Page 116 of Double Daddies
He nods, his eyes lighting up. “Duke’s a really cool guy, just like we heard. And the others—Shep and Aaron—they’re cool, too.”
“Aaron?” My brow furrows. I’m pretty familiar with the members of what they call the Wilderness Warriors Motorcycle Club, but that name isn’t ringing any bells. “I don’t remember meeting him. New guy? Is he a member of the MC?”
Still grinning, the dimple in his cheek flashing, Kingslay shakes his head. “Let’s talk about it over dinner. Come on, say you can do dinner.”
I feel my stomach sink. The problem isn’t whether I can do dinner, it’s how he’s going to respond to what I say next. I open my mouth to tell him, but the problem is, I’m not sure I can begin to explain. I wasn’t prepared to see him, and I’mnot someone who does well when put on the spot emotionally. Kingslay and I have always been unusually close for siblings, and I care a lot about what he thinks.
“Reservation for three?” he prompts.
The knot in my belly tightens, but I force myself to breathe in slowly, and exhale. “Better make it four.”
Ben
“Why do you look like that?”
“Like what?” Cami smiles and smooths her hands over her hair, but it’s no use.
I know her. I know when she’s nervous. “Like someone’s about to jump scare you,” I supply. “Did something happen at work?”
She licks her lips, another tell-tale sign. “Ah, something did happen, actually. A… a good something, I think. I hope.”
“Okay. Shoot.”
“Well…” She looks around the living room like she’s waiting for someone. “Uh, is Ryle here?”
“Yeah, he’s around. Want me to text him?”
“Yeah—wait, you have Ryle’s number?”
I chuckle at the disbelief in her voice. “It’s about time, don’t you think?”
“Sure. I mean… this is working, right? You think this is working?”
I finish typing out the text to Ryle and send it before pocketing the phone and giving Cami my full attention. “What’s going on, Cami? You seemed fine when you left this morning. What happened?”
She shifts her weight and avoids my gaze. “I’d rather tell you both together.”
My brow furrows, but before I can ask any more questions, I hear footsteps on the staircase. I take her by the arm and guide her in the direction of the stairs. It’s probably best we handle this as soon as possible.
“Hey.” Ryle eyes us both from where he stood a few steps up from the bottom of the staircase as we descended. “You doing okay? You need ibuprofen? A heating pad?”
“Ha ha,” I intone dryly, but when he puts his fist out, I bump it.
“What’s up?”
“Cami has something to tell us, apparently. She specifically said she needed both of us.”
Ryle arches his brows, then we both turn to her.
“Um… so… the thing is…” She lets her sentence trail off and stares at the railing.
“Honey? What is it?”
Cami doesn’t look up at his question, but instead takes a deep, shuddering breath.
“I’m getting worried now, Camille.”
Her eyes leap to my face, and she smiles, but it’s a shaky one at best. “It’s… it’s a good thing.” She includes Ryle in her smile, then turns back to me. “My brother is in town.”
