Page 87 of Vegas with my Brother’s Best Friends

“We’d like to do a non-invasive prenatal paternity test,” I tell him, reciting that straight from my Internet searching.

“Straight to business,” Dr. Torres says with a light chuckle. “Well, we can do that. That’ll require a blood draw from the mother and a cheek swab from the father. Whose cheek am I swabbing?”

Cassidy’s face looks as red as a tomato.

“All of ours,” I tell him, jumping right to the point.

I don’t have time to be embarrassed or ashamed or whatever. None of that matters. The results and what we do with them matters, so we’re all getting our cheeks swabbed today.

Dr. Torres nods. “Let’s get started then. Nurse, can you get started with the blood draw?”

The nurse nods in response and ties a tourniquet around Cassidy’s arm before wiping down the injection site with a sterile pad. “You’ll just feel a tiny pinch.”

While Dr. Torres gets the cheek swabs ready, I reach out and take Cassidy’s hand as the nurse prepares to push the needle into her arm.

“I’m here,” I tell her.

Cassidy turns her head, locking eyes with me so that she doesn’t have to see the needle. She tightens her grip on my hand as her blood starts filling the collection tube.

A faint ache hits me deep in my chest. I don’t like seeing her like this. It kills me.

I don’t even care that she kept the baby a secret from us for this long. I can still see the fear all over her face. She’s not malicious.

She’s terrified.

And we know now so why bother holding a grudge? We’ve got too much shit to do for me to get hung up on what was done in the past.

“All done,” the nurse says as she removes the needle from Cassidy’s arm.

Cassidy gives me a grateful look before releasing my hand.

“Your turn,” Dr. Torres tells me as he steps closer with a long cotton swab in his hand.

I open my mouth and let him swab the inside of my cheek.

“Good,” Dr. Torres says before turning away from me to safely store the swab. “We’ll test all of this and get the results back to you soon.”

“How soon?” Tyler asks.

“Probably a week,” Dr. Torres replies.

My eyes narrow. “A whole week? We need this done soon. Really soon.”

Dr. Torres frowns. “I’m afraid these tests take time. The absolute earliest that we can do is two days, and that’s not a guarantee. It depends on the lab we send them to and how busy they are.”

I run my hand over my head, tension forming in the back of my neck. I didn’t expect this to take so long. I’d like to know who the father is before the wedding.

“Okay,” I tell him.

“If that’s all you need, you’re free to leave,” Dr. Torres says. “And if you have any questions, just give us a call or come by.”

“Thank you,” Marcus tells him as he and Tyler get to their feet.

I nod to Dr. Torres before taking Cassidy’s arm and helping her off the table. “Careful.”

Cassidy gives me a pointed look. “I’m not that danger prone.”

“Can never be too careful. You’ve got someone along for the ride,” I reply, my fingers grazing her back as we all leave the room.