. I look up at him. His eyes smile at me.

Then, I steel my spine and open the front door, letting us inside.

The house is warm and welcoming, like always, and I can smell something delicious coming from the kitchen. Of course, my stomach rumbles. But depending on how things go, I don’t know if I’ll get a chance to eat what Cam’s been cooking.

I give Kaden a nervous look, and he mouths to me,We can do this.

Fuck. Okay. I’m a strong, independent woman.

I can tell my brothers that I’m pregnant and that I got knocked up on the night of one of their weddings by the other one’s best friend.

Shit.

The hand on my back urges me forward. Reluctantly, I walk into the dining room, which is where the voices are coming from.

Everyone’s in there. Zeus, Cam, Ares, Ari, Lo, and my dad. They’re all sitting at the dining table, chatting. They all look happy, relaxed. I’m not, and I’m about to change the mood in a big way.

“Hey,” I say to everyone and lift my hand in a wave.

For fuck’s sake.

“Hey, girl.” Ari jumps out of her chair and comes bouncing over to hug me. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever! Missed you.”

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