Page 86 of Rebel Heart
The question spilled out of Ava faster than she could stop it. I could see the regret on my sister-in-law’s face the second she’d asked it, but there was nothing she could do to take it back.
I was shaking.
Fear rattled my body.
This couldn’t be happening. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to happen.
Ava shifted uncomfortably in the tense silence that settled over the four of us, her expression twisting with agony. Tate couldn’t take his eyes off Beau, or more specifically, the way Beau was holding my hand. And Beau, to his credit, seemed to understand that I was struggling, so he offered my hand a reassuring squeeze as he stepped closer to me. Like he wanted me to know he’d protect me from anything.
“Please don’t say anything,” I begged, my voice a pained rasp.
Ava’s mouth fell open. “It’s true?”
There was no point in hiding it. They’d already heard it, already seen the sonograms the receptionist had handed to me.
My chin tipped down to confirm, and I explained, “I just had my first appointment, and we’re still trying to adjust to the news ourselves.”
For the first time since we’d come face-to-face with them, my brother spoke. “Based on what I saw as we made our way over here, you seem well-adjusted already, Jules. What I’m thinking is that I might need to visit a doctor myself, so I can have my hearing checked. Because it sounded like that receptionist called you Mrs. Easton, and you didn’t even flinch.”
My stomach dropped. My heart was in my throat. Tate and Ava heard far more than I thought, and my brother’s face was ashen.
“Beau and I got married.”
Tate looked like he was about to go ballistic. Ava was just plain shocked. “You’re married?” Tate’s voice bordered on lethal.
Tears filled my vision. “I am. We did it yesterday. And I’m begging you not to say anything to anyone.”
“Do you intend to?” His tone was so cutting, like it was taking every ounce of restraint to hold himself back from shouting every raging thought running through his head. Tate didn’t wait for me to respond when he shiftedhis attention to Beau and asked, “You married my sister without her family there?”
Beau’s fingers twitched. “You’re her brother?”
Tate narrowed his eyes on Beau. “Kind of strange, don’t you think? You don’t even know your wife’s family.”
“Tate,” Ava whispered, leaning into him. I could see the desperation in her eyes; she felt awful about this. Probably both for Tate and for me.
My brother didn’t give Beau a chance to respond. He fired another question at him. “How dare you?” He slid his eyes to mine, and just beneath the rage glittering in them, I could sense the sadness. “Why, Jules? Why would you do this?”
“Tate, please,” I begged, tears sliding down my cheeks as I shifted myself even closer to Beau.
“Please, what? Jules, you’re pregnant and married, and nobody in your family knows about it,” he clipped.
Nodding, I said, “I know. I’m sorry. And I hate that you’re finding out like this, but I’m begging you not to say anything.”
“We won’t,” Ava assured me. Tate’s eyes cut to hers, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Ava stared him down and repeated, “We won’t. This is hers to share.”
Disgust washed over him as he turned his attention back to me, his mouth twisting like he’d popped something bitter inside. “But the problem is that my sister has yet to confirm if she plans to do that any time soon.”
Without thinking, I parted my lips to respond, andthe words just spilled out. “In three days. At the lake house. During the Fourth of July festivities.”
Tate’s brows shot up. “Oh, this ought to be wonderful. I suspect I could tell the family that there’s no need to purchase any entertainment, because you’ll be bringing the fireworks with you.”
I stumbled back at the words, the hurt they were meant to inflict. Beau reacted and shifted his body to steady me.
Over the years, there had always been teasing amongst my siblings and me, but they’d never been downright cruel. I wasn’t so stupid as to believe that this news wouldn’t take them by surprise, but Tate’s reaction was beyond what I had imagined.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
Ava cut in. “It’s okay, Jules. There’s no need to be sorry. We’ll see you at the lake house, and we won’t say a word.”
