Fall by Winter

On the other hand, however she received the news, I knew it was temporary. Aurora liked Mason a lot, and I couldn’t foresee her being genuinely upset.

“I’m not above buying Aurora’s affection,” Mason said. “Just so you know. She’ll get her driver’s license next year, right? She’ll need a car.”

“Oh, shush.” I pressed a kiss to his bicep as I passed him. “She adores you, love. Come on. You go first.”

He sighed and left the kitchen before me, and a beat later, the doorbell rang.

I stayed back and leaned against the doorframe to the kitchen, casually folding my arms over my chest. Maybe I regretted not getting dressed properly. At least Mason had donned a tee now.

Even though I’d spotted sweats and hoodies on both William and Kelly, my clothes screamed “I’ve been sleeping with your brother, ex-hubby.”

Here goes.

Mason opened the door and was met by William’s and Kelly’s sleepy grins and a well-delivered, “Congratulations, Gramps!”

“Thanks,” Mason chuckled. “Morning, guys. Come on in.”

“Is the baby here yet?” Aurora asked, entering first. “I saw the pictures on Mom’s and Tristan’s Insta—” She came to a brief stop when she spotted me, her surprised gaze flitting from top to bottom and back up before she kicked off her shoes and stumbled in farther. Then she blushed and smiled slyly. “Morning, Mom.”

“Good morning, sweetie.” I didn’t know—I mean, did she—how? What was—fuck. “Can I have a hug?”

She quirked a grin and snuck in to hug my middle. “I owe Brady five bucks, but that’s okay.”

Wait, Brady?

I searched her eyes, feeling uncharacteristically insecure, to which she actually patted my cheek and said, “My cute momma. Chill.”

I exhaled a short mix of a laugh and a huff, equally relieved, amused, and eager to talk to her later. I just had to make sure, but for now, I was taking this as a win. And apparently she could be observant at times.

While Aurora disappeared into the kitchen with a snicker, I refocused on the guys, and Kelly gave me a cursory once-over before he shot me a little smirk.

“Morning, hon.” He kissed my cheek and followed Aurora. “Damn, this is some breakfast spread.”

Two down, one to go.

Mason and William wrapped up whatever they’d talked about, and William’s gaze landed on me.

“Morning, Lis.” He smiled at first as he removed his shoes and lowered the hood of his hoodie. “When did you get here?”

I felt myself morph into Matt’s favorite emoji, the one with a stiff, awkward, teeth-flashing grin. “Um.”

That was when his eyes dropped to take in my appearance, and he furrowed his brow. The confusion was so clear.

“She spent the night, little brother.” Mason clapped William on his back.

“She—” William cocked his head, and then it dawned on him. I could see it on his face. His stare flashed to mine, all confusion and politeness vanished, and he just looked at me blankly.

“Shh,” I heard Aurora whisper to Kelly. “I’m listening.”

I suppressed the wry mirth that bubbled up and gestured between Mason and me. “Mason and I wanted to let you know that we’re together.”

“You’re together,” William stated flatly. And he watched Mason join my side and thread our fingers together. Whatever ran through William’s head caused his forehead to crease. “Together, as in… So, you two… You’re together. You’re a couple.”

“Yes.” I waited him out and wondered if we should give him some space. This reaction from him wasn’t necessarily bad. He did take longer to process sometimes. “Are you okay?”

That seemed to snap him out of whatever state he’d been in, and he straightened and plastered a practiced smile on his face. A practiced smile I hated with every fiber of my being, because it was the one he’d forced into place for the last part of our marriage.

“Of course I am, Lis,” he said. “I guess congratulations are in order. I’m happy for you two. My brother and my ex-wife. Wonderful.”

All right, even when he’d been neck-deep in depression, he’d been a better liar.

Mason cleared his throat and left my side to drape an arm around William’s shoulders. “How about breakfast, and then we’ll talk in private, yeah?”

“There’s nothing to discuss as far as I know,” William insisted. “This is good news. Let’s eat.”

We let it go for now, partly because Aurora was paying attention a few feet away. It wasn’t the time or place to dig deeper.

Thank goodness for Kelly. He carried the conversation as we all got seated until I was ready to play along, and we kept it about Tristan, Katie, and Olivia. Aurora spent the first couple of minutes staring between William, Mason, and me, but then her curiosity about the baby got the best of her. She wanted to know everything from Olivia’s height and weight to her appetite and if she was a loud baby.

I did my best to give her a play-by-play from our visit to the hospital yesterday, and the pictures thankfully distracted her plenty.