Page 83 of My Kind of Trouble
‘What?’ Noa questioned, knowing that look meant he had something he obviously found extremely funny to say.
‘This is such a Ross and Monica moment,’ Ryan said proudly.
Of course, he had a Friends reference for the situation they were in right now.
But, if it rid them of the horrible energy that had been circulating between them, then she would play along.
‘“The One Where Everybody Finds Out”,’ she agreed, and Ryan just laughed at his own joke, bouncing on the spot.
With all the difficult conversations over, Noa felt a huge weight lifted off her shoulders. It felt good. After lots of questions from Ryan, who demanded all the details of their relationship, how they got here, and what their plans were now that she was pregnant, Noa was exhausted. She’d left out certain details that she didn’t think her brother would appreciate but, in the end, he genuinely seemed happy for them.
Needing to get back to Alex’s and crash into bed before she did so exactly where she was standing, she decided to call it a night. As she was leaving, Ryan pulled her into a familiar bear hug.
‘Congratulations, by the way,’ he whispered, kissing her head.
She looked up at him with watery eyes. Apparently, she was a blubbering mess now. She could definitely blame this on the pregnancy, right?
‘Thanks, Ry. It’s crazy, but I can’t wait for this next adventure.’
‘You’re going to do great. And this kid is going to be the luckiest kid in the world.’
‘You think?’
‘Hell yeah! With me as an uncle? I’m going to smash it.’
Noa rolled her eyes as she chuckled, enjoying how normal this felt after how tense they had left things. Feeling much more optimistic, Noa left the house she’d thought was home to head toward the man she now knew to be the meaning of the word.
Chapter 50
Alex
Walking into the Drake’s house, hand in hand with Noa, felt like a remarkably big step. Alex was trying not to let his nerves show on his face and could only hope that Noa hadn’t noticed his clammy palms. At least, if she had, she’d been gracious enough not to mention it as she guided him through the entryway.
You could say that this was a crazy thought, worrying about the step of ‘meeting the family’ when less than a month ago he had found out that he was going to be a father, something that he’d never once considered was going to be a part of his future. But now, doing it with her,it felt so obvious, like this was always meant to happen, and their journey was always supposed to lead them here.
But the three heads that turned to face them as they walked into the kitchen-diner had been as much of a family as his own mum for much of his life. He owed so much to them. But that also meant that they knew him more than anybody, the good and the bad, all the seedy family history and childhood trauma. They might not want him with their daughter because of that, and the thought had his skin prickling like he was coming out in hives. They might have loved him like a son, but he knew full well that he wasn’t good enough for their daughter, but he still wasn’t sure he was ready to hear that from the people he loved. Because, regardless, he wasn’t giving her up.
The expressions directed at him didn’t look like anger or disappointment, though. Bethan wore the same kind and compassionate smile he’d seen a thousand times growing up. Isaac sat looking more confused by his crossword than like he wanted to kill Alex for getting his daughter pregnant. And Ryan’s face was an unreadable mask, which was an improvement from the last time he’d seen him.
A shoulder nudged his, and a throat cleared as Alex realised he’d been deep in his own head. Noa looked up at him expectantly. Realising he’d likely missed a whole load of greetings, he stepped forward and said the only thing that came to his head.
‘Hey,’ he croaked, his throat tight and mouth dry.
Hey? Really? That’s all you’ve got?
As if trying to make things worse, he waved his hand awkwardly in their direction. He wanted to roll his eyes at himself.
Pull it together, man.
He didn’t have chance to berate himself for much longer, though, because Bethan put down her spatula from where she was preparing tonight’s dinner and barrelled toward them, pulling both Alex and Noa into a hug.
He felt the tension in him ease slightly, but knew it wouldn’t dissipate completely until he’d come face-to-face with his best friend. Despite Noa reassuring him that Ryan was fine after their conversation, the two of them hadn’t yet spoke since the night at the bar. He’d decided Ryan could probably use a cooling off period in order to avoid round two. His actions the other night were based on heightened emotion in the moment, and the only way to avoid that again was to let him come to terms with the news first.
Bethan released them from her grip before grinning widely at them both, ‘I am so glad you two finally came to your senses. Your dad and I have been biting our tongues and waiting for the day you’d finally realise you had feelings for each other since you were in high school.’
‘Mum!’ Noa whined.
‘Hey, I just said I’ve been biting my tongue for long enough. Don’t go asking me to do it any longer.’
