Page 61 of Unwritten Rules

Liv, the freaking saint, had chosen a home birth – a home that Henry had turned into a mini hospital. God love that paranoid brother of mine.

Having been relocated as the new stand-in CEO of DeMarco Holdings here in London, Alex had been staying with our brother and Olivia, so when she’d gone into labour in the early hours, he’d been onsite and ready to do anything she’d needed.

“Come on, then. Uncle Alex wants a squish.”

Huffing at being forced into parting with my newborn nephew, I unwillingly relinquish him to my brother’s waiting arms.

As I pass Sebastian to his grinning uncle, Nate stands just behind Alex. His chocolate eyes are fixated on the baby in my arms, those fathomless depths swirling and darkening as his jaw tics.

My arms drop away, and his eyes rise to mine. His nostrils flare, and I’m filled with a longing like no other.

The longing for this exact scenario to be in our future. A home, marriage, children, unparalleled happiness…with this man. I want it more than life, more than anything I could possibly wish for.

And I’m almost positive that my own longing is reflected in his deep brown eyes despite his earlier words.

When he’d finally come clean at Walden-Forbes earlier, I’d not known how to take it.

“Make no mistake, Hellcat. You are the woman of my dreams, but our friendship means more to me than risking everything we have on a quick roll in the hay.”

Hope had sprung to life within me initially, though as he continued to speak, that hope fizzled away, to be replaced with despair.

A pain that burned with each word of confirmation he uttered, words that quenched the fire within my hopeful heart and instead made my body blaze to life with red-hot fury.

If he’d been honest in Devon, it would have saved everyone a lot of unnecessary pain. If he’d simply said that, yes, he wanted to fuck me, but that would ruin our friendship, then yeah – I’d have understood that.

I don’t want something meaningless with this man. I want him in my life in every way – sex is only part of that.

If he’d only been honest, things would never have gotten as messy as they did, and I’d surely never have fallen prey to the manipulations of him.

Remembering precisely that, I pucker my brow, grit my teeth, and look away to find Liv watching us intently, a curious expression on her beautiful face.

Her eyes move back and forth between Nate and me until her lips curve slightly upward into a secret, knowing smile.

I can feel my face flush and am only too glad when everyone’s attention is drawn by a familiar exuberant laugh downstairs.

Sounds like the third Musketeer has arrived.

Nate’s eyes roll skyward, a bemused smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “North!”

Henry’s face lights up impossibly brighter. “Looks like the gang’s all here!”

* * *

Liv’s best friends, Nola and Josie – who arrived shortly after Caden and a highly amped three-year-old Bella – insist that they give me a ride back to my penthouse once the men have settled together for a catch-up.

Seeing that Liv is on the verge of nodding off, a sleeping Sebastian – or Bash, as Bella christened him when she could not pronounce his full name – fed, clean, and snug in his crib, I agree and bid everyone farewell.

Giving Henry one final hug, I look up at him, allowing my love to shine from my eyes.

“I couldn’t be happier, Henry. You deserve every ounce of happiness. Liv too.”

His eyes glitter with barely withheld emotion before he drops a kiss on my forehead. “Make sure you come back tomorrow, Mouse. We’ll be wetting my son’s head with a special lunch.”

I draw my brows in confusion. “Liv’s absolutely shattered. We shouldn’t have even been here today—”

He barks a laugh. “Just who do you think is insistent on this little lunch, hmm? Because it’s not me, dear sister. If I had my way, we’d be holed up for weeks, just us three, but Peach has been adamant that we need a group get-together for weeks now. She told me earlier that this is the opportunity now that everyone is here and can’t duck out of it!”

I snigger softly at that. Such an Olivia thing to do.