Falling For My Brothers Rival

ia's

e mo

I had gone without

n lodge had been nothing more than an unexpected detour in

rketing agency, and tried to pretend that I had not left

dn't

le as the smell of freshly brewed coffee reminding me of the morning he had made breakfast for both of us. Oth

forgetting him. It was k

of road leading back to the city. Neither of us knew what to say. Our lives were too complicated. He w

g the real you," No

sadly.

this is

ably has

ed. Neither of us

ed closer. "If thin

kno

ore leaning down and kissing my forehead. It wasn't passio

of yourse

u t

looked back, because I knew i

couldn't blame him. We had both agreed that walking away was the smartest

its normal rhythm. At least, tha

e Monday

notifications. News alerts flooded my screen. Even before

o my office without knocki

desk. Across every sports webs

LE TRADED TO THE HAWKS I

stopped. The Haw

ha

tunned as I felt. "No

pt secret for weeks before both organizations finalized the trade overnigh

while reporters speculated about how two captains who had hated

possible,"

ha

hook my hea

es. "You look like

st surp

h other every day. Every practice. Every game. Every

ughts, another wave of nause

ately notic

m o

n't loo

y skipped

a week. You've also been pale. And yesterday you

tuna sandwich alwa

e tilted her head thoughtfull

in my body

phi

N

on slowly ch

away. "It

he

ard. "The mou

. Emma sat down across f

n't k

. The exhaustion. The dizziness. The sudden sensitivity to smells. Every s

ently squeezed my hand. "I think y

e meet

ait. You ne

was

against the steering wheel. This was ridiculous. I was overreacting. There were countless reasons my cycle could

I walked out carryin

nside my apartment. The little white box sat on the bathroom counter for nearly twenty minu

crazy," I

ter. Three minutes. That was all it took. Three minutes that somehow felt

my phone. Looked out the window. An

ne beeped. I slowly turned a

lines.

my lips so quietly that

trembling hands. Maybe I h

t remained ex

because I regretted what happened with Noah. I wasn't crying because I didn't want th

my child. The man my brother

supposed to tell Noah? Would he even believe

ed cer

Dr. Harper smiled warmly as she reviewed my test results. "Cong

ds felt

schedule your first ultrasound, but based on yo

perfectly. There was no doub

around me as though nothing had changed. People laughed, cars rrushed past, chi

ape the silence. Every news channel carried the same story. Noa

m stepping out of a black SUV. Flashes exploded around him

el joining Maso

spoken to

ll answer questions aft

eras shifted toward another entrance. Mason's vehicle pulled in

the other yet, but

st still resting in my hand. Then

lking into the same building