He sank back into his seat, staring unseeingly at the white ceiling. Thought about sending Ollie a message.
But what use would it be? Already, Eric was trying his best to direct sales to Olivier’s shop. If he were forced to ramp up his sales figures, or if someone else took over his position... The end result would be the same. Olivier’s Strings would close—permanently.
Eric swallowed hard, tucking his phone away. He’d tell Olivier later. When he found a better way to phrase things, or maybe when he received more news from HR. Didn’t want Ollie panicking and lying again.
They’d had enough uncertainty for a while. Who even snitched on him, anyway?
He logged out of the computer, took a deep breath, and stepped out onto the sales floor. The day had to go on.
27
Olivier
Ollie glanced at Eric, his senses whispering with unease. It had been fifteen minutes since they arrived at the prenatal clinic, and Eric had hardly spoken.
“Eric?” Olivier asked softly, slipping his fingers into Eric’s hand.
Eric sucked in a breath, glancing over. “Yeah?”
“Are you okay?” Olivier asked. “You’ve been really quiet.”
Eric’s throat worked. He glanced around the clinic, with pastel rainbows and unicorns painted across the walls. Then he blinked and stared, as though he was looking at the clinic for the very first time. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”
He breathed out, his forehead creasing.
“You’re worried about something,” Olivier said.
Eric winced. “You can tell?”
Did you think I can’t? Olivier’s unease grew. “Of course I can.”
Eric took some time to answer. He looked at his phone, frowned some more. “There’s been some trouble at work. “I’ll fix things.”
“Want to tell me about it?”
Eric shook his head. “Maybe another time.”
But he fiddled with his phone, turning it over in his hands. It was as though he didn’t care about the baby in Olivier’s belly at all.
Ollie’s heart sank. What had happened at Eric’s work? Was it because Eric helped him? Eric hadn’t even been this stressed with the burglary.
So Ollie changed the subject. “I decided on a couple of names.”
“Did you?” The worry in Eric’s eyes lifted slightly.
“If it’s a girl, maybe Kate or Priscilla. I have a list of backup names if you don’t like those...”
“I like them. What about the boy names?”
“There’s Jacob or Bill or Steve. Or what about a neutral name, like Taylor?” Olivier squirmed. “I don’t know. It seems like such an important decision, and yet not at the same time.”
“How so?” Eric slipped his arm around Ollie’s waist, pulling him close. Then he pressed his nose into Olivier’s hair, and Ollie relaxed.
“Do you believe that babies grow into their names?” Olivier asked. “I mean, some people do, some people don’t. Yours means ‘always a king’.”
Eric raised his eyebrows, looking dubious. “Me, a king?”
“Well, you do preside over two whole branches.” Olivier smiled wryly, thinking about Eric’s Total Sounds T-shirts at home, and the times he brought his work back on his laptop. “You have tens of staff looking adoringly up at you.”
Eric rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right. What does your name mean?”
Olivier winced. “Depending on who you ask, I’m either an elf army, or an olive tree.”
He looked down, imagining leaves growing from his hands.
Eric’s smile grew. “What if I said your beauty is like a hundred elves combined?”
“You mean, like a chimera?”
Eric elbowed him lightly. Then he leaned in and kissed Ollie soundly on the lips. “Stop talking yourself down.”
“Only if you do, Mr. Ever-Kingly.”
“I mean, you’re beautiful,” Eric said. “I’d rather have you over a hundred elves. Maybe that’s what it means.”
“Sweet-talker.” Olivier elbowed him back, but he couldn’t help blushing.
The other couples in the waiting room talked amongst themselves. No one looked over, and no one knew that Ollie and Eric were related to each other. It was nice, blending in like that.
“For all you know,” Olivier said, “I was named after an olive tree.”
Eric kissed Ollie’s temple. “You know how the olive is a symbol of peace. Never seen anyone as selfless as you.”
That made Olivier smile. “You’re determined to see all the good in me, aren’t you?”
“Yup.” Eric grinned. “That makes me a king, right?”
Olivier laughed, looking up when a nurse called his name. He glanced hopefully at Eric. “Will you come with me?”
“All the time,” Eric growled, catching Olivier’s hand. “But you can come without me, too.”
Olivier’s cheeks scorched. “Eric!” he hissed.
Eric smirked, tugging Ollie to the doctor’s office. “All I am is your alpha. It’d be sad if I couldn’t make you come.”
Olivier nudged him, trying not to blush.
Walking through the clinic with Eric at his side, Ollie was starting to believe that things would turn out okay. Eric’s worry had faded somewhat, and it was comforting, having Eric hold his hand.
Dr. Smith’s office smelled like hay. She was a beta, older and blond, a pair of glasses perched on her nose. “Olivier,” she said, extending her hand. “And... Eric.”
Ollie had written down Eric’s name as his next-of-kin, and their relationship as bondmates. So there was no reason to worry, having Eric in the room with him.
Dr. Smith took him through a short discussion on his diet and exercise habits. “Is this your first child?”
Ollie nodded. Eric puffed up his chest, chipping in, “But he’s been caring for my one-year-old, and he’s doing great!”
Dr. Smith smiled. She took Ollie’s heartbeat, then the baby’s. The baby kicked, as though it felt Olivier’s excitement. What would it look like on the ultrasound?
Olivier climbed onto the exam bed. He glimpsed Eric looking at his phone, Eric’s smile fading. What was happening at Eric’s workplace?
“Eric?” Ollie asked softly.
Eric glanced up, pulling on a strained smile. He tucked his phone away, then came to stand next to Ollie.
Dr. Smith tapped on the keyboard beside the bed, spreading warm gel across Ollie’s skin. When she pressed the wand to his belly, a mess of black and white speckles appeared on the computer screen. She moved the wand a little, tapped on more keys.
And there was Ollie’s baby on the screen, curled up with its tiny hands and feet, and the cutest little face.
Eric breathed in sharply. “That’s—”
“That’s your baby,” Smith said with a warm smile. She turned the wand this way and that, looking at the fetus from different angles. “Looks like it’s developing well so far.”
Ollie couldn’t peel his eyes off the screen. That was his baby. Eric’s child. He couldn’t tell if it looked more like himself or Eric, but he wanted to reach in and cradle that child close, tell it Your dads are here and we love you so much.
His chest full, he glanced at Eric, only to find Eric’s expression torn. Like he wasn’t entirely happy to see their baby.
Olivier looked back at the screen, his heart sinking. What’s wrong, Eric? Why won’t you tell me?
He tangled his fingers with Eric’s, relaxing slightly when Eric squeezed his hand.
“Looks good,” Eric murmured. At least, he sounded honest this time.
“Would you like to look at the baby for yourself?” Smith asked, pointing at the wand.
“You mean, I get to hold that?” Ollie asked.
The doctor nodded, handing the wand over. Olivier held it with both hands, tipping it back and forth. The image on the screen swiveled.
Then he pressed it against another side of his belly, and the screen showed a glob of black and white.
Smit
h tapped on the keyboard, tilting the wand to bring the fetus back into the screen. “That’s the baby’s back. Would you like to know its sex?”
Unsure, Olivier glanced up at Eric, only to find Eric looking at the ultrasound image with inscrutable eyes. “Eric?”
Eric blinked and glanced up. “What?”
“The baby’s sex,” Ollie said. How could Eric be distracted now? This was their baby!
Eric shrugged. “Do you want to know?”
Wondering if it would bother Eric not to know, Olivier said, “We’ll wait until the birth.”
Eric seemed okay with that.
Smith nodded. Ollie took Eric’s hand, wrapping it around the ultrasound wand, too. For a moment, Eric’s eyes brightened. They held the wand together, and Ollie felt Eric’s attention entirely on him, Eric squeezing his thigh lightly.
Eric wasn’t annoyed with Ollie or anything, it was just his work. That eased the worry in Olivier’s chest.
When they handed the ultrasound wand back, Dr. Smith asked, “Would you like to purchase ultrasound images of your baby? They’re five dollars each.”
Ollie thought Eric would ask for two. Instead, Eric said, “We’ll have one.”
It wasn’t like him to think about skimping—that was Olivier’s thing. Nervously, Ollie waited until they ended the visit with Dr. Smith.
When they sat down in the waiting room, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
Eric dragged his hand down his face. “Shit’s happening at work.”
“It’s not because of me, is it?”
Eric hesitated. And Olivier had a sinking feeling, suddenly. It would explain why Eric had been looking so conflicted during the ultrasound.
“Tell me, Eric.” Olivier wasn’t sure he wanted to know, but he wanted to ease Eric’s pain.
Eric didn’t answer for the longest time. Then he unlocked his phone. Turned the screen toward Olivier.
It was an email, all black text against a white background.
Eric, we regret that we’ll have to let you go. Your last day at Total Sounds will be this Sunday. We wish you the best in your future endeavors.
Olivier read the message, over and over. Refused to understand what that meant. “How—Why...?”
“I was fired,” Eric said, looking away.
Olivier stopped breathing. Eric’s words rang in his head, and he couldn’t look away from Eric’s phone. That was why Eric had been distracted during the ultrasound. And Ollie didn’t know until now.
Because Eric had lost his job.
Ollie sat back in his seat, feeling boneless. How could I have been so selfish, begrudging him? “Why?”
Eric glanced sidelong at him. “For liaising with the competition.”
He was fired because of me. Olivier stared at his hands, his ears ringing. “What—” he gulped “—What do we do?”
“We’ll keep going,” Eric said. “I’ll find another job.”
But that wasn’t right at all. Eric shouldn’t have to lose his livelihood just because of Ollie. Olivier gulped down a breath. “I’ll head over and tell them I’m at fault. I’ll talk to your boss, Eric—”
Eric pressed his fingers to Ollie’s lips gently. “No, Ollie.” He met Olivier’s eyes, his gaze solemn. “It’s fine. We’ll move on.”
“But that’s your job.”
“I’ll help figure out what to do with the shop,” Eric said, a tiny crease in his forehead betraying his worry. “We’ll need to push hard on the advertising front—”
“Olivier,” the receptionist called.
Ollie jumped, his heart thumping. Eric stood before he did, pulling out his wallet.
The bill was a couple hundred dollars. Olivier tensed; he’d never actually sat down and counted out how much his new baby would cost.
And this was just the first doctor visit, wasn’t it? It didn’t include subsequent visits, or the hospital bill, or whatever medical treatment he and the baby might need in the future... And there was Jenn, too.
Olivier didn’t have enough money for everything.
Eric swiped his card in the card reader, his expression inscrutable. Ollie cradled his belly numbly. The receptionist handed Eric the ultrasound image.
Eric tucked the picture into Olivier’s hand. Then he signed off on the transaction, and Ollie followed him to the car outside.
Olivier’s Strings was breaking even now, but just barely. It hardly made enough for Ollie alone to survive. Now that Eric had lost his job, when would he find another? How could Olivier keep their family afloat?
Could they afford a baby?
Maybe this is a bad idea. Maybe I need to close Olivier’s Strings and find an actual job.
Eric pulled him into a hug, his arms steady against Ollie’s back. “Don’t worry about it,” he murmured. “Things will turn out fine.”
“Will they?” Ollie croaked. I can’t keep being a burden on him. He’ll be stubborn and do everything to help. And then he’ll suffer because of me. “This can’t carry on, Eric.”
Eris pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. “I have savings. It’s not the end of the world.”
Ollie didn’t know how to answer. He rode with Eric back to the shop, wondering if Eric felt burdened because of his obligation to help Olivier’s Strings.
We shouldn’t have bonded at all.
Scarcely had they stepped into the shop when the front door opened, and Dad stepped in. Eric’s mom followed.
His heart sinking, Olivier stared at Dad’s stern eyes, and Wendy’s sullen expression.
Wendy curled her lip, sniffing. What had she found offensive? Not the wood and polish scents. Probably Ollie’s carnation-and-honey scent, and the musk that lingered on his skin from last night.
Eric sighed, glancing around the empty shop. “What’re you guys doing here?”
“I’ve had enough of being humiliated,” Wendy snapped, her eyes flashing. Her floral dress looked pristine, as always. “Your aunts and uncles have asked what I did to my children to make them turn out like—like this.”
She waved vaguely at them, as though she would combust if she looked at them too long. Eric tensed.
Dad rubbed his temples. “You were the ones who told your siblings, Wendy. If you’d just kept it quiet—”
“Shut up,” Wendy snapped, glaring at Dad. She jabbed a finger at Olivier. “That’s your child, not mine. I can’t tell you how much shame he’s brought on me over the years.”
Olivier looked away, his chest tight. He hadn’t wanted Eric to hear what his mother thought of Ollie.
Dad gritted his teeth. “He was seven when we married.”
Eric narrowed his eyes. “The fuck? You tell my aunts and then blame it on me?”
“Don’t you swear at me, Eric!” Wendy snapped. “I’m talking about that vile stepbrother of yours. I’ve had enough of that poisonous wretch in my family!”
In the backroom, Jenn began to cry. Levi carried her out, frowning deeply. “I just got Jenn to nap. What’s going on?”
Olivier backed away, his heart thudding dully. He’d never invited his stepmother to his shop. Dad had probably brought her here. And Olivier’s Strings didn’t feel like a safe place anymore.
Eric stepped in front of Ollie, his fists clenched. “Don’t you dare call him that,” he growled. “He’s my omega.”
“And you are no longer my son, Eric.” Wendy bared her teeth. “Don’t you step into my house. Don’t you dare return, or call me Mom. You aren’t my child.”
Eric froze, his face paling. He glanced at Dad, but Dad only sighed.
Ollie squeezed Eric’s hand. How did you comfort your alpha when this happened? Ollie had learned not to rely on his family. But Dad and Wendy were still important to Eric, even though he refused to speak with them.
“C’mon, Wendy,” Dad said. “Let’s go.”
Eric looked incredulously at their father. “But Dad—”
Dad shook his head. “I never taught you to sleep with your brother, Eric. It’s bro
ken our entire family. Cole’s moved out. Aaron refuses to answer our calls.”
“Those are choices they made, not me.” Eric looked shaken, distraught.
“You aren’t coming home until you apologize to your mother,” Dad said with a greater sigh. “Let’s go, Wendy.”
Dad took Wendy’s hand, and Olivier boiled with the injustice of it all.
“He’s your son,” he said, the loudest he ever had. “I don’t care if you disown me. But Eric loves the two of you. You can’t turn your back on him.”
Dad turned, heavy disappointment in his eyes. “You should’ve known better, Olivier. Reflect on what you’ve done.”
It shouldn’t have stung, but it did. Ollie stopped breathing. Without another word, Dad tugged his wife out of the shop. Then she shrugged out of his grasp, striding onto the road.
None of them saw the car coming. Electric blue flashed, mowing Wendy down like a rag doll.
There was a thump. Eric went completely still.
“Holy shit,” Levi whispered.
Jenn clapped. “Shit!”
Ollie followed as Eric strode out through the door. Eric’s face was pale.
Dad had frozen on the sidewalk. Ollie followed his stare. Further down the road, Wendy lay in a growing puddle of blood, unmoving.
Ollie’s stomach turned. And yet, a tiny part of his heart rejoiced. A part that said, I’m not perfect. But I’m not the one crumpled up by a car.
“Mom,” Eric whispered, jogging onto the road without care for himself.
Ollie yelped in panic, checking the street for traffic before hurrying after Eric. The driver of the blue car had pulled to the side, and a small crowd was gathering nearby.
“Wendy!” Dad called, dialing desperately on his phone.
Eric had crouched next to his mother, his hands shaking. “No. No. Can’t happen. No.”
Ollie’s heart hurt for him. What do I do?
He padded forward, stopping next to Eric. Touched Eric’s shoulder. “Eric, it’s okay.”
Immediately after, he regretted saying it.
“It’s not okay,” Eric snapped, his eyes burning. He hovered next to Wendy, wanting to touch her but afraid to, his expression a whirl of chaos. Shock, terror, disbelief. “There’s so much fucking blood. She’s gonna die.”
Stepbrother's Secret Page 25