Sin City Baby

“You’re all assholes,” I said. “All of you. But there’s good news.”

“Sam’s going to the wedding,” Levi said. “Great. That means Lauren can back the fuck off. Who’s calling her to let her know?”

“She already knows,” I said. “Apparently, Lauren was with Sam when she found out she was pregnant.”

“So, Lauren knows about the pregnancy, too? Does she know--?”

“No. Sam told me she doesn’t know about anything else,” I said.

“Lauren left here pretty fucking defeated,” Logan said. “What the hell did you guys talk about?”

“She’s hurt because no one’s telling her the whole truth,” I said. “But Sam told me she would talk with Lauren when the time was right. Sam wants to do it before the wedding, but I’m not sure if it’ll happen that soon.”

“Well, if Lauren knows she’s pregnant, then I don’t feel so stupid asking the question,” Luke said. “But who’s going to look after Sam at the wedding if she starts feeling unwell?”

“Whoever isn’t fucking running around for Lauren,” Levi said.

“If we’re still going to the wedding,” I said.

“The hell does that mean?” Logan asked.

“It means that if Lauren feels our presence at the wedding will affect Sam, we won’t be invited,” I said.

A collective groan trickled amongst my brothers.

“Well, Levi’s in the groomsmen party and Luke’s gonna be running around doing all of Lauren’s bidding. Because you know Sam’s not gonna have the energy for that shit,” Logan said. “The only thing I can think of is that we take turns. Whoever isn’t running around is the one that sticks with Sam.”

“Why am I the one running around again?” Luke asked.

“Because you’re the brother that can’t say ‘no’ to anyone,” Logan said.

“At least we don’t have to argue on who’s taking her,” Levi said, shrugging.

“Her being the maid of honor sort of made that decision for us,” Logan said.

“Let’s not open that can of worms,” I said. “Plus, Sam’s looking forward to dancing with all of us at the reception. She told me so.”

“Don’t let that grin spread too far over your cheeks,” Logan said.

“Yeah. When you smile real big, you look like a caricature,” Luke said.

Our eyes widened as laughter filled the corners of my office.

“Sounds like Luke’s growing a set,” Levi said. “About damn time.”

“So, what do we do if Sam doesn’t talk to Lauren before the wedding and we suddenly aren’t going?” Levi asked.

It was a good question, and one I didn’t know how to answer.

“Sam’s on a good track. She’s opening up. Accepting things. Picking up our phone calls and keeping in touch. I say we continue to take our cues from her,” I said.

“Fuck me, I hate doing that,” Logan said.

“Yes, we all know you like your control,” Levi said. “But this is Sam, and she’s in a delicate fucking place. Suck it up or go stand in a corner.”

“Really?” Luke asked. “Timeout?”

Levi’s face fell, and my shoulders shook with the laughter I bit back. I knew taking a backseat wasn’t something my brothers did well. After all, we didn’t build our business by taking a backseat. We all ruled the areas of the company we had our hands in and we all had the last word on any projects we decided to take on. But Sam was different. Sam wasn’t a project. She wasn’t a business. She was a headstrong woman whose life was in a tailspin, and she was slowly trying to sift through things herself. And if we wanted to be the men she needed, then we had to make ourselves available without encroaching on her independent territory.