Page 13 of Broken King

PRESENT DAY

Judgingby the looks on each of my sisters’ faces as I finish telling them my story, I’m reasonably sure I’ve just blown their minds.

Or maybe that’s just me projecting.

My mind has definitely been blown, and I’m still trying to put it back together so I can wrap it around a baby.

A baby.

It doesn’t seem real. And yet, I know it is. I saw her heartbeat. I heard it. She’s real, and my world is about to change in ways I never imagined.

Once I grab a piece of the warm bread from the charcuterie board, I start anxiously ripping it up and stuffing it in my mouth before glaring at Amelia. “So, how long do I have before I get fat?”

“Umm...” She stares blankly back at me, most likely trying to gauge whether it’s safe to tread around the landmine I’ve just dropped at their feet. “When are you due?”

“October fourteenth,” I groan as the throbbing in my temple starts back up. “Because having a baby in the middle of the football season shouldn’t be a big deal at all, right?” Sarcasm might be the lowest form of wit, but it’s all I’ve got right now. I think I’m going to be processing this for months before it all makes sense.

Here’s hoping I’ve wrapped my head around it by the time she’s here.

Lenny leans toward me, moving the charcuterie board aside. Hesitance is written all over her face. “Ummm, Scarlet? Have you decided to keep it?” She glances from Amelia back to me. “I didn’t think you wanted kids. I mean, it’s a big decision.”

Amelia slides her hand across the table and wraps her fingers around mine. “And we’ll stand by you, no matter what.”

“I never thought I wanted kids either. But the doctor did this thing where I got to hear the baby’s heartbeat, and...” I let that thought hang in the air as I try to put words to my warring emotions. She’s real, but reality hasn’t set in yet. “I don’t know. Hearing that tiny little heartbeat... I know I have options. My brain knows that. But my heart made the decision for me—as if there was no other option at all. Besides, it’s not like I’m a scared teenager with no way to give my daughter a good life or a good home.”

Not this time.

With shaking hands, I reach into my purse and pull out the sonogram picture the doctor gave me earlier. Placing it gently on the table, I smile at my sisters. “Now, what kind of voodoo do we have to do to make sure she’s a girl?”

Kingston Family Group Text

Max:We need a family meeting. Can you be available tomorrow?

Becks:Dinner at the house?

Jace:Nope. I’ve got a date tomorrow night.

Becks:Does she know you wet the bed till you were 10?

Jace:Fuck off Becket!

Scarlet:Brunch?

Hudson:Works for me.

Max:Sounds good. Let’s do ten at the house.

Sawyer:What’s with the meeting? Who fucked up?

Lenny:What did you do Becket?

Becks:Why do you assume it’s me?

Hudson:Because it’s always you, asshole.

Max:Not this time. It’s King Corp. business. Just be at the house at ten.

Max:I’ll explain everything then.

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