Damien rolled his eyes. “I’m not going anywhere you big baby.”
“Speaking of a baby,” Kane grinned.
Nico looked to Kane and smiled before he looked to Damien. Damien looked to Nico and frowned. “Whose baby? Kane’s?”
Nico shook his head.
“Then whose?”
Nico nodded at Bronagh, and Damien moved his line of sight to the blubbering mess on his lap. For a second Damien stared down at her, then his eyes bugged out.
“Bronagh’s pregnant?!”
Nico joyfully laughed. “Yeah, bro.”
“Oh, my God!” Damien shouted at his brother in shock. “Dominic, shut the fuck up!”
Everyone burst into laughter. I almost did, but I quickly stopped myself before I slipped up. I really sucked at not speaking or making noise.
“You’re really pregnant?” Damien asked Bronagh, his smile almost touching his ears.
Bronagh nodded her head, her eyes shining with tears. “I’m really pregnant.”
“Congratulations!” He beamed and kissed her face then hugged her tightly before standing up with Bronagh still in his arms and crushing her into a hug with Nico. Nico laughed and hugged the both of them, happiness radiating from him.
“Is anyone else pregnant?” he questioned. “Tell me now because my heart can’t deal with all of this excitement.”
Bronagh laughed and hugged Damien tightly. “It’s just me and Aideen so far.”
“Holy. Fuck.”
He punched Nico then and said, “You aren’t shooting blanks after all.”
“Ha ha ha,” Nico said, but grinned like a fool.
“Why didn’t you tell me you cocksucker?” Damien asked Nico, a frown forming on his beautiful face.
Nico held up his hands. “She just told me last night. I was in the dark for awhile too, bro.”
We all looked at Bronagh when she nudged between Damien and Nico, and wrapped her arms back around Damien. “I missed you so much.”
He held her and kissed the crown of her head. “I missed you too, babe.”
I watched them with a huge smile on my face and said, “Where are the others? I want to see them surprised, too. It’s so much fun.”
Everyone laughed.
“I’ll call them and tell ‘em to come by,” Kane said and took out his phone.
Nico curiously asked, “What will you tell them?”
“That there is good news and I want all the family here before I tell them what it is. It’ll get them here.”
I grinned.
It’d get them here alright.
We spent the next thirty minutes talking, sharing old and new stories with Damien when Kane suddenly hushed up and jumped to his feet. He shot to the door and cracked it open before quickly closing it.
“They’re coming,” he rushed. “Dame, behind the door. Quickly.”
Damien ran for the door and slipped behind it just as the door opened and Alec stepped into the room. He paused when he saw Kane was right next to the door. He stared at him.
“Where are you going?”
“Nowhere,” Kane replied. “I heard you guys talking so I was just getting the door for you all.”
“Oh.” Alec’s features relaxed. “Thanks, bro. That’s nice of you.”
We breathed a sigh of relief when he entered the room followed by Ryder, Keela and Branna. I smiled when I saw her. She took time off work just so she could go back and forth between the hospital to help Kane and me with whatever we needed over the next few days.
She was a sweetheart, but looked a shell of her former self as she stood next to Ryder.
“What’s the news?” she asked. “You said it was good news on the phone to Alec.”
“It is good news,” Kane began, a slow smile stretching across his face. “But it’s not something I can show or tell you.”
Ryder raised a brow. “Who can then?”
I chuckled as Damien rounded on Keela’s right and came up next to Kane, patting his shoulder.
“I’ll take it from here, bro.”
I smiled wide as realisation washed over Branna, Ryder, Keela and Alec. Branna let her phone and bag drop to the floor as she shot forward.
“Damien!” She cried and jumped into his open arms.
He laughed as he caught her in mid-air and locked his arms tightly around her. “Mama bear, I’ve missed you.”
Branna burst into tears as Damien’s brothers and Keela stared at him with wide eyes. Ryder stepped forward and, without hesitation, he grabbed hold of Damien. This resulted in a Slater brother sandwich with a Branna filling.
I momentarily wondered if that was the closest contact both Ryder and Branna had with one another since their problems started. I shook my head clear of that worry and looked to Alec and Keela. Keela was in tears as she hugged a close-to-crying Alec.
“You little bastard,” he sniffled. “I’m going to cry.”
Damien laughed and stretched his neck so he could see over Ryder and Branna. “Dominic cried, too, if it makes you feel better.”
“You asshole!” Nico angrily spat making Damien crack up laughing. “You said you wouldn’t tell anyone.”
Alec wiped under his eyes. “That does make me feel better, actually.”
“My bad, bro,” Damien chuckled to Nico.
Nico rolled his eyes, but smiled at his twin. He looked to Bronagh then who was staring at Damien with a cheek-splitting smile.
“Happy, are we?” he murmured and slipped his hand around her waist and tugged her closer to his side.
Her hands instantly went to her abdomen as her head bobbed up and down. She looked at Dominic as her eyes welled with tears. “I’m happier than I’ve ever been. He’s home, and we’re goin’ to have a baby. A real baby, Dominic.”
Dominic leaned his head down to Bronagh’s and brushed his lips over hers. “The first of many, pretty girl.”
“Awwww.”
Everyone looked at me, and it caused me to blush. Kane chuckled at me and nudged me to scoot over on my bed so he could climb up and sit next to me.
“I love you,” I whispered to him.
He looked me dead in the eye and said, “I love you, too.”
“Hell must have frozen over for Kane to be in love,” Damien commented, making everyone snicker.
I grinned and nudged Kane’s cheek with my nose.
“You mean you didn’t see the pigs flying around outside?” I teased.
Damien laughed.
“Dimples!” I rasped. “Nico has dimples and you don’t… wait, no, you kind of do. Little ones. Damn it.”
Damien focused his devastating smile in my direction.
“Just stick with the hair, beautiful. It’s what everyone else does.”
I melted. “I’ll find something. Eventually. I’ll just have to stare at you a lot until I do.”
“Fine by me.”
“But not by me,” Kane growled.
“Please,” Nico laughed. “I catch her staring at me all the time. All those crotch stares were wannabe cock stares.”
Kane was off the bed and tackling Nico to the floor within seconds. Damien took Kane’s spot next to me on my bed and together we watched Nico and Kane go at it in the middle of my hospital room. He laced his hand behind his head and he grinned. “It’s so fucking good to be home.”
It was good. Our family was whole now, and growing.
With his brothers was where Damien belonged.
I leaned my head on his shoulder and smiled.
Who would have thought I’d be falling in brotherly love with another Slater brother?
Not me, that was for damn sure.
“Aideen?”
I shook my head and pulled my thoughts from Damien’s homecoming and popped my head out of the shower when I heard Kane’s voice.
“I’m in the shower. Is everythin’ okay?”
“Yeah, I just wanted to see how long you will be? I wanna shower too.”
I wasn’t even in the shower that long.
“I don’t know,” I replied. “I’m trying to wash my legs, but it’s hard to bend.”
The bathroom door opened, and in stepped Kane in just his boxer shorts.
Fuck.
I let my eyes trail down his body, and bit down on my lower lip at the sight.
“You’re lucky you’re already pregnant,” he growled, watching my eyes admire him.
I flicked my gleaming eyes to him and grinned. “You joinin’ me?”
He nodded so I stepped back into the shower to make room for him. I turned to put my pouf down but jumped and let it fall from my fingertips when I felt Kane’s hard body press up against me. His strong hands flattened against my belly and turned me to face him as they slid around and down to my behind.
I stood up straight and gave Kane a knowing look. “Don’t play, you don’t want to get me worked up today. I’d eat you up.”
Kane smirked. “Is that a challenge?”
I closed my eyes when his head dipped, and his lips came into contact with my neck. I groaned in response and Kane gave my behind another squeeze before bringing his hand up to my waist.
“You’re so warm,” he murmured against my skin.
I smiled and opened my eyes. “Are you callin’ me hot?”
“Smoking hot.”
I giggled and looked down. “Can you get me the pouf, it fell.”
Kane bent, grabbed the luffa, kissed my belly then stood up and towered over me.
I gazed up at him. “I love that you’re taller than me.”