Page 31 of How Good It Was (Excess All Areas 3)

“Hey, don’t cry. Not sure I’m equipped for tears.”

Willow waved a hand in front of her face in frustration. “Hormones. Honestly, I cry at anything.”

“And yet you didn’t. You made the flight over here, found your way to an event I was at, and told me what happened in the bathroom here, you’ve made the best of things.”

“You didn’t see me in the business-class lounge bathroom when they announced the plane was delayed. Or when I needed to pee in the custom’s line.”

“Hormones or not. It’s a brave thing you’ve done. For you and the ... what do we call it?”

“Baby?” she asked.

“No. Like, don’t they have names for them when they are still inside.”

“You mean like foetus?”

Luke shook his head. “No, nicknames. Like, shit ... I don’t even know.”

“Oh, right. Well, there’s bump, bean, sprout?”

“Those are shit. Wait. I’ve got it. Cletus the Foetus.”

Willow rolled her eyes. “You can’t name it that.”

“Why not. I think it’s great. Cletus. Baby Cletus.”

“It’s awful. I think there is a reason no one is called Cletus anymore.”

Luke placed his hands on her shoulders. “You’re forgetting Cletus Kasady, offspring of Venom. Marvel Universe.”

“Oh my God, please don’t tell me you’re a cosplaying, Comic-Con fanboy.”

Luke grinned. “No, but I was a kid in the nineties.”

“Phew. For a moment I was worried.”

“We don’t know much about each other, do we?”

Willow shook her head. “No. But I know you didn’t kick me out, so that tells me something.”

As if. “Again. The absolute bare minimum, Will. Like one step above doing nothing.”

“Nobody has ever done anything for me unless there was something in it for themselves. I’m sick of that.”

He heard the front door slam. “Sounds like the guys are here. Let’s go tell them what we’re doing.”

“You’re sure we can trust them?”

“With my life.”

“Can I be honest?”

“Of course.”

“I read some things about you all. Big falling outs and fights. Won’t they ever be tempted to sell you out?”

Luke considered her question for only a moment. “No. We’re a family. A sometimes dysfunctional one. But a family at the root of it all.” And yet, he’d not been acting like a functioning member of late. How many years had it been since Jase had let him down? How many times would Matt have to apologise before he felt it down in his bones? “Come on, let’s get you and Cletus comfortable before we start.” He placed his hand on her lower back as they left, but quickly removed it. Getting handsy with her was as natural as breathing, but it wouldn’t help either of them. She was right when she’d said they needed healthy boundaries.

“You aren’t calling the baby Cletus,” she whispered.

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