“We’re worried about you. You left us with Dad and never called or texted.” Nicholas gestures at the bags they’re holding. “We brought food and alcohol.”
They aren’t going to leave. Not until we talk. To be honest, if the situation were reversed, I’d be worried, too.
Still, I can’t stop a sigh from forcing its way out. “Fine. Come on in.”
My brothers walk right in, like they knew all along they’d win.
They take over the dining table and spread out food from Manny’s Tacos. Sebastian brings plates and forks from the kitchen, and Griffin passes napkins around. Huxley hands out beers.
And soon, a late dinner is ready.
Since I’m not saying anything first, I start eating. A beef and guac burrito I would normally love tastes like sawdust. I wash it down with the beer, which is bland and flavorless.
“So you got Amy Sand pregnant,” Grant says.
My eyes on him, I shovel more sawdust—I mean burrito—into my mouth. Should’ve known this “dinner” is about Amy.
“Is it true you fired her?” Nicholas asks.
“Of course not! She quit.”
“What did you do?” Huxley asks. “Or was it Dad?”
“No idea. Seriously. I didn’t do anything, and I pulled him away from her, so I don’t think it was anything he did, either. Maybe it was the shock of the party.” I shake my head. “But she didn’t talk to me. Just gave me a generic two-week notice.”
“At least it was civilized,” Noah says. “My last girlfriend threw the nearest thing she could find at me. Thankfully, it was just cold water.”
“You’re doing a shitty job of trying to make me feel better.” I wish Amy had thrown her desk stapler at me. At least that would mean she felt something for me.
“What are you going to do about the baby?” Sebastian asks.
“I don’t know yet.” I told her my lawyers would be in touch, but that was in the heat of the moment. I want to do more than just pay for school tuition and living expenses. I want to be there for the kid. Have shared moments, create memories.
“It’s your kid.” When I say nothing,
Grant gives me a look. “Right?”
“Of course it’s my kid!” Amy might betray me and plot to go work for Marion Blaire behind my back, but she wouldn’t lie about something this big. That just isn’t her.
“Look, anybody would be shocked into temporary insanity after attending one of Dad’s parties for the first time,” Huxley says. “Give her some time to regain her sanity. She’ll come back.”
I snort. “I wish. She’s moving to Virginia.”
“Isn’t that overdramatic?” Sebastian says.
“She is pregnant,” Grant says.
There’s a general murmur of understanding around the table.
Noah rolls his eyes. “It isn’t like she’s moving to another galaxy. It’s just a domestic flight, no big deal.”
“She’s going to be working for Marion Blaire,” I say.
My brothers all wince. Grant in particular looks extra pained. He hates Marion almost as much as I do.
“Extremely poor judgment,” Grant says, shaking his head.
“So are you just going to let that dickhead take her?” Sebastian asks. “Shouldn’t you go kick his ass and drag her back to L.A.?”