Page 164 of Love Thy Brother
Cam gave me a hug and his seat.
Mateo laid a bundle with thetiniestbaby I’d ever seen in Rubi’s big arms, and everything inside me melted. His kind face lit up with pure joy. This gentle happiness that made the whole room smile.
Goddamn.
Wow.
As if I needed Rubi to be any fucking hotter.
“She’s lovely, Riv. Look.” He angled the baby so I could see her. “You wanna hold her?”
“Me? Uh. No.”
Mateo laughed. “You’re scared of her too? Join the club with those idiots over there.”
He jabbed his thumb at every brother in the room except Decoy and Cam.
“She’s really fucking small,” Nash protested. “What if we break her?”
Cam snorted. “I think she’s more likely to break us, but I can’t see Rubes letting her go any time soon, so you’re off the hook for now.”
Me too, but I sidled closer to get a better look. Hope Romano-Carter had dark hair, like her mum. And tiny hands curled into fists. I knew she shared no blood with Mateo, but I saw him in her all the same. “Why’s she so tiny?”
Mateo had moved to the window, scanning the yard while Rubi held the baby. “Stress, maybe. Juana was pregnant when all that shit went down with her dad. I was scared we wouldn’t get this far.”
“But you did, bro,” Rubi murmured. “It’s all good. Where’s Em?”
“Sleeping.”
“He okay?”
“Yeah, just catching up.”
Rubi returned his attention to the baby. Cam watched him, eyes dark with emotion I felt to my fucking marrow.
Then he called the room to order. “Embry’s not here, but he knows most of this anyway, so I’m going to crack on without him.”
I started to stand. Now all the drama I’d brought from Porth Luck was over, council shit wasn’t my concern.
“River, stay. Please?”
I met Cam’s gaze across the table.
Sat my arse down again.
“Before I get into it,” Cam said, “I need to know who’s in. Who’s staying, who’s going.” He locked eyes with Rubi. “What say you, brother? If you want out, I’ve got you, but I need to know.”
The easy warmth around the table deadened, tension straining the air. Rubi rose and passed the baby to Alexei, ignoring the deadly assassin’s clear alarm. “Mate, you’re not an actual vampire. Chill the fuck out.”
Then he came back to where I sat and stood behind me, hands on my shoulders. “We’re not going anywhere.”
Cam’s eyes widened in much the same way Rubi’s had that morning. “Both of you?”
“Both of us,” I confirmed. “I’m gonna rebuild the garage at the back. Live with Rubi on Macintyre Road, and rent my house to Oscar.”
Silence.
Then Cam was on me, embracing me again, but harder this time, squeezing the life out of me. “You mean it? You’re gonna ride with us again?”
