“So do you.” She places her hand on my chest and slides a quick kiss on my lips before I take off toward Damon’s.

On the ride over, I tell her a little bit about my brother Aiden since she doesn’t know much. He is the one I have to worry about tonight, since he likes to make a fool of himself sometimes. My hope is that he didn’t get hammered at dinner. One thing about him; he really likes alcohol.

“Why did he go to Europe for so long?”

“He says he just needed some time away, but I think he got his heart broken and he just doesn’t want to tell us.”

Aiden isn’t one known to date, but usually we hear about a different woman every week, and a couple days before he left for Europe, he just stopped filling us in.

After pulling into their driveway and parking, my heart starts hammering. “Thank you for agreeing to come tonight. You didn’t have to.”

“Are you nervous your brother isn’t going to like me?” she asks, eyebrow raises.

“Quite the opposite actually.”

My feet scurry to the passenger side, to help her, and then up the foyer to ring the doorbell beside the big red door. Tessa opens the door, and greets us.

“Hey, girl! So glad you finally get to see the new house. Come in,” Tessa says, going in for a hug with Harper.

“Where’s Aiden? I thought the whole reason we were having this dinner was for him?” I ask, noticing he isn’t anywhere in sight.

“He’ll be here shortly. You know him. He’s always late.”

A deep sigh sounds, and Harper whispers to me, “’You okay?”

“Fine. Just typical of him.”

We make our way into the kitchen while they finish preparing for dinner, and pour some wine. The fact that Tessa already knows her makes it a little less awkward, and eases the tension. They sit down and start talking about the wedding.

“Listen, I still think we should do Navy Blue and Maroon. They look great together, and give you a rustic but elegant look to the room,” Harper says.

“Give it up. One thing she won’t budge on is the colors. Believe me, I’ve tried,” Damon says, laughing.

Tessa has been stressing out over planning the wedding, but she has eight months. Plus, she has Harper to help alleviate some of the stress. The last thing we need is for her to snap.

“Maybe, instead of you worrying, assign Harper some things to do, or even me. We don’t mind helping. Best man and Maid of honor have that role for a reason, right?”

Damon and I sit at the island while the girls talk.

“Tessa thinks you guys are gonna work out. She’s secretly rooting for you guys,” Damon says, taking a sip of his beer.

“Well, cheers to that.”

The room appears to go silent, and that’s when the subject of kids comes up. I cringe, waiting to see what is said. Tessa has already made it clear to Damon that she wants at least one more, and he’s fine with that.

“I’ve always wanted kids. It’ll happen when it’s right,” Harper replies.

I slouch, and my hand goes to my forehead. Fuck, maybe I shouldjust go ahead and tell her.

“Looks like another one I’m gonna lose,” I say, not loud enough for her to hear.

“What are you talking about?” Damon asks.

See, I haven’t told my brothers about my inadequacy, but didn’t really have a choice but to explain to Damon now. I have no idea how he is going to react so I brace myself but keep my voice low.

“I can’t have kids, or well my chances are slim to none is more what the doctor told me.”

“Fuck brother, when did you find this out?”


Tags: Ashley Zakrzewski Rough Edges Romance