Four Kicks - Stephanie Brother Page 0,42
sleep for several hours at night.”
I arch a brow. “Sleep? Really? Are you sure that’s what you’re doing at night?”
My friend laughs. “We are definitely making sleep a priority, but we do other things at night, too. In fact, I have some news to share with you.” I sit up straight, giving Maddy my full focus as her face breaks into a glorious smile. “I’m pregnant!”
I jump up and hug her, causing little Amelia to look at us with curiosity. “You’re going to be a big sister,” I tell the girl, giving her a kiss on the forehead before returning my attention to Maddy. “How wonderful! But couldn’t you slow down a little on the baby-making, so that I might be able to catch up?”
“Tell it to my men.” Maddy tips her head toward the beach house behind us. “It’s hard to get them to slow down.”
We talk about the pregnancy and plans for her growing family for a while before Maddy turns the conversation back to me.
“Are things getting more serious with your men?” she asks.
“I think so. They’ve been courting me like it’s their second job.”
She smiles. “Really? Still?”
“They have a dozen roses delivered to me every week at the office. When I asked them to stop because it made me feel awkward around my coworker, they started having flowers sent for her, too.”
“Aw, that’s sweet.”
“They’ve been very sweet. They asked if they could visit my parents. They’d met at the island festival months ago, but they wanted to be introduced to them as my ‘boyfriends’.”
Maddy reaches down to pick up Amelia, who appears to be getting sleepy. “How did that go?”
“Good. My mom loved them. I knew she would. My dad seemed a little uneasy at first, but after a while the five of them were talking like old friends and making plans to play golf sometime.”
Amelia gives a big yawn as Maddy brushes the girl’s hair back from her cheeks. “Are you seeing them tonight?”
“I am. It’s actually the six-month anniversary of the night we made things official, and they’re taking me back to that fancy resort we stayed at before. In fact, what time is it?” I check my phone to find that it’s later than I thought it was. “Ooh, I’d better get going.”
“Looks like it’s this one’s nap time, anyway,” Maddy says, gesturing to Amelia, who’s nodding off in her mother’s arms.
We gather our things and head up to her house. A few minutes later, I’m on the road home.
Back at my apartment, I’m just out of the shower when I hear a car horn through the open window. It’s not the men’s style to honk when they pick me up, but I panic because I’m running late. From the window I see an unfamiliar car in our driveway, its passenger door just opening.
A guy steps out, looking toward my parents’ house. I don’t recognize him; he’s young but well-built and good-looking. He glances down at the phone in his hands and then back at the house. As my sister emerges from the front door, the guy gestures and yells, “C’mon, they’re waiting for us.”
Though there’s a glare on the car’s window, I can make out that the driver is another man of similar age. Both of them watch Bianca the entire time as she hurries toward them. When she reaches the car, the passenger seat guy gives her his spot, closes the door behind her, and gets into the backseat.
I’m frustrated as I watch them speed away. I’ve been so busy with my men that I haven’t figured out what my sister’s been up to. Two men just picked her up and mentioned that other people are waiting. She’s never been a party person, and doesn’t like crowds, so where is she going? Who were those guys and why has she been so secretive for so long?
I’d love to text her right now and bombard her with questions, but that will have to wait because another car pulls into the driveway and this time it’s for me. Even though I need to finish getting ready, I can’t help but linger by the window to watch Ash, Derek, Landon, and Nathan head my way.
They are a delicious sight, looking fresh and clean in their resort casual wear. I greet them at the door wearing only my towel from the shower, knowing it’s a dangerous thing to do.
The four men file into my small apartment and I’m surrounded. Hands are everywhere, and my towel