Unbroken Rules (Rules 3)

“Back to the point, please. You’re having a boy!” Kass is the first to hug my whale-ass—I’m due soon and so big I’m sure you can see me from outer space—then comes Alex, Maria, Kendrick, my brother Jaden, the whole party. Congratulations come flying left and right, and by the time I’ve hugged everyone, I want a nap. Pregnant woman problems.

I can’t believe Allie couldn’t be here for the gender reveal after she planned the whole thing and invited everyone. She said we had to make up for the gender reveal party we didn’t throw for Desiree. She even stayed up until midnight to finish decorating our backyard last night.

Part of me knows if she’d been there to see the pink cake, she would’ve insisted on driving it back herself and getting a refund immediately, but she had to go pick up her son earlier than expected. I know Des will be over the moon to see him. She and Nathan, Kendrick and Allie’s kid, are just one year apart and pretty much inseparable.

I expected Kass to bring her twins, but she said she needed a break. She left them with their godfather Ethan and hopped on a plane to Canada. I get it. Can’t be easy raising two kids by herself. It sure doesn’t hurt that she’s got a lawyer wallet to do it. As for Judy and my dad, I assume they’re sipping margaritas on a beach somewhere. One of my dad’s past investments paid off out of the blue and let him retire early last year. He and Judy hopped on a plane to Hawaii two weeks ago to celebrate their six-year wedding anniversary.

Meanwhile, Maika is at Lauren’s. Crazy, I know, but in the past six years, Lauren completely turned her life around. The billion conditions she had to respect to win back shared custody of Maika? Well, after I visited her asking about my dad, she started following each one to a T. She even went back to school for a better job, and after a year of therapy, she was allowed near her daughter again.

I thought I was going insane when she showed up at our door one day. Haze nearly chased her off our porch, but I decided to hear her out. She hugged me—I repeat, my mother, who’s never touched me unless she absolutely had to, hugged me—apologized, and asked me if she could possibly meet her granddaughter. I let her hold Desiree for a good two minutes—which is impressive considering my major trust issues. I think we both know we’ll never be close, or at least not in the way that a mother and daughter should be, but we’re on okay terms now, which is more than I ever thought possible.

“Do you have a name for the little dude yet?” Kendrick asks.

“Yeah, we’re going to name him Harry.” I smile. Haze circles my shoulder with his arm and pulls me into his chest.

Kendrick nods. “Oh, for your dad?”

“No, for the guy in One Direction. We’re big fans,” Haze deadpans, and Kendrick looks like he doesn’t know if Haze is serious or not. Haze breaks into laughter, and Kendrick rolls his eyes, elbowing him in the stomach. They start wrestling each other like kids, and I smile. These two are best friends now. They watch sports together every week, hang out just to hang out.

To think they used to be sworn enemies.

“We’re starving over here. Can we eat the cake?” Jaden and his boyfriend Dan come up to me. I have to crane my neck to glimpse at my brother’s features. He’s gotten so tall. He’s a man now. Still, I don’t think there will ever come a day where I won’t look at him and picture my greasy-haired little bro.

I give in, surrendering my wrong-color sixty-five-dollar cake to my hungry guests. They’re quick to dig in, lining up for a piece. When they point out that there aren’t enough utensils, Kass offers to get more. I watch her enter t

he house and decide to follow her, asking Haze to watch Desiree for a bit.

Walking in a minute after Kass, I stop dead in my tracks at the sight of her staring blankly at the utensils she just pulled out of a drawer. Her back is facing me, but I don’t need to see her to know exactly what’s going on.

I hear her sniffling.

I don’t say a word and step closer. She jumps, noticing my presence and wiping her eyes quickly.

“Hey.” She acts as though she wasn’t just crying. “I’ll be back out with the forks in a second.”

I don’t budge, arching an eyebrow. She doesn’t have to pretend with me. I know her.

Defeated, she lets her walls hit the ground. “I’m sorry. I know today’s your big day. I’m just being a baby.”

“No, you’re not.” I offer her a hug, and she walks straight into my arms. “I miss Will, too,” I whisper, and she comes apart, crying into my shoulders.

“I just wish he was here,” she admits.

“I know, honey, I know.”

I hug her for a few seconds longer, my huge belly smashed down by our embrace, until she dries her tears and pulls away.

“I should probably bring those out before the guys start eating with their hands.” She motions to the forks she’s holding, and I chuckle.

“Good idea.”

I watch her slide the patio door aside and walk back into the party. My attention wanders around our cluttered kitchen. It’s still a work in progress as we haven’t gotten around to repainting the hideous green walls and renovating yet. When Haze and I bought this house last year—right after Haze got his Canadian citizenship—we promised to make it home, but Haze’s house flipper business has been going so well lately he can’t even focus on our own. I’ll be done with my psychology degree in a year, which means I’ll have way more time and money to pour into renovations, but for now, nauseating green walls it is.

“There you are,” a voice I know by heart says. “Admiring our ugly house?”

I peek over my shoulder, only to see the most beautiful man I’ve ever laid eyes upon smiling at me.

Damn, I still can’t believe I scored Haze Adams.