Page 32 of How Good It Was (Excess All Areas 3)

Luke simply winked at her.

“What was so important we had to shovel down breakfast?” Ben said. Chaya, his best friend, the girl with dark brown hair and chocolate eyes whose life he’d saved all those years ago, perched on the drop cloth-covered armchair. Next to Ben was Alex.

“If you think that’s bad, Cerys made us leave the grocery store before we’d got to the cereal aisle.” Their lead singer, Jase, helped himself to a glass of water. “Which means I’ll be eating overnight oats instead of Frosties and it will be all your fault, Luke.”

Cerys rolled her eyes. “You can go back to the store and get some, you big six-year-old man-child. But I do need to get to the studio within the hour.”

Luke pulled out a chair from the table, allowing her to sit before he leaned against the kitchen counter. “I’m going to be a dad. Willow’s pregnant.”

Shock etched Alex’s eyes, and he caught the concerned look Ben sent Matt. “Before you start asking questions,” he continued. “No, it wasn’t planned. No, I didn’t know until Willow came here. We’re still processing what it means. And yes, Willow is staying here for the foreseeable future.”

Izabel leaned forward. “Are the two of you a couple, then?”

He held his breath for a moment, uncertain of how to approach the question. “No,” he said. “Not officially.”

“Not officially?” Jase asked. “What does that mean?”

“We’re going to pretend we are for twelve months.”

The words did little to settle the feeling he’d just embarked on a year-long roller coaster ride.

“No offence, guys, but that’s a bit fucked up,” Alex said.

“I have sponsorships and endorsements,” Willow said. “Big ones planned out for the next twelve months. Many of them don’t lend well to getting pregnant with someone I’m not in a relationship with. Nothing says family values like getting knocked up by a one-night stand, right? So, I’ve asked Luke to pretend with me until after the baby is born.”

“You agreed to this?” Ben asked.

Luke shrugged. “None of this is ideal, and that’s my kid she’s carrying. I owe it to both of them to help fix it if I can.”

Izabel eyed Willow with suspicion. “Is it fair to Luke to ask him to do that?”

“If I had other options, I would have taken them. I explained to Luke, and he’s the only person I intend to share all the details with. But the short version is, I’m about to legally and financially separate from my father who has run my business since I was seven.”

“Willow was in a popular TV series for years and starred in a handful of movies.”

Jase leaned forward. “No offence, Willow, but we suddenly start to come into some coin, and you appear.”

Luke couldn’t explain why the questioning of Willow bothered him as much as it did. “Stop questioning her like a witness.”

“It’s okay,” Willow said. “I’m significantly wealthier than you. I’ll make more. But I need help to manage my reputation so I can do that. I wish it wasn’t necessary, but there you go. I figured I helped you guys out. Without my video going viral, you guys would still be fighting to get a deal. I feel like this is the perfect time to repay the favour.”

“Look,” Luke said. “We just need your support right now, and your help in whatever we decide.”

“What can we do?” Izabel asked.

“We don’t know. We’re still figuring out what we need to do ourselves.” Luke looked around the apartment. “But you can help me decorate my place up so it’s fit for Willow and Cletus. Apparently, I’ve got some decorating to do to make this place liveable.”

“Finally,” Alex said. “It’s depressing in here.”

“Fuck me,” Matt cursed. “We only just packed in working for Uncle Allan’s painting and decorating firm.”

“It’s amazing that you were a painter and decorator, and yet?” Cerys gestured around the room with her hand.

“Hey, after a hard day of work, the last thing I felt like doing was decorating my own place.”

Ben leaned forward. “Who the fuck is Cletus?”

“Cletus the Foetus,” Luke replied with a grin.

Willow rolled her eyes. “We aren’t calling it—”

“Cletus,” Jase said, slapping Luke on the back. “Fucking love it. Congratulations, Dad.”

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