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“Boinking?” Jesse next.
“Fornicating.” Leo wears a serious frown and strokes his chin, his stubble rasping. “Coitus. Copulation.”
“Stop it,” Cash snaps.
Both Leo and Jesse chortle and nudge each other.
“What’s wrong with you two? This is your sister you’re talking about,” he says.
“And so?” Leo asks. “She’s not a nun, Cash. And this weird pseudo-protective big brother shit is weird as hell.”
“At least I give a shit, Leo.”
“Don’t start,” Jesse says. “I might not be in law enforcement any more, but I swear to God, I’ll kick both your asses and report you.”
“Do any of you actually want to hear what I have to say?” I ask.
The three of them settle into silence.
“You know that Savage and I are a thing?” I’m not going to call him Carter in front of them. I feel like that’s a special thing just for us.
Cash grumbles under his breath but nods. “Yeah, I know. I talked to him about it.”
“You did.”
“Yeah. I wasn’t happy at first, but we talked and he really cares about you, Hannah. He wants to do right by you,” Cash says. “Are you still going to leave after what happened at your apartment?” The question is gentle, but the implication is clear. Cash is in his “overprotective” era.
“I don’t know.” But I do know, because I’m not about to go traveling while I’m pregnant and can’t afford to. All the money I’ve saved is going toward the baby. And I’m happy about it, because I never thought that it would be possible for me. Those complicated emotions—guilt and fear mixed with joy, nearly overwhelm me.
“Han,” Leo says, and takes my hand in his. He squeezes it. “We know that you’ve been through a lot. Not just over the past couple of months, but in your whole fucking life. You deserve to be happy, so if there’s any part of you that’s holding back because of what we’ll think, especially this asshole’s opinion—” He points at Cash. “Yeah, just know that you don’t got to worry about us.”
“So, you’re here to tell me that I’m an independent woman who doesn’t need her older brothers’ opinions?” I ask.
“Yeah,” Leo says.
“You realize that’s a little tone deaf given that your opinion is that I should be an independent woman who shouldn’t care about her older brothers’ opinions?”
“Hannah, please,” Jesse says, grasping his temples, “I’m still recovering from a three week hangover in Rome.”
“I told you not to drink red wine, you doofus. They make that shit different over there,” Cash says.
“We’ll support you no matter what,” Leo says. “That’s what we’re saying.”
“Thank you,” I say.
They sit there, these seriously oversized brothers of mine, all watching me with concern or care or, in Cash’s case, an unreadable frown.
“Are you going to tell us what’s going on?” Jesse asks, brushing his fingers through his dark hair.
“Not today,” I say.
“Hmm.” The lines on Cash’s forehead deepen.
“All right,” Leo says, and smiles at me. “Let us know when you wanna talk.” He leans in and kisses me on the cheek, then heads out the door.
Cash ruffles my hair like I’m a kid, and I glare at him. Jesse hugs me. “You’re the best Hannah Banana.”
And then they’re gone, and I’m left with a smile and nerves bubbling in my belly. Cash and Savage talked about me. Cash knows that Savage cares. Then it’s real. This is real.
