“What’s wrong, Swink?” Ford asks.
“Nothing is wrong. I just have a little announcement that I want to make and then forget—”
Lincoln’s palms smack against the table, the contents shaking at the force. “You’re fucking pregnant!” His jaw drops as he looks at Camilla and then, menacingly, at me. “Percy’s tomorrow,” he growls.
“My Lord, Lincoln,” Camilla laughs. “I’m not pregnant.”
“Thank fuck,” Ford exhales, slumping in his seat. “I was starting to side with Lincoln on this fighting thing.”
“Okay, hold up real quick,” I cut in. “What if she was pregnant? Would that have been the worst thing to happen?”
“Yes,” they say in unison.
“Okay, no,” Ford says, giving Lincoln a look to shut up. “It wouldn’t have been, and I’m sorry if that sounded really disrespectful to you. That’s not how we meant it.”
“That’s how it sounded,” I shoot back.
Ford and Lincoln exchange a look much in the same way Nate and I do, before Ford squares his shoulders to me. “Look, this is really hard for us. Swink is our baby sister, and aside from that one kid with frat boy hair, she’s never really brought a guy around us before. We just want what’s best for her.”
“And don’t you think I know what’s best for me?” she asks. “I appreciate you guys, Ford. I do. Sincerely. But . . .” She looks at me, the vulnerability in her eyes something I can’t resist. It’s not a sign of weakness this time. It’s a need of support, a silent plea to give her a hand.
“I get what you’re saying,” I say, blowing out a breath. “We’re in the same boat. I want what’s best for her too.”
She takes my hand again, but I don’t look her in the eye. I can’t. Truth be told, I don’t know what’s best for her. Not really.
“I can tell you all what’s best for me. Right now it’s Dominic. Maybe it will be Dominic for a long time, I don’t know.” She moves her hair to one shoulder and looks at Ford. “I’ve learned by watching you guys and by going through things myself that you can’t predict what’s going to happen. Look at you and Ellie.”
Ford grins and I wish I knew what they were talking about, but I don’t.
“I’ve let you guys kind of . . . guide me for my whole life,” she says softly. “I love having four big brothers. I always have. You were rock stars to my friends, and I’ve always felt safe knowing I had you in my corner. But now I have Dom too.”
She squeezes my hand as my heart tries not to choke itself out.
“It was also easier letting you call the shots,” she admits. “But I want to start calling them myself.”
“What are you saying?” Lincoln asks.
“I’m just saying I want a little freedom from you guys breathing down my neck. I know you do it so I don’t mess up, but . . . maybe it won’t be so bad if I do.”
This is the Camilla I know. This is the woman that can fuck me up with a smile or put me in my place with more class and etiquette than I could imagine. She’s just that—a woman. Not the little girl they once knew.
It’s Ford that breaks the silence. “We all mess up, Camilla. Look at Lincoln.”
“Fuck you again,” he laughs, and just like that, the tension ebbs from the table. “I get what you’re saying. But you need to accept the fact that we’ll always be hovering nearby. You’re our baby sister.”
My hand falls to Camilla’s thigh. It lands almost at the bend of her hip, and her foot stops tapping. Her eyes dart to me, her lips falling apart. I give her a wink to help quell the anxiety flooding her pretty blue irises.
“I’ll be fine. I need you guys to trust me a little more. Okay?” she asks.
After a few moments, they both nod.
“Good.” Heaving a deep breath, one hand clamping down on mine, she blows it out. “Back to what I was saying earlier. In the spirit of this conversation, I don’t think this is your business. But Dom says I need to tell you.”
They look at me, curious looks painted on their faces. I keep my features blank.
“I loaned Nate ten thousand dollars.”
“You did fucking what?” Lincoln barks.