Floored - Karla Sorensen Page 0,45

camera, giving our brother a condescending pat on the back. "Bit hypocritical coming from you, don't you think?"

"No!" he shouted, lifting his head. "Because I know exactly what goes into this life. The drinking and the drugs and the parties and the women. Do you know how hard it is to be an elite athlete and not succumb to all that bullshit?"

It was Paige's turn to be in the comforter role. She gave me a small smile, even as she wrapped an arm around Logan. "You managed it, though. And we know a lot of guys who do. Maybe Jude is one of them." When Logan turned to her, she cupped the side of his face. "And even if he had a past, we can't hold that against him as long as he's doing right by Lia."

"Thank you," I said quietly. My heart was still hammering, but mainly because I hadn't anticipated this part being the largest hurdle. "Logan, look at me." It took a second, and I could tell my big brother was struggling with this just as much as his wife had but was far more reticent to show it. "I need you to try not to worry, okay?"

"Impossible," he answered, voice a gruff, tortured whisper. "I worry about you four every single day as it is, and not because I don't trust you. It's part of the deal when you love someone so much that you'd die for them. The worst thing you can imagine is them hurting and you can't do anything about it." He shook his head, and that was when I lost the battle.

Playbook was out the window.

I sniffed as the first tear fell. Even with the quick movement of my hand to make it go away, he caught it.

Logan's eyes held mine. "I don't know this guy, and I hope he is doing whatever you need him to do, but the second he doesn't, he has to answer to me, because that is my job. The moment you were born—you, Claire, Molly, Isabel, and Emmett—it became the most important responsibility of my life to make sure you're taken care of and loved the way you should be. I won't apologize for that."

"I don't want you to," I told him. There was no disguising the tears in my voice, all thick and wobbly. "It took me so long to tell you guys because I knew it would kill you to be so far away from me."

"We love you, Lia," Paige said.

"I love you too." I exhaled heavily. "It will be okay. I promise."

"But you're coming home at the end of the semester, right?" she asked.

My mouth opened, but no sound came out. I didn't know. Did I want to be an ocean away from Jude when his child was born? Was that even fair?

"That's the plan," I managed, but her eyes narrowed because she heard the pause all the same.

"What about a job?" Logan asked. "You won't have your master's yet, will you? You'll need a semester off if you're due in the spring."

"I don't know." My voice sounded about as big as a church mouse. "I-I haven't thought about it."

Claire appeared behind Logan. "We have plenty of time to figure that out."

That was why I wanted Claire there. Because she could probably sense my inner freak-out building.

Paige smiled. "Can we talk next week maybe?"

I nodded. "I promise."

"You look tired, baby," she murmured. "Why don't you go take a nap while you have some peace and quiet, okay?"

I was tired. I was so, so fucking tired.

The nerves had powered me through the entire day, and in one fifteen-minute phone call, I felt like every ounce of energy had been sucked into a black hole at my feet. "Okay."

"We love you," she said.

"Love you guys too."

Claire waved, and Logan gave me a tiny smile, but I could tell what it cost him. My big brother would lose a lot of sleep over this.

Once the call disconnected, I sank back in the chair, heaving out a giant sigh of relief.

The rest of the scone beckoned, as did the giant bed I'd seen upstairs, the one covered in plush pillows.

If Jude had a problem with me trying out all the sleeping surfaces in his house, he wouldn't have left me here, a veritable Goldilocks, trying to find the one that fit just right.

Cute little sheep in hand, I walked up the stairs, finished the scone, and smiled as I passed the guest room where I'd laid to