Right, because I hadn’t been around. I’d been so caught up in my own shit that I hadn’t bothered to think about how anyone else was.
“So, is Liam talking to you yet?” she pried.
“A few grunts here and there. I was gonna stop over there today and see him.”
“I wouldn’t bother. He’s moping.”
“About?”
She quirked an eyebrow at me, and I immediately understood.
“After he got out of the hospital, he went to see Bailey and explained to her why he did what he did. And she basically told him she could never forgive him.”
“So, it’s over,” I sighed.
That really sucked. There wasn’t a time I could remember from our childhoods that Liam wasn’t one hundred percent over the moon for Bailey. He just never let her see it.
“And you, big brother?”
“What?”
“Well, you’ve grilled me about pretty much everyone else, but you haven’t said a word about yourself,” she grinned. “Mr. Hero of the world.”
“Hardly,” I huffed.
“That’s not what I heard. According to Mom, you saved everyone.”
“I was involved. I didn’t single-handedly do anything. And Blake was a big part of that.”
“You know, I like her.”
“Yeah?” I grinned. “I figured you might.”
“So, wedding details. What can I do to help?”
My smile instantly faded as I remembered my last conversation with Blake. “Uh…I’m not sure. We haven’t told her family about the baby yet.”
“Chicken shit,” she coughed out.
“I’ve already met her brothers, and I wasn’t at all intimidated, even though it’s clear they’re very protective of her.”
“But now?”
“Well, now I’ve knocked up their baby sister. And she may have told me stories of what they did to her high school boyfriend.”
“Oh, come on!” she laughed. “You can handle them. Look at you! You’re like a huge robotic soldier!”
Okay, I was slightly offended by the description. I was far from robotic.
“Rip the band-aid off, brother.”
“Yeah,” I grumbled, taking another sip of my coffee.
“It won’t be as bad as you think. If anything, delaying is making it worse.” Her eyes skimmed over my body speculatively. “What’s with the all-tan getup?”
I grabbed the book and plopped it down in front of her. Her eyes widened comically as she snatched it up and flipped through it.
“No way! You joined the department?”
