Briggs looks back to me while he points at Vaughn. “I’m not going to let this go. His intentions are not honorable, and I won’t forget that.”
Throwing my arms up in the air, I gawk my eyes. “Briggs, we’re not in Victorian times. I don’t need your approval. I’m not a damsel in distress,” I say, raising my voice.
“You’re my sister,” he defends.
“Yeah, and I’m the sister who hasn’t actually told the father of my child that I’m pregnant, so leave it alone,” I justify.
My brother’s face falls, and it clicks in his head that Vaughn is finding out for the first time. He even flashes Vaughn a look that for the most part is neutral.
Just then the door opens again, with Dr. Forest arriving and rolling in a cart. She warily studies the room. “What a collection of hockey players here that the medical staff seemed to notice gather in the hall earlier, but the nurses’ station is picking up that your heart rate is all over the place, along with the baby being more active, so you seem to be stressed.”
“Understatement,” I highlight.
“I think it’s time that we kick out the visitors.” She smiles at me.
The room goes silent as we all look at one another.
“Let’s go, guys, I think Isla needs a moment.” Hadley does her best to usher Connor and Briggs out. She stops short at Vaughn, maybe even gives him a cautionary look.
“I’m staying,” he states firmly, with his fists clenched at his sides and his gaze still drilling into me.
The doctor notices the tension. “You can only stay if my patient agrees.”
Vaughn raises his brows at me, waiting for me to answer, and it’s clear there is only one answer that I can give.
Blowing out a breath, I say, “He can. He’s… the father. Would it be okay if we have a minute?”
“One minute,” she says sharply. Give the doctor an award for professionalism as she clearly grasps this unusual situation.
With everyone abandoning us, Vaughn steps forward.
In the background, I can hear my brother. “I swear to God, I might just commit murder.”
“No, you won’t. Come on, let’s go for a walk. You’re acting like a wild animal who needs to be tamed,” Connor suggests, and they must be walking away, as the background grows silent.
Except for the sound of the machine.
“Oh, Isla, Isla, Isla,” Vaughn tuts, and it’s sweltering, and it would even be sexy if it weren’t for the fact that I know what’s about to come. “You owe me a lot of answers.”
11
VAUGHN
Isla’s chest visibly moves up and down, but my sight keeps drawing back to her swollen belly. It’s visible without a doubt.
A baby.
Our baby.
I’m completely blindsided by this news. I can’t even process how I feel about the fact that I created a child. Instead, fury takes over me.
“You’re already in your third trimester?” I repeat what she said earlier.
“Yes, due in a few weeks.”
Fucking late-season hurricanes.
I step closer to the bed, undecided what I’m doing. “So, that means you’re like, what, about to birth a child?”
