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  My mouth opened, and I wanted to ask him when I’d agreed to something like that. But, there was something more pressing that I needed an answer to.

  “What happened to Louise?” I asked.

  Jason stopped what he was doing and turned to me. He still looked happy, so I didn’t think anything bad happened.

  “Oh, she left last night. It turns out; she wasn’t pregnant to begin with, she was just doing it to mess with me. But we talked things out, and she’s gone and won’t be coming back.”

  I gaped at him, wondering if it could be that easy. I didn’t want to hear the details, though, so I was a bit afraid to ask.

  “And what about all the rest of this?” I questioned because I couldn’t stop now that I’d started. “You should talk to me about these things before just deciding them on your own!”

  Even as I complained, though, I didn’t sound put out. If anything, I was so giddy I was almost breaking out into giggles. The only reason I was holding back, was because I didn’t want to freak the toddler out.

  Jason crossed the space between us; hands held out with a hesitant expression on his face.

  “I just realized I’ve never tried to hold him. Do you think I could maybe…?”

  He had this pleading expression on his face as he asked that I didn’t think I could say no to.

  “All right, but be careful,” I warned. “Hold him like this…”

  I lifted Jack up and set him in his father’s arms. He was still too young to realize Jason was his dad, and too shy to even speak around him, but he settled into Jason’s arms like he was meant to be there. Jason was looking down at Jack with this awestruck look on his face, which made me wonder if I’d looked like that the first time I saw him.

  “Beautiful, isn’t he?” I whispered.

  “Yeah,” he whispered back. He glanced at me with a grin. “I can't believe how much of this little guy’s life I’ve missed already. Starting from your pregnancy till now.”

  He walked over to the crib, still holding the toddler gently like he was a precious little gem. I followed, feeling a bit anxious because this was his first time holding a child. But, he set Jack down with no trouble. He was already asleep again, exhausted from the early morning and the taxi ride.

  Jason wrapped his arms around me, catching me by surprise, but I leaned into it happily.

  “Look,” he murmured into my hair. “I know…after everything, this might be a bit much to ask for. But, I was wondering, if you could move in here? We can move your stuff over the next few days, and you can sell your place or whatever. Just…stay with me here, please? I…want to be a better man, Rachel. For you and our son. If you could give me a chance…”

  Jason’s voice changed as he spoke, starting from completely confident, and becoming small and coarse at the end, unconfident.

  I could have told him he didn’t have to do the whole speech.

  “All you had to do was ask, Jason,” I said, the words muffled in his shoulder. “My answer is yes.”

  Jason didn’t reply, just squeezed me closer, and I sighed as my eyes slid closed and I leaned into his embrace.

  Epilogue

  Jason

  “I still can't believe this is happening,” I muttered under my breath.

  Rachel, who was by my side with her arm wrapped around mine, smiled up at me. “What? That you’d get an excuse to dress in a dashing suit again? That we’d be here in the same place with your brother and you both aren’t being such damn grouches about it?”

  I frowned at her. “Noah getting married,” I emphasized. “And us being so friendly that I’m joining the wedding after receiving an invitation.”

  She gave me a curious look. “Why is that?”

  I opened my mouth to give her an answer, only to stop and snap my mouth closed. Exactly what could I tell her, anyway? Noah and I…used to get along as kids. We were twins, after all, and spent most of the time together. I couldn’t remember when we’d drifted apart, and somewhere in between, I’d grown to distrust and dislike for my brother, and he the same.

  But, why did I dislike him in the first place? I couldn’t pinpoint a reason. Had it… Been some stupid sibling thing for all those years we hadn't gotten along?

  “I don’t know,” I said honestly.

  Rachel just scoffed at me, shaking her head. I rolled my eyes and looked around for the newlyweds until I found them. Noah and his new wife Kylie were still talking to some of the guests.

  “Can we just go over there, say hello and leave?” I asked.

  Rachel slapped my arm with her free hand. “Of course not! This is your brother’s wedding, Jason. Besides, we need to stick around for the reception.”

  “You just want to be here for the cake,” I muttered.

  Rachel giggled. “Well, true. And we did promise our young son some cake, didn’t we?”

  I gasped. “Jack is too young to be having cake, Rachel! You can't carry any for him! I want to hurry so we can send the sitter home and spend some time with our son, not poison him with cake.”

  She just laughed at me. And even though I knew she was laughing at my expense, I couldn’t help smiling at how happy she looked. Impulsively, I pulled my arm out of hers and instead wrapped it around her shoulder, tugging her closer to me as I leaned down to her ear.

  “You know,” I said, teasing, smirking when I felt her shiver under my arm just from my breath washing over her neck. “If you play your cards just right, in a while, that could be you dressed in all white, walking down the aisle to meet this handsome devil ready to make an honest woman out of you.”

  She laughed, though it came out breathless. “Is that so?”

  I grinned down at her. Not that I was stealing my little brother’s idea, but I would be proposing to Rachel soon. I’d had thought of waiting until Jack could walk for it, but that might be longer than I was willing to wait. I’d made my decision already.

  “Well, if it isn’t big brother!”

  I looked up with a wrinkle of my nose at Noah’s tone.

  “I am the oldest,” I said with a sniff.

  He laughed. “Only by ten minutes, though. You won’t be able to hold that over me for forever, you know?”

  “Oh, trust me,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I definitely will be doing that for the rest of our lives.”

  Noah and Rachel exchanged glances, then rolled their eyes. I narrowed my eyes at them, wondering when they got so close, and how annoying that was going to be for me in years to come. Then I caught sight of Kylie, where she’d hid behind Noah.

  “Hey, there, sister-in-law,” I called, causing her to blush. “Why are you hiding? Come here and greet us. We’re relatives and guests, too, you know.”

  She laughed as she came from around Noah. I reached out to pull her into a hug; then she turned to Rachel.

  “Congratulations, both of you,” Rachel said sincerely, settling back under my arm.

  “What she said,” I muttered, chuckling when Rachel knocked her elbow into my ribs for it. “Seriously, though. Congrats, little brother. Kylie, welcome to the family. We’re very happy and lucky to have you.”

  I looked to Rachel to see if she approved. She nodded at me, looking impressed. I didn’t know whether to be insulted by that look or not. I can be decent when I want to be, Rachel.

  “I should be thanking you,” Noah said, looking at Rachel. “I don’t know what you did to my brother, but you helped him make a quick turnaround.”

  “From what?” I scoffed.

  He rolled his eyes. “She made you into a better man. I never thought it would happen, you know? It just seemed impossible. I’m proud of you, as your little brother. You worked hard.”

  I had a feeling he was subtly making fun of me, and I reached out my hand to ruffle his hair in retaliation. But he ducked away from the attack, laughing.

  The murmuring in the crowd grew lower, as the slow music started to play. The room had been made on the dance floor for a couple of the hour.

&
nbsp; “I think that’s your cue,” I told them, pointing the way for them.

  “So it is,” Noah said. He offered Kylie his arm, and she took it. Then he turned to me. “The two of you follow. You’re going in after us.”

  I rolled my eyes at my brother’s back because it wasn’t like I’d forgotten from all the practice we’d done for this wedding. I led Rachel to the dance floor right behind them, and we waited for them to circle the floor, before joining in. A few other couples joined in, but the floor didn’t get crowded just yet. That came later.

  Our first dance was coming to a close, and I could feel my heart starting to beat harder in my chest. I met my brother’s gaze over Rachel’s shoulder, and he gave the nod.

  The other couples on the floor cleared one by one, with my brother and his wife being the second last, leaving just the two of us. Rachel was dancing with her eyes closed, holding onto me and trusting me not to drop her. As the music slowed to a close, I came to a stop, and her eyes opened. She smiled up at me, and I gave her a shaky smile back.

  I moved away from her arms, and got down on one knee, watching as Rachel’s eyes popped open. I pulled out a small black box from inside my coat pocket, opened it, and held it up for Rachel.

  There was a lump in my throat, and I didn’t feel like I could speak around it. I was wondering if I was going to make a fool of myself right there, when Rachel fell into my arms, surprising me, her arms wrapping tight around my neck.

  “You don’t have to ask,” Rachel whispered in my ear. “My answer is yes.”

  I ducked my head into her shoulder to hide my grin as I heard loud clapping surround us. I felt like I should apologize to my brother for stealing his show on his wedding day, but with Rachel in my arms and our toddler waiting at home for us, I hardly cared.

  For the first time in a long while that I could remember, I was happy.

  ###The End###

  More Books By Stephanie Brother…

  Single Daddy

  Book 1 in the Single Daddy series

  Chapter One

  Noah

  “Who’s at the fucking door?” I shout out as I leave my bedroom. They’d better have a good excuse for continually ringing the doorbell like that.

  “I’m not deaf!” I shout as I start to walk down the stairs. I’ve a killer hangover from the rodeo last night. I don’t even feel like getting up today, especially with the sweet pussy that I had after the rodeo. These cowgirls get a kick out of riding not only the horses but guys too.

  “Again!”

  I’m getting even more agitated at the idea that they keep ringing the bell. They’re not saying anything—just ringing the damn thing.

  I walk glumly toward the door as the person gets the hint and stops ringing the bell. Obviously, it’s no one from the ranch. They typically just walk in the house and shout my name. It can’t be Harper who comes to clean the house every other day. No, it must be someone I don’t know. Maybe I should have pretended not to be in just so that they’ll go away and stop ringing the damn bell as if their life depends on it.

  As I open the door, I see something on the doorstep. I wonder if I woke up drunk because I must be fucking hallucinating.

  I spot Carl sloughing by, so I point at it with my eyes half-open. Shit, I can't even focus properly, because the sun’s shining hard. I shout out, “Dude!”

  I wish I would stop talking like that, but that’s what happens when you spend too much time in sunny California.

  “Who left this?”

  He lifts up his shoulders in a half-shrug, as if it’s too much effort for him to do a proper one. Why does he always look as if he’s been trekking around America for the last few months? The guy always looks tired. No matter the time of day or how many hours he’s slept, the guy looks the same. If he weren't such a good hand on the ranch, I would get rid of him. Not only because of his tired looks but because he’s just clueless. He’s a hard worker, but everything has to be spelled out for him. Thinking out of the box, isn’t an option.

  “But, you must have seen someone come by and just…”

  I can’t even get the words out. I keep looking at my feet, and I’m trying to pretend that it isn’t there. That this isn’t happening to me.

  My life’s simple here. Get a few cowgirls that want to live on a big ranch, tease them and please them, and then when it’s all done, I tell them that I can’t commit. I can’t. Not now, not ever. I tried a relationship once, but after my ex, Jessica, spat in my face about the idea, I promised myself never again would I ask a girl to move in. She told me that I love playing and never take anything serious. If that was the case, I never would have asked her to move in with me.

  “Oh, welcome to the land of the living,” Aria sings as she comes closer to the house. I want to go inside and close the door. This never happened. No one left a basket outside my fucking door with a baby in it. The baby’s crying. Shit!

  “Holy cow, Noah. I thought that she was leaving a basket of fruit or something.”

  I grab hold of Aria’s arm as she comes closer, thinking that maybe if I catch up with the person, I can give it back.

  “Who?”

  She bends down and sighs, “Isn’t he the cutest?”

  She’s joking. Sure, it’s cute or that’s what people always say about their babies. I steer well clear of them, which is why someone must have made a mistake when they dropped this one here. But, why would someone just come and drop a baby at my doorstep?

  “Are you going to tell me who, or are you going to keep me guessing all day?”

  My head’s throbbing, and the last thing I need at this time of the morning is to play guessing games with Aria. She’s bitchy because she thought that I was coming on to her and that I was into her. No, I was fucking horny. Dad always said don’t mix business with pleasure. I did, and now I have to play the price. She works with the horses, and I should have known better than to try and get it on with one of the staff.

  “Some girl. She was holding the basket and pressing the bell like crazy. I thought that she was an idiot like me.”

  Aria’s looking me directly in the eye, trying to figure out if there will be some reaction from me. There’s none because I told her once and I’m not doing it again. It was one night. I was horny, wanted to get my leg over, and she thought that I wanted a relationship. I made it clear that I didn’t. So, if she’s still upset about it, she could leave. There’s plenty of ranches around here. This isn’t the only one. Besides, she’s good at her job, and I pay her more than any ranch would pay her—which is probably why she sticks around.

  “Look, there’s a note.”

  I grab it quickly and read it out loud. I don’t need her to wind me up even further. There’s a baby outside my house. She lifts the basket saying, “You can’t leave him here all day.”

  “Sure, his mom will come back for him. Maybe she left a number on this note.” I realize that I’m fucking talking to myself, as Aria’s already in the house with someone else’s baby. I turn around and she’s making those funny sounds, the noises that people tend to make whenever they see a baby. It’s as if they’ve lost their mind.

  Dear Noah,

  I know that we met that one night when you were in Vegas eleven months ago.

  I can’t cope with the baby. His name is Richard, after my granddad. I need you to look after him for a while.

  I hope that you become friends.

  Please don’t try and contact me.

  I had nowhere else to go. I need Richard to be safe, and he’s your son.

  Candy

  Holy shit!

  The one-night stand… My hands are trembling and my heart’s beating out of control as I flashbacks of the night enter my head. Dan, my best friend from high school, was getting married. I was best man, and I booked the whole damn bachelor party—the hotel, car, and flights. I remember having a one-night stand, and I was pretty wasted that weekend.

  But, I used a condom. I’m like 99% sure that I used one, j
ust so that I didn’t get in trouble. Like I seem to have done now. Besides, Vegas is fucking notorious for one-night stands. I scratch my head as I now realize her name.

  Candy!

  That’s it. I kept teasing her asking if she’s ‘as sweet as candy,’ and I meant from the waist down. She can’t just come here and drop a baby on me. What was she doing during those eleven months? Why didn’t she try and get in contact then?

  I avoid going to the living room where Aria’s still making the noises with the baby. I get my phone from my back pocket and call Dan. Shit, we’ve got to go back to Vegas. We need to find Candy. I shut the door and start making the call.

  “Dan.”

  “Hey, man, surprised you’re up. You were pretty wasted last night.”

  Fuck the small talk.

  “Who’s that?”

  Right then, little Richard starts crying again as I pace in the hallway to avoid going directly into the living room.

  “That’s exactly what I’m calling you about.”

  He starts laughing. “You’re a daddy.”

  “Look, it’s not funny. Some chick just left a note and said that I’m the daddy.”

  “Shit, I thought they only did that type of shit in movies.”

  I’ll say, but for the first time, this is happening to me in real life. I think that maybe he’s right. I was pretty wasted last night, so this could be a bad dream. It must be as I look up and see Aria in front of me trying to soothe Richard. I only have nightmares with her in them.

  But, I’m not fucking delusional. There is a baby in front of me. My dreams are vivid, but not so fucking real that I’m walking around with this killer of a hangover. Whatever Aria’s doing to Richard, it’s not working.

  Her phone rings and she starts walking toward me. “You take him. Maybe he wants his daddy.”

  Again, Dan starts laughing. “Shit, you are a daddy. Don’t go anywhere. I’m coming over, and I’m bringing the boys. They’ll love to see this.”

  Any other time, I would join in and have a laugh too, but when it comes at my expense it’s not fucking funny. I’m balancing my phone in one hand and Richard in the other. That’s when I notice something.