“You’re awfully quiet.”
“Just thinking of everything I have to do when I get back.”
“Hmm.”
“Hmm?” Drew looked over at his brother.
“What happened between you and Harper? Because something did, didn’t it?”
Irritation flared, and Drew’s lips thinned. “So what if it did? Harper’s her own woman.”
Dan’s brows knit together. “She is, and that’s your way of telling me to mind my own business. Except Harper is my business, in a way.”
“No, she’s not.” Drew remembered all of Harper’s frustrated sighs and irritation blossomed into indignation. “You might have a baby in her belly, but she’s not yours to command, brother.”
Dan’s lips dropped open. “Holy hell. Where did that come from? Did I say I wanted to ‘command’ her? And there’s no need to be so crude. She’s our surrogate. It’s not like I slept with her, for God’s sake.”
Drew tried to get a rein on his temper. Only part of it was Dan; he was also mad at himself for being an idiot. For starting something in the first place. He’d been a fool, thinking he could do something like that and come away unscathed. Because even though leaving was the only solution, he still knew he’d hurt her, and that had been the last thing he wanted. This was exactly why he didn’t do relationships.
When Drew didn’t answer, Dan let out a slow breath. “Harper is Adele’s best friend. So yeah, I’m a bit protective.”
“Oh, come on, Dan. You weren’t anything like this at the wedding and I made no secret of flirting. The difference now is that she’s carrying a baby for you and somehow that means you and Adele have felt like you have a say in everything she does.”
“If you mean I didn’t want her to get hurt when you left, you’re right. We all knew you’d be picking up and leaving again, whenever the fancy struck you.”
That stung. It made him sound unreliable, which he wasn’t.
“It’s more than having to do with me.” He tightened his fingers into fists, trying to measure his words better. “All of a sudden you guys were watching what she ate and where she went and if she was okay going on a hike she’s done a zillion times. For God’s sake, do you think she’d be careless or take unnecessary chances? But all you guys do is hover. And I know this is important to you. This is your baby and a bit of a miracle. Harper gets that, too. But I’ve watched you guys over the last few weeks. You treat her like you don’t trust her, or you act like she isn’t even there.”
Dan’s face was blanked with surprise. “That’s not true.”
“She’s carrying this baby, Dan. It’s part of her. She gets attached, too, you know. All this is happening to her, but sometimes you leave her out of the equation. She told me about the day you heard the heartbeat. She was really moved by it, and you and Adele acted as if she wasn’t even there. Like the sum total of her purpose was her uterus. And she’s more than that. So very much more.”
She was everything. He swallowed thickly.
Silence overtook the vehicle, and Drew wondered if he’d pushed his brother too far. When he finally chanced a look over at Dan’s profile, he saw his brother’s throat bobbing as if he was trying to swallow a lump the size of an egg.
“We got too caught up in ourselves,” Dan finally whispered.
“Well, do better. She’s given up a lot to give you this gift, and I know the baby is important, but you guys seem to have forgotten all the other good things about her. Do you ever talk about anything other than the baby when you’re together?”
Dan’s cheeks coloured. He looked over at Drew. “Are you in love with her?”
It was Drew’s turn to swallow. “No,” he lied softly. “And even if I was, she needs someone better than me. She wants a home and stability and someone like you, Dan. Who’ll be willing to stay in one place and settle down. That’s not me. It wouldn’t work and we’d only end up hurting each other.”
More silence, and then Dan spoke up. “You know, at one point Adele and I nearly didn’t get back together. It wasn’t until I realized that I would do anything to see her happy that it all came together. You’re putting her feelings first, Drew. That sounds like love to me.”
Drew scoffed, hoping his big brother was wrong. “After a few weeks? Please. Anyway, I’ve got to get back to run my business. Plus I have a trip booked at the end of August. There’s a lot to do between now and then. I can’t lounge around a resort town indefinitely.”
He knew he sounded churlish, but he couldn’t help it. He believed only about half of what he was saying and he was pretty sure Dan wasn’t buying it all, either. But it didn’t matter. He was getting on that plane today and they would all get back to normal.
Except he couldn’t forget how she’d looked the night before last when she’d dropped him off at the hotel.
I love you, and I never once considered asking you for more because it would mean asking you to stop being you. So don’t put this on me, okay? If you want to be done, just say so. I never put any pressure on you for more and we both know it.
He did know it. And it was why he felt so crappy. She’d accepted him as he was, without reservation, even after all her hurts and insecurities.
And he’d done nothing but blame her for hers.