“Show her the pictures,” he says.
With a smile, I retrieve the ultrasound images from the island and hand them over to Parker.
“Oh my god. Look,” she says, hugging them to her chest. “It’s my niece or nephew. Is everything okay?” she asks despite having already done so via message earlier.
“Yeah, everything looks good. Measurements are right where they’re expected to be.”
“And you really didn’t find out if it was a boy or a girl?”
“Nope. We really didn’t find out.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “Are you just keeping it a secret because it’s our engagement party and you’re waiting until next week?”
“No,” I laugh. “We really didn’t find out.”
Parker holds her hands up in defeat, the images hanging from her fingers. “Okay, fine.” But she winks at me as if she doesn’t believe a word of it. “I guess we should go now that Linc’s got a babysitter.”
“You’re funny,” he mutters.
“And you’re the luckiest man in the world,” she points out.
He makes a kill before dropping his controller and stalking over, his eyes on his fiancée as if he plans on devouring her right here in the middle of his brother’s living room.
“Whoa,” I gasp when he sweeps her off her feet, giving her little choice but to wrap her legs around his waist, and kisses the life out of her.
“That’s really un-fucking-necessary,” Everett grunts, his top lip peeled back in disgust as he watches his best friend molest his sister.
“Sorry, man. Could be worse. Remember that time you walked in on us?—”
A cushion goes flying through the air, hitting Linc on the side of the head, but he’s laughing so hard, he barely notices.
“You’re an asshole,” Everett mutters before turning back to their game and shooting Linc’s character point-blank.
“Dude, that was brutal and utterly uncalled for,” Linc cries after putting Parker back on her feet and hopping over the back of the couch.
“So was deciding to fuck my sister, but that didn’t seem to stop you.”
“She’s the love of my life. My soul mate. Get the fuck over it.”
Parker swoons, while the two continue to bicker, and I get ready to leave. But as excited as I am to hang out with the girls, I also don’t want to leave.
“Right, we’re off. We’ll see you guys later. Please do not be late or forget to be dressed properly,” Parker warns.
“We’re not children,” Everett points out.
“Aren’t you? You’re currently playing games, and Linc brought Sour Patch Kids as a snack.”
“Oh, sweet. Where are they?” Everett asks, looking around for the goods.
“Jesus,” Parker mutters. “Come on, let’s go and hang out with some grown-ups.” She links her arm through mine and tows me toward the door when a deep, “Wait,” rings out around us.
I spin around in time to see Everett running toward us, his face set with determination.
“W-what’s wro?—”
His hands land on either side of my face, and he tilts my head up so his lips can capture mine.
“Oh,” I breathe when he finally lets me up for air.
