into a smile. She tosses the test on the counter and jumps into my arms. "We're gonna have a baby."
I hold her closely. "Yeah, we are."
When our embrace breaks, she looks up at me. Her smile widens. Her eyes brighten. "You look happy."
"I am." I run my fingers through her hair until she looks up at me. Understanding passes between us. Kara and I are a team. We come before everything else in the world. Our family comes before everything else. "As long as I'm alive, you'll never be alone. This kid too."
"Okay."
"I'll figure this out. Trust me." I look into her big, brown eyes. "I don't want to be like my father. I want to be there every fucking second till that kid is yelling at me to give him space and locking himself in his room."
She laughs. "Are you going to tell your parents?"
"No. I don't want my mom getting in his way the way she did with me. Whatever this kid wants, he's going to get it."
"What if she hates the guitar?" Kara teases.
"With half my DNA? Not possible."
"But what if she does?"
"Then she hates the guitar. But that won't happen. I'll teach her to play as soon as she can hold a guitar."
She looks up at me. A playful smile spreads over her face. "What if she only likes rap music?"
"Then we'll soundproof her room. And ours." I pull Kara into my chest again. She's warm, and she smells good. "We should soundproof our room no matter what. I'm not gonna hold back on fucking you because I'm afraid of waking the baby."
She laughs. "Good." Her voice softens. "Do you think... for the name. Alex. Alexander if he's a boy, and Alexandria if she's a girl? After my dad."
I melt. That's perfect. "Of course."
She smiles. "Really?"
I nod.
"That will make Mom happy." She squeezes me. "I'm terrified of what she'll say."
"She'll be happy."
"You think so?"
I have to admit I'm stretching the limits of my knowledge. Kara's mom hasn't always been as supportive as she could be. But the way she looks at Kara—she'll come around.
I rub her shoulders. "Yeah, but let's not worry about it right now. Let's soak in the good news for a while."
Her voice wavers. "That sounds nice, but... maybe not the most possible."
"It's okay you're scared." I lean down to press my lips to her forehead. "I'm scared too. But I think we should continue this conversation outside the bathroom."
She laughs. "True. I'm going to wash up. I'll meet you at the table."
"I love you, Kara. We can do this."
She nods. "We can. If we do it together."
***
Tom and Willow are waiting at the table. They're teasing as they feed each other bites of toast and eggs.
They really are happy.
It's fucking weird that Tom is married to my sister. Not sure it will ever stop being weird, but I'm happy she's happy.
Tom nudges her. He practically points to us. Then the two of them are exchanging whispers.
Kara squeezes my hand. A nervous look spreads over her face.
I rub her shoulders. "They'll be happy for us."
She nods, but her big brown eyes stay nervous.
Tom rises as we approach the table. He looks from Kara to me. His eyes fix on Willow. "I told you she was pregnant."
"Tom!" She shakes her head, but she's smiling. My sister looks at me. "Is it true? Are you?"
"Yeah," I say.
Willow claps her hands together. "Oh my God. That's great! Are you happy? You look scared. But happy. It is scary." She jumps to her feet and hugs Kara. Then she hugs me. "I'm excited for you."
Tom nods. He hugs Kara. I try to shake his hand, but he shakes his head and pulls me into a hug.
"Happy for you two." He steps back and looks at me. "Don't worry about band shit. We'll figure it out."
Kara presses her lips together. "I... I don't want this to be the thing that breaks up Sinful Serenade."
Tom waves his hand in a don't worry about it gesture. "It won't. Worst case scenario, we replace Drew."
I scowl.
Kara frowns.
"Kidding." Tom looks to me. "Shit. Nothing is coming to mind, but we've got time. Enjoy your news. Go have crazy sex or some shit like that."
Willow laughs. "Sex isn't the solution to everything."
"Gonna have to agree to disagree there." Tom shoots her a flirty look. "Or I could prove you wrong."
"Later." She looks at him with adoration then she turns her attention to us. "We're happy for you. Really. And happy we'll be an