Page 118 of The Best of Us

“What?” he tossed out casually while playing with his hoodie strings as if he didn’t just shake the ground beneath our feet. Well, tires.

I’d been concerned Colin wouldn’t want us having another kid, worried he’d think I was trying to replace the time I lost with him with someone else—which couldn’t be further from the truth. And yes, I was jumping ahead of myself, but . . .

“You want a brother?” she asked in surprise.

“Well, duh. I see how much you stress out Uncle Easton. I can’t deal with a sister and having guys date her one day.” He slashed his arms in the air like a timeout sign. “Nope, not happening. I’ll kill a dude.” He hit the back of his hand against his uncle’s arm, earning him a semi-amused look from Hudson. “Yeah, I’ll be needing to learn to shoot a gun if I have a sister. A brother is much safer.”

I twisted around in my seat, catching Hudson’s grin in the process.Yeah, yeah, he’s my son all right.I discreetly signaled a plea for him to intervene and change the topic. I needed to work on kissing Juliette before impregnating her again. Damn good to know we had his support.

“To answer your question, though,” Hudson began after a not-subtle-at-all throat clear, “I do love Bella. Love her, love her.” He changed lanes as we approached my parents’ place. “And yeah, I think it’s safe to say your father looks at your mother the way I look at my wife.” He turned into the parking garage, which required a security check. “And no more questions, kid, because we’re here.”

“This place is right across from Central Park. Must be even more expensive than your pad.” Colin definitely had a way of pointing out the obvious.

“They have another home as well, but it was compromised last fall,” I shared, immediately regretting it. Alessandro’s pregnant wife being taken from their place as revenge against us was not a memory I wanted to relive. “Anyway, uh, my father beefed up security here as a result.”

“It’d pass Secret Service inspection to host a sitting president,” Hudson added as security let us through. “No one can get in, trust me.”

After jumping through a few more security hoops, bags in hand, the four of us made our way to my parents’ top floor, leaving behind the two security details to do a perimeter check.

The closer we got to the front door, the faster my heart beat at the reality I’d be introducing them to my parents. A lie or two first, though, which meant I also needed to bring Juliette and Colin up to speed on one very important detail.

“I’m holding off on telling your grandparents the truth until we’re all here. My brothers will be landing in two hours. I’d rather everyone learn at once.”

I brought my right eye to the retinal scanner so we could exit the elevator. Once we were in what felt like a sterile, bright white space, I punched in a code, and a door slid open, revealing my parents’ front door.

“This is extra-extra,” Colin said with a laugh. “Oh, wait.” He whirled around, nearly colliding with me. “Wait, what’s the story about us, then? Who am I supposed to be?”

“What’d Izzy tell them?” I asked Hudson.

“That you’re protecting a mom and her son from some assholes and need a more secure home to keep them at. Enzo and Alessandro are en route because they’re going to help us handle the problem.”

“And they’ll believe that.” Colin’s statement stole my focus back his way, and his lips crooked into a smile. “Because that’s just the kind of man you are.”

Chapter36

Juliette

I’d expectedthe female equivalent of Constantine—dark-haired, dark-eyed, and radiating the same intimidating presence. She exuded sweetness, good-heartedness, and all the other “nesses.”

And my brain is zonked.

Not that Constantine wasn’t good-hearted, but he didn’t have thatlook. He exuded power and authority. A controlled threat. And, well, that definitely worked for him (and me).

Isabella wasted no time in wrapping Colin in a hug, her arms tightening around him as she sent me a kind, slightly sad look over his shoulder.

“I didn’t know you were my aunt yesterday,” Colin said once she let him go, rubbing the back of his neck. “Or I’d have been nicer.”

“That’s okay,” she assured him, her voice as soft as her delicate features.

She sidestepped Constantine and came straight for me.

My purse slipped from my grip in time for her to crush me against her petite frame.

Stronger than you look.A little like her brother, after all.

“So, you’re the one who’s turned my brother into the teddy bear I always knew he was but refused to let anyone see,” she whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear, let alone anyone else.

“Guilty,” I returned in an equally hushed tone.

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