Page 34 of Orange Spell
“Oh, you will.”
It sounded like a threat, but Marlin had faced worse.He’d worked with the old king, after all.
He nodded and told himself to walk away.It felt like the hardest thing he’d ever done, even though it wasn’t.He desperately wanted to stay back and talk to Curran, for them to figure things out and come up with a plan, but now wasn’t the right moment.Curran had had an eventful day, and his mothers would no doubt fuss over him.He’d grumble, but he needed it.
He’d been hiding the pregnancy for weeks.He’d been avoiding the people he cared about so they wouldn’t find out.He’d no doubt missed his mothers, and they needed some time alone.At the same time, Marlin needed to get back to work.
For the first time since he could remember, he really didn’t want to.Not only did he have to leave Curran behind, but he’d also have to face Birch.He might have been accepting while Curran was there, but there was a chance that as soon as he saw Marlin again, he’d tear into him.Even if he didn’t, they’d need to have a conversation, and Marlin wasn’t looking forward to it.He despised feeling like he’d disappointed anyone, especially his best friend.
He stopped at the dining hall first to grab food for all three of them.He tried to waste as much time as he could, but he was the king’s bodyguard.He always got served food first because of Killian, especially when some of that food was for the king.It took almost no time for him to be back in the hallway, containers in his hands, walking toward Killian’s office.
Tito wasn’t at his desk when Marlin walked in.He stopped in front of the door, breathed deeply for a few moments, then knocked with his elbow.
Birch opened.Of course he did.He looked Marlin up and down, and for a moment, Marlin thought he would tell him to leave.He wouldn’t have blamed him.Birch had to be pissed.He’d asked his best friend to look after his brother, and instead, Marlin had gotten Curran pregnant.
What a fucking mess.
Birch stepped aside to let Marlin in, and Marlin made a beeline for the desk, dropping his containers on the surface and reaching for one as quickly as he could.Killian arched a brow, clearly amused, but if Marlin’s mouth was stuffed with food, he couldn’t answer Birch’s questions.
Birch moved more slowly, but when he grabbed his container, he slumped into a chair next to Marlin’s.He turned to look at him, and Marlin quickly shoveled some rice into his mouth.
“I know you don’t want to talk about it,” Birch said.“And it’s fine for now.Wearegoing to talk about it eventually, though.I want to know what happened.”
Killian snorted, which was quite unkinglike of him.“I don’t think you really want to know what happened.”
Birch grimaced.“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.Can we stop talking about my baby brother like that?”
“Just saying.”
It had been enough.Killian had broken the tension, and when Birch turned back to Marlin, he was smiling.
“If Curran really had to get drunk and get accidentally pregnant, I can’t think of anyone better than you to be the other father.It’s going to take some time to wrap my mind around all of this, but that’s just because I still see Curran as a kid.I’m going to have to accept that he’s a grown-up now that he’s going to be a father.”
Marlin nodded.He had nothing to say.He was just relieved that lunch wasn’t about to turn into a bloodbath.
* * * *
CURRAN WATCHED MARLINwalk away.He could feel his mothers staring at him, but he wasn’t quite ready to face them yet.Unfortunately for him, he wouldn’t have a choice.
As soon as Marlin had turned around the corner, Yarra grabbed Curran’s hand and dragged him inside.She guided him toward the couch, where he flopped down with a sigh of relief.His day had been a fucking mess.
“I don’t know where to start,” Alaina said as she sat next to him.
“How about we don’t talk about it at all?I could go for that.”
“Nice try, but you know better.You can’t expect us not to have anything to say about this.”
“Our baby is having a baby,” Yarra murmured as she sat on his other side.
He groaned.“Please don’t say it like that.”
“Why not?It’s true.”
“Except for the fact that I’m not a baby.”
“You’re our youngest child.We both knew you’d have children eventually, but we didn’t expect it to happen so soon.”
“But we did expect it to happen with Marlin,” Alaina added.“What’s that about the two of you not being together, though?”
