Page 239 of What We Brave
"I feel so honored."
Reid reaches over and tugs my ankle. "Come on. Get up. We need to properly test this."
"I'm testing it."
"You're starfishing. That's not a real test."
"Feels like a real test to me. I'm comfy," I whine.
But I let him pull me up, swing my legs over the side. And as I push myself to standing — hands braced, weight shifting — I have this flash.
Me. Eight months pregnant. Trying to roll out of this bed.
The image is so vivid it stops me mid-motion. Huge and unwieldy, struggling to sit up, center of gravity completely wrong. Alone, it would be a comedy of errors. I'd get stuck and just lie there, waiting for gravity to make decisions for me.
But I wouldn't be alone.
Two sets of hands. One on each side. Steadying, lifting, helping me find my feet. Making jokes about it, probably. Competing over who's more helpful.
I'd never have to do it alone.
The thought ambushes me completely. I haven't let myself think about that kind of future — not seriously, not in concrete images. It's too big. Not that I don't want it. I do. I want everything with these men. But until this moment, I hadn't let myself go there.
But it feels so right.
But right behind that thought comes another.
How would I even tell Mom?
Congratulations, you're a grandmother. No, I'm not sure which one is the father. Does it matter?
It would matter to Mary Mitchell. It would matter enormously.
My stomach tightens. Because this isn't abstract anymore. This life has a future. A future with milestones that involve my parents.Holidays. Grandchildren. A future where the secret doesn't just stay secret — itgrows.
I can't hide a whole extra boyfriend. I can't hide a baby with two dads.
You have to tell her. Not next time. Soon. Before Guatemala. Before she meets them and you have no choice.
"Laine?" Blake's watching me, a small furrow between his brows. "You okay?"
"Yeah." I grab a pillow and throw it at Reid's head. "We have too many pillows."
Reid catches it easily. "There's no such thing as too many pillows."
"There are nine pillows on that bed, Reid."
"And?"
"That's three per person."
"I'm not seeing the problem here, Poodle."
"Movie night?"Reid suggests, pushing his empty plate back.
"It's Wednesday."
"And?"
