“Grace, I love you. You are the girl for me. I hope I can be the man for you. I think I can be. Waxing poetry isn’t my strong point, and I didn’t expect an audience, so I’ll get to the point.”
“Stop, Noah,” Grace said, and honestly, that wasn’t the response I hoped for. “What are you doing?”
“It’s obvious, isn’t it.” Ryan groaned.
And from behind me, I heard Sam laugh. “Didn’t we tell you, Gray? I just didn’t expect him to be back so soon.”
I turned my head to glare at Sam before smiling at Grace as if she hadn’t just smashed all my hopes and dreams.
“I didn’t expect to sleep with you when we did. It just happened. You’re the girl I’d like to marry and that’s what I’d planned to ask you when I came to see you last time, before getting distracted. I’ve loved you from afar for years and didn’t want to let you know about it for many complicated reasons. Now that we’re no longer in school, things are different. And I didn’t want to miss my chance to tell you how I feel. I’d like to marry you because I think we can make each other happy for the rest of our lives.”
Grace looked simply stunned, speechless by my monologue. Eventually, she said, “But what about the baby?”
“I’ll love the baby,” I said.
Of course, I had already suspected, but as far as she knew, I’d given the baby no thought. I’d messed up. She had no idea that I’d given a lot of thought to becoming a father to this baby.
Ry rolled his eyes. He clearly didn’t approve of the wonderful idea that let him and Sam off the hook completely.
“That’s all lovely, Noah. But you interrupted something going on here. Gray was just about to tell us what she wanted before you turned up. What if she wants a relationship with a couple of hot twins?”
“Okay, Grace. What do you want?” I was eager to hear this too.
“Oh, and Grace, you should disregard his self-made millions because money doesn’t buy happiness.”
I wasn’t normally prone to rage, and I attempted to keep my flare of anger hidden, but that was totally out of order, and I swung around to address Sam. “I showed you my bank balance in the strictest confidence, not for you to blab about it at any time.”
His shocked expression told me that he assumed I’d already boasted about my wealth to Grace, but actually, she knew nothing about it. I wanted people to like me for me, not for how much money they thought I had. I could afford to look after Grace and all her children. She didn’t have to worry about the next meal, paying the bills, or getting a job, but I didn’t want money to be the only reason she was with me.
I turned back to Grace. “Ignore the man behind the curtain and tell us what you want.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
SAM BAKER
There is no way I’ll get to sleep for hours.
When Grace ushered us out of her room, she explained that she had a lot to think about, and she wanted to give us time to reflect on the new revelation about her pregnancy before anyone agreed to something they might later regret. Plus, she pointed out it was late and she was tired.
The three of us went downstairs and wandered into the kitchen. Noah didn’t leave, and I, for one, didn’t feel inclined to kick him out.
It had been one heck of a long day, with a party and then all the uproar and confusion when we had gotten home, followed by Noah’s unexpected proposal. It left my brain buzzing.
“Let’s get some drinks and sit by the pool.”
My brother apparently felt the same way.
“We should call Brandon and let him know the secret’s out,” Noah said.
“It’s a bit late to invite him over,” Ry said.
“Noah’s right, we should keep him in the loop if he’s awake.”
So that was how the three of us found ourselves sitting in semi-darkness, nursing beers that none of us should have. The old man wouldn’t have stopped us even if he saw me handing them out, so I didn’t remotely feel bad about breaking the law.
I did feel bad for Grace and her tricky situation.
For some reason, only when Grace talked about having a baby did it really hit me just how big a life-changing event it was for her particularly, and for whoever wanted to be involved with her. The conversation made it real.
We’d all declared our intentions before we knew about the baby, and perhaps she was right. Perhaps we should rethink whether we still want her when a child comes as part of the deal.
It was cold and calculated thinking, but it was also practical and facing up to the real world.