“Thanks,” I said, more or less sarcastically.
“I think I just got overprotective, you know?” he continued, slurring slightly. “After my divorce, I just… I just never wanted her to go through something like that. And then that bastard left her at the altar, and I was so worried about her.”
He swirled what was left in his glass around contemplatively. It wasn’t that I didn’t understand his point of view. Hell, I almost agreed with it. He was trying to be a good big brother, and I couldn’t fault him on that. In a lot of ways, it was what I would have done if I had a little sister.
“I understand being worried about her,” I said. “But you do have to know how you acted wasn’t okay.”
“I know, I know,” he said, waving me off. “She’s happy. That’s what matters. If Becca is happy, I should be happy. If she’s happy with you, I should be happy with you, and stay out of the way.”
“Not totally out of the way,” I said. “She still needs her big brother, and I miss my best friend.”
He shrugged and looked pained as he downed the last of his drink. I felt for him in that moment. Here was my best friend, dealing still with the divorce that had wrecked him so completely that he was a shell of himself for so long. A man who’d leaned on me during that time and was starting to round the corner into happiness, even if it meant risking getting hurt again. A man who loved his sister fiercely and was protective of her and felt like he failed her because he was battling his own depression and didn’t see the signs. Even if there had been no signs to see.
“Maybe,” Nick said. “Just remember this.” He pointed at me with the index finger of the hand holding the glass and seemed to look down that finger at me. “If you ever hurt her, I will have to kill you.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I said, eliciting a small laugh from Nick. It felt good to hear that laugh again, even if it was half-drunk. “And thanks for coming around on Becca and me seeing each other.”
Nick did a little salute, and I knew instantly that he wasn’t driving home. I looked over my shoulder at Mason, who was standing at the ready and nodded to him.
“Hey, Nick,” he said as he came up to us. “Why don’t I drive you home. I have to go out that way anyway.”
As they left, I pulled his glass off the table and washed it out. Opening my wallet, I tossed a few bills into the till to cover his drinks.
I was excited as I pulled onto my street, going over exactly how I was going to tell Becca about her brother’s admission of guilt. But when I pulled into the driveway, her car still wasn’t there. I walked inside and found a note stuck to the refrigerator saying that she was staying at Melissa’s that night. It would mark the first night she had stayed with me that we didn’t have dinner together. I grimaced, not at the fact that she hadn’t made dinner like a cliché housewife, but that I wasn’t going to be able to spend that time with her. That I wouldn’t be able to share the good news.
Then again, she deserved a girls’ night, too. As understanding and encouraging as Melissa was about our relationship, it couldn’t be easy for a best friend to suddenly be spending their time with someone else. Especially so shortly after she had just gotten her back after the failed wedding. Both of them probably had a million things to talk about and didn’t want my prying ears around to hear them.
So, instead, I got back in my car, ran by a fast-food taco place and made a series of terrible decisions for the well-being of my stomach, and drove home with a bag full of regret in my passenger seat. As disappointed as I was that Becca wasn’t there, I understood it and hoped she was at least going to have some fun. Plus, I was looking forward to a short night of video games, streaming bad television, and greasy, gimmicky tacos.
28
Becca
After taking the pregnancy tests and seeing them all come back positive, I was overwhelmed, scared, and emotionally frayed. I had no idea what I was supposed to think or what to do next. Melissa looked into my face.
“You have to tell Tyler what’s going on,” she said.
“I know.”
“Becca, I mean you need to tell Tyler now. Like, we should go up to the bar and you could tell him,” she said.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around it myself. This is a lot. I have no idea what this even means. Not for Tyler, anyway. We’ve never talked about children or how many we want. Or if we even want them at all.”
“You should probably have talked about that when you decided to be together,” Melissa said.
I glared at her. “I’m aware. Thank you. And how about you? Do you have that conversation with all the guys you see?”
“No,” she said. “But that’s because I’m not always serious about the guys I’m seeing. If I think that there’s any chance it could actually go somewhere, then I do.”
I sighed. “Look, it’s going to be fine. You know Tyler is crazy about you.”
I nodded. “And I’m crazy about him. That doesn’t mean he’s ready to hear something like this. I just need a little bit to kind of process it all. Then I’ll tell him.”
She looked at me like she wasn’t totally convinced but then relented and nodded. “Alright. I guess it makes sense for you to take some time and figure yourself out. And you might as well take that time here.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Of course. I want to milk this whole having my best friend back in town thing as much as I can. Unless you have plans or think Tyler is going to expect to see you,” she said.
I shook my head. “No. He’s working. And since tomorrow is his day off, he’ll probably stay at the bar a couple of extra hours. He has this thing about taking time off. Somehow it makes him feel like he’s slacking and not doing his part. Even though his brothers all take time off, too.”
“Good. Then it’s settled. Can you think of anything you might want to eat that doesn’t make your stomach turn?”
“I don’t really want to think about food right this second. Tyler made breakfast this morning, and the smell of the bacon is what tipped me off. But I did find that eating some of that helped me feel better, so maybe we’ll think of something later.”
“You look really tired,” she said.
I nodded again, suddenly realizing just how exhausted I felt. We went into the living room, and I curled up on the couch so we could just lose ourselves in some TV rather than having to think about everything that was going on.
That was still what I was doing the next afternoon. I drifted in and out of sleep throughout the day and night, then into the next day. I was just waking up from another brief nap, curled up on the couch under one of Melissa’s blankets, when I noticed her standing over me, staring down. I jumped slightly and shook my head, rubbing my eyes with my fingertips.
“You know what? Tyler was right about it being creepy when somebody watches you sleep,” I said.
“I wasn’t watching you sleep,” she said. “I just walked in here. But speaking of Tyler, I think you’ve had enough time. You really need to go tell him what’s going on. You can’t just hide this from him and expect everything to be okay.”
She was right. There was no arguing or even trying to buy myself any more time. The longer it took for me to tell Tyler, the harder it was going to be. I needed to just suck it up, face the situation head-on, and deal with the aftermath however I needed to.
“Alright,” I said. “I’ll go over there.”
“How do you feel?”
“Scared,” I said. “But this is the right thing to do. And it’s his day off, so we’ll have time to have this conversation just the two of us without him having to hurry off to work.”
When I got back to Tyler’s house an hour later, I immediately noticed my brother’s car was in the driveway. What the hell? The last time the two of them were anywhere near each other, they had fought and exchanged harsh words.
I parked and went up to the door. Nick answered, and I cocked an eyebrow at him. He ushered me inside and brought me into the living room.
“What’s going on?” I asked. “I thought the two of you were at each other’s throats.”
“We were,” Nick said. “But I decided I didn’t want to deal with that bullshit anymore. You’re my little sister. He’s my best friend. Yes, it made me uncomfortable at first, and I didn’t like it. But that really wasn’t my place. If the two of you are happy and you want to be together, then I shouldn’t stand in your way. I should be happy that you found each other. So, that’s how I’m going to look at it now.”
My heart swelled up, and I couldn’t help but wrap my arms around my brother and give him a hug.
“Thank you,” I said. “I really appreciate that.”
I did my best to look happy and relieved. I honestly felt both, but there was so much more going on in. Inside, I was right on the brink of completely freaking out. I told myself it was miserable to have my brother be mad at us when all I wanted to do was be happy with the person I cared so much about.
But now that he essentially gave us his blessing, I felt a bit concerned. That was a complete understatement. I was about to have a nervous breakdown. Here my brother was, trying to be kind and accepting toward us, and now I had a whole new bombshell to drop.
I couldn’t help but think it would have been easier to tell him when he was already mad at both of us. If he was still mad, all I would be doing would be exaggerating that anger. It wouldn’t be so uncomfortable. Now, he was trying and being supportive. That made it so much harder to think about breaking the news to him.
There was no way I could tell him now. Not only did I want to make sure Tyler knew first, but telling my brother was also going to be a feat in and of itself. I was going to have to do it. At some point, I would have to be honest with him and let him know he had a new little niece or nephew coming. But it didn’t have to be right then.
Tyler came into the room, and his face lit up when he saw me.
“Hey. This is a nice surprise.” He gathered me up in a hug.
“Gross,” Nick said, rolling his eyes. “Stop.”
I laughed and shook my head. “No.”
Tyler gestured toward his backyard. “We’re getting the grill out there fired up, and we’re going to throw some burgers and stuff on. You’re staying, right?”
I nodded. “Definitely. Do you mind if I invite Melissa?”
“Not at all,” Tyler said. He headed for the kitchen. “Anybody want a beer?”
“I’ll have one,” Nick said.
“Not for me,” I said. Ignoring the side-eye my brother was giving me, I took out my phone and called Melissa. “Hey, do you want to come over for a cookout?”
“Is this a celebratory cookout?” she asked.
“Not exactly,” I said, trying to keep my voice lifted so Nick didn’t get suspicious.
“Becca, I thought we agreed.”
“My brother is here.”
“Oh,” Melissa said.
“So, I’m going hang out with them.”
“That’s probably a good idea. You don’t want to do a group reveal right now.”
“Nope. Do you want to come?” I asked.
I could hear my voice creeping up higher and getting a bit too loud. I wanted the conversation to sound completely casual, but I worried I was starting to give away the little bit of panic that was growing inside me. Melissa agreed, and I let out a breath of relief before hanging up.
“Come on out to the back,” Tyler called from further in the house. “I’m bringing a cooler out.”
Nick and I walked through the house, and I detoured by the refrigerator. Grabbing out one of the refillable bottles Tyler kept full of water and chilling on the second shelf, I downed some of it, then carried it outside with me. I didn’t want to keep turning down the offer of having a beer with them, and if I was holding a drink in my hand, they wouldn’t feel the need to offer.
Tyler was already in front of the grill, and I stepped up beside him. I figured I would expose myself to the smell fast and see how it hit me, then go from there. The meat had only just started warming up, so the smell wasn’t strong yet. But I could smell the charcoal, and it didn’t bother me. That seemed like a good start.
There was something sexy about him standing there cooking in front of the grill, and I couldn’t help but rise up on my toes and kiss him on the cheek.
Melissa got there twenty minutes later with a grocery bag stuffed with containers of potato salad, macaroni salad, and baked beans, and bags of potato chips. We hung back for a bit while Tyler and Nick joked and laughed. It was good to see them getting along again.
It ended up being a good day. With the exception of the whole internally freaking out because I was hiding my pregnancy thing. But it was nice to just be all together and enjoy ourselves. Everything else would come in due time. Maybe it was actually better this way. It would give me time to prepare.
29
Tyler
Things were finally starting to fall into place. Not only were Becca and I seeing each other, and things were great between us, but Nick was starting to warm up to the idea of us being together, even if he was teasing us about it an awful lot. Melissa and Becca seemed close still, and the relationship Becca and I had didn’t seem to be getting in the way of them and their hushed, whispery conversations in corners and conspiratorial glances. I figured those had more to do with details I would never, ever broach with Nick that they seemed to have no problem with, so I let it be.
I felt really good, and as I headed into work, I tried to focus on that feeling. Yet, something was bugging me a little. Becca seemed just a bit off, somehow. The way she’d acted during dinner the day before was like a surface-level attempt at seeming happy. If something was bothering her, I wanted to help her, but I was getting the feeling that I had done all I could. It had to be something to do with her family, I figured, though I could be wrong. I didn’t want to assume, but it was the only thing that made sense.
As I pulled into the driveway, I opened my phone and shot off a text to Becca, inviting her to come out to the bar that night. We were having a jersey night, and people who came in with jerseys got discounts all night long. While Becca tended to get a discount from me anyway, I figured it would be something fun for her and Melissa to do together while still allowing me to spend a little bit of time with her. Plus, I had exactly one jersey in my place, and I knew from recent history that she looked stupidly hot when she wore it.
Granted, she was bound to wear pants with it at the bar, but my mind could edit those out.
After a few minutes, I got the text from her, responding and telling me she and Melissa would be there later, and I went about the business of setting up for the evening. Ava and Jordan were running around having a blast putting up decorations, and Mason was at the bar, going over the modified menu for the night with Matt and the new cook. Tom was even supposed to drop by that evening if he could make it, as he was in town seeing Mom earlier.
I joined Ava and Jordan in putting up decorations and cranked the music loud at the karaoke machine. My spirits were high, even if I was still trying to figure out what was going on with Becca’s strange mood, and I decided to just let it go and enjoy the night. Whatever was bugging her the night before would likely be over after a couple of drinks and a night of joking and laughing with her friend. Then she could come home with me to make up for time missed out with her being busy with her buddy.
The bar was hopping early, and the raucous crowd were enjoying yet another smash-hit theme night. Ava was running a sports-trivia contest at the stage area, and Matt and I were running food out while tagging with Mason at the bar while Jordan tried to do those and man the kitchen all simultaneously. It was chaos, but fun, and when Becca and Melissa walked in, I felt my heart thump in my chest and my excitement rise even higher.
I tapped Jordan on the shoulder and told him I wou
ld switch with him to run the bar for a bit, and he took off. Despite how busy it was, no one was really sitting at the bar, most of them far too enthralled in the trivia game, and the girls found seats easily. Before they were even seated, I was pouring them both one of the specialty drinks of the evening, the Griffey. I sat it in front of them and grinned at Becca, but she didn’t return my gaze. Instead, she stared down at the drink with her eyes wide and then looked at Melissa.
A customer across the bar was waving frantically for my attention, so I forewent further greetings and went to take care of them before coming back. That one customer turned into four, and by the time I had made my way back to the ladies, it had been a few minutes. Predictably, Melissa’s glass was nearly empty, but Becca’s was weirdly still full.
“Hey, beautiful,” I said as I sidled up to them. “What’s up? Don’t like the Griffey? Too much grenadine?”
“Oh,” she said, “I’m just not drinking tonight.”
I cocked an eyebrow at her unbelievingly. “Come on,” I said. “One drink won’t hurt. I’m proud of this one. It’s a special blend of rum…”
“No,” she said emphatically. Her tone was rather harsh for someone just turning down a free drink from her boyfriend. “Sorry, I just really don’t want to drink tonight.”
“Okay,” I said, taken aback. She had never spoken to me with that type of attitude before, and I was wondering what I did to deserve it.
“I’ll have a water,” she said, rather dismissively. My lips curled to one side, and I looked between her and Melissa before ducking down and grabbing a glass to fill with water. When I had her drink ready, I placed it in front of her, and she took a sip through the straw, ignoring the cocktail right beside it. “Thank you,” she said as she swirled the straw for a moment.
“Well, if she won’t drink it, I will,” Melissa said, curling her fingers around the cocktail glass and sliding it slowly toward her. “It’s delicious. Based off the ballplayer?”
His Best Friend's Sister: A Secret Baby Romance Page 15