I pressed my hand back on her belly and shook my head. “I don’t care. This baby is my nephew and I’m going to make sure he knows me as someone in his life. When he comes out, he’s gonna be reaching for—” I said as the door opened and Joe walked in.
He stared at me for a moment and shook his head. “Do I want to know why you’re down on your knees and holding my woman’s belly?”
“I’m just protecting her.”
“On your knees?”
I turned and glared at him. “She was carrying groceries.”
Joe jerked his head to Sofia and narrowed his eyes at her. “You were doing what?”
She rolled her eyes at him and started picking up the groceries out of the bag, which I quickly started taking out of her hands. “They’re just groceries! For Pete’s sake, I was just going to get some food—“
“Which you could have asked any of us to do,” Joe seethed.
“Or I could just do it myself since I have two hands and two legs.”
“It’s not safe,” he growled.
She turned and put her hand on her hip. “Where is this coming from?”
“You know what happened to Kat.”
“Yes, and I also did enough research to know that while it was terrible that it happened to her, it’s very unlikely it would happen again.”
“A low possibility is still a possibility,” I pointed out.
“I’m sorry, did you suddenly become the father,” she turned to me.
“No, but I’m the brother of the father and I get a say almost half as much as he does.”
“Really,” she laughed. “And why is that?”
“Because if something happens to him, I’m taking over as father.”
Her jaw dropped and she laughed, looking over at Joe. “And you’re on board with this?”
“Well, we haven’t discussed it, but it makes sense.” He squinted slightly and nodded his head from side to side. “Though I might have chosen a different brother.”
“Hey, what’s wrong with me?”
“Besides your illegal activities?”
“I don’t do illegal shit anymore. Besides, next to you, I’m the person that’s had the most contact with this kid.”
“You mean besides me,” Sofia pointed to her belly. “You know, the person carrying the actual child!”
“Well, I guess if you want to count yourself in this,” I muttered. “But after you have the baby, who do you think is going to be there to change diapers and get the midnight bottle?”
She looked at me incredulously. “Most likely me!”
“And me,” I argued. “Joe’s gonna be working during the night. He usually doesn’t get home until after two in the morning, which leaves me to pick up the slack.”
“Pick up the slack,” she gasped. “Are you kidding me right now?”
“Hey, that kid is just as much a part of me as it is him. We share DNA!”
She shook her head, like one of those comical things where you think a woman’s head is about to explode. I shuffled back a step, sure she was about to totally lose her shit on me, only to bump into Joe. I spun around and the look on his face was something between annoyance and anger.
I swallowed hard. Okay, I may have overstepped my bounds just a little here. I nodded and jerked my thumb toward the door. “I’m just gonna leave.”
“Why don’t you do that,” he grumbled.
I didn’t waste another second getting out of there and flying down the stairs.
I drove up to Lorelei’s house and parked next to her car. It was fucking cold today. We hadn’t had a winter like this since I was a kid. They were forecasting that there would be at least ten inches of snow tonight. Of course, that never happened. Usually, by the end of the day, the total dropped down to two to three inches, and by the time the snow was done falling, there was just a light dusting on the ground.
But based on the flurries falling, we were definitely getting at least a few inches. I grabbed the multiple bags of shit I had brought and took the steps two at a time, rushing inside her house. I shut the door and brushed the snow off my shoulders, then wiped my feet on the industrial mat that Eric had set up in the front hall. With all the traffic coming through, it was necessary so the guys didn’t track mud through the whole house.
The sound of the workers was always present in the house, and it was annoying, but at the same time a comfort, for my protection. On the other hand, it was hard to find out information when we were constantly interrupted. And having my brother there was a real cock-blocker, not that I should be sleeping with this woman. That was like asking for a death sentence when you could get five to ten years.
Eric walked out of the kitchen hauling some tools and grinned. “You’re back. Again.”
“Shut up, fucker.”
“You really like this woman, huh?”
I glanced up the stairs, following his gaze. She must be up there doing something, but still, I couldn’t trust that she wasn’t listening in. “Fine, I like her. What’s your point?”
“Does Joe know yet?”
I frowned. “What does Joe have to do with this?”
“Oh, I don’t know, the fact that you live with him, but he’ll soon be paying the rent on his own,” he laughed.
“Why would he be paying rent on his own?” I asked, despite knowing what he would say.
He started humming the bridal march and I shushed him, grabbing his arm to drag him into the family room, off to the right. “Would you knock that shit off?”
“Oh, come on. Like you haven’t done it to every one of us.”
“This is different.”
“Why?
