Page 30 of Second-Rate Superstar

Not letting him feel sorry for me a moment longer, I stepped past him and through the sliding doors. Spinning around, I held my arms open wide. “See? I did it.”

Braxton’s brows drew down. He knew I was pushing down the hurt for him.

“You coming?” I prompted. “I don’t really know where I’m going.”

His body visibly shook with the force of a heavy exhale. “Yeah.”

Striding inside, he took my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as he led me toward the bank of elevators in the lobby.

Once inside, he pressed the button for the fourth floor and turned to me. “You want to talk about it?”

“Not really.” Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. It hurt too much.

The metal doors slid open, revealing a brightly colored floor. It was a stark contrast to the cold and clinical space Mom had occupied in her final days. Hand in hand, we stepped out, and I saw a mural with a stork carrying a blanket containing a baby in its beak. We were on the maternity floor. Someone must’ve had a baby. No wonder Braxton had been so excited when he received the text at the rink.

Stopping at the nurse’s station, Braxton asked, “Room 413?”

The helpful nurse pointed down the hall with directions, and off we went. Reaching the room, Braxton knocked gently before cracking the door open.

A feminine voice came in reply. “Come in!”

Pushing the door fully open, we were initially met with a curtain obscuring our view of the occupant. Braxton walked confidently past the curtain, with only a backward glance when I slipped my hand from his hold. Whoever was inside was a stranger to me, and I didn’t want to intrude, electing to remain partially hidden—still able to see inside from my position.

There was a blonde woman in the hospital bed. Her hair was pulled up in a bun that had seen better days, but a smile split her face when chocolate-brown eyes landed on Braxton.

“Uncle Braxton is here!” she exclaimed as he made a beeline for her outstretched arms and hugged her.

Uncle? Was this his sister? Why hadn’t he said something?

Because you’re not together. He’s your research project, and you’ve made that point abundantly clear.

Pulling back from their embrace, Braxton asked the woman, “What happened to everything being set up for next week, Nat?”

Nat rolled her eyes. “Oh, you know how it goes. Stop in this afternoon to meet Nate, my brand-new nephew—and namesake, I might add—born this morning, and have my water break while I’m visiting. And it was a damn good thing we were already in the building. There was barely time for an epidural, and if I didn’t get one, Jaxon’s vasectomy would’ve switched to a castration.”

“Yikes.” He chuckled. “So, Amy’s here, too?”

Nat nodded. “It was quite the scene. Liam sprang into action, rushing out the door to make sure someone was home for the kids. Lucy and Preston would have never made it in time with rush-hour traffic, and Addy was still above the Atlantic on her way over.”

“You could have called me.” Hurt filtered into Braxton’s voice.

She touched his arm. “Honestly, there wasn’t time.”

Clearing his throat, he changed the subject. “So, same birthdays?” He stepped back, revealing a shirtless man in an armchair near the window, a baby resting on his chest.

I nearly stumbled back upon seeing him. It wasn’t that he was shirtless, though his muscular chest and arms were impressive. It was the striking resemblance to Braxton that caught me off guard. He was older, with longer black hair, but their faces were identical. It was like staring into the future. There was no denying which of the pair Braxton was related to. Jaxon, I believe his name was, had to be his brother.

“Can you believe it?” Nat’s laughter filled the room.

“Well, you are best friends who live next door to each other. Seems fitting,” Braxton mused as he made his way over to Jaxon.

Leaning in, he pulled the cap off the baby to reveal a shock of jet-black hair. “So, who do we have here?”

Jaxon beamed down at the baby on his chest. “Meet Maxim Michael Slate.”

Braxton’s thumb stroked the cheek of the sleeping baby. “Hey, Max.”

Nat called over, “Jaxon finally got his boy.”

---