Page 102 of Secrets That We Keep (Forbidden Descendants 2)

“Mom,” Beau groaned to Aspen. They were standing about five feet from me, so I was able to hear the entire account. “No. It’d only make things worse, and she’d look even more pathetic. Besides, if she wanted or needed some man sitting by her through her pregnancy, she’d have one.”

“You know he died. It’s not her fault that she’s—”

“Plus,” Beau cut in insistently, “I’ve already been through the baby shower hot seat of horror when Braiden came along. I’m not going through that again.”

“Unless you and Bentley finally decide to have another,” Aspen clipped back and lifted her brows as if to demand to know why he hadn’t yet provided her with another grandchild.

His face blanched of all color before a knot in his brow appeared and he lifted his face to suddenly scan the room.

“Where is Bentley, anyway?” he asked, starting to look worried as if he sensed she was having a hard time dealing with a four-child baby shower. Lifting his voice, he called, “Has anyone seen my wife?” And he took off, searching for her, leaving his mother just standing there, abandoned.

If Bentley was struggling, I hoped he found her soon. I didn’t want her to be miserable.

Speaking of significant others, though, Bella hadn’t arrived yet. Her parents and brother were already here, too.

Pulling my phone from my pocket, I shot her a quick text, asking where she was.

And I’d barely sent it off when a commotion across the room rose.

“Ten!” Noel boomed in outrage. “What in God’s name are you reading to him?”

I glanced up to find Ten leaned back and relaxing in a recliner with the feet kicked up and Braiden snuggled on his lap. What seemed to be a children’s book from here was opened in front of them, where Braiden appeared to be listening avidly to the story. Ten even had a set of reading glasses perched on his nose as he read.

Noel ripped the book out of his hand, exclaiming, “You are not reading this to my grandson!”

I didn’t have to wonder long what the book was. I heard the rumor float past me that it was titled Go the Fuck to Sleep.

Just as my phone let me know Bella had replied to my message, my own dad appeared at Noel’s side to glare at Ten too. “Really, man?” he demanded as he leaned down to pick up my nephew and remove him from the lap of the offensive book reader.

“What!?” Ten cried in defense as I told Bella to hurry her ass up or she’d miss out on all the fun. “I used to read this to Teagan every night.”

Noel only snorted. “Yeah, and how many calls did you get from her preschool, complaining about her language?”

Ten grinned proudly. “We broke records. Didn’t we, baby girl?” He lifted his voice to ask his daughter, who was on the other side of the room.

“We sure did, Dad,” Teagan answered with a fist of accomplishment lifted in the air, only for JB, who was cradling their sleeping daughter in his arms to lean toward her and say, “Uh, he’s not going to read that to Harper, is he?”

“What is your problem, anyway, Grandpa Noel?” Ten challenged his friend. “The kid was enjoying it.”

“Yeah,” Braiden chimed in from my dad’s hip. “What the fluster nuggets is your problem, Grandpa Noel? I liked it.”

Noel blinked at his grandson, then turned to Ten. “Did he just say fluster nuggets?”

“He did,” Ten confirmed as he motioned to the book Noel was still holding, “Because that’s in the title of the book: Go the Fluster Nuggets to Sleep. See, I guess, I’m not so awful after all, huh, you presumptuous air hole.” He kicked his footrest down so he could push his way to his feet and face off with Noel. “And if Teagan has a potty mouth, she probably learned it from your sister.”

“Oh, bullshit,” Caroline answered from somewhere in the room.

Ten pointed her way, telling Noel, “I rest my case.” Then he winked at his wife and grinned over her response.

So Braiden’s two grandfathers reluctantly let Ten finish reading Go the Fluster Nuggets to Sleep to him, and I got myself another cup of punch, taste-testing the pink one this time before I returned to my perch against the wall.

I sensed her the moment Bella walked it. The air in the room changed, or something because I just knew: she was here. And I glanced over to find her struggling with four of the largest gift bags I’d ever seen.

Every instinct screamed at me to go to her and assist with her load, but Gray appeared soon enough to help her. I kept watching her, though, wishing I could head over there anyway because I just wanted to be close to her.

But she wasn’t ready for that, so I contented myself with simply looking. Except then she finished delivering her presents to their waiting reception tables, and she looked around, pausing her search when she found me.

When she started my way, I straightened in surprise. Then alarm. If she was willing to approach me in public like this, something must be horribly wrong. And it sure looked a hell of a lot like she was making a very obvious beeline straight for me.

---