Players, Bumps and Cocktail Sausages (Silence #3)(62)

Holly took Everleigh’s hand and placed it on her small stomach. She wasn’t freaking out about just been called aunt at all. I should be freaking out, but I wasn’t.

“Of course you can. Can you feel that? That’s the baby kicking.”

I stared at Holly. Why wasn’t the idea of her being Everleigh’s aunt suffocating? Yes, we were having a child together, but that didn’t mean we had to be together.

I swallowed what felt like sand. Holly beamed down at my niece, and something inside me stirred. Holly. I liked Holly. A lot. The realisation hit me like a fucking freight train. How the hell could I have let that happen? I didn’t want to want anyone.

Everleigh squealed and pulled her hand away, and then put it back. “It feels funny!”

“Tell me about it,” Holly said.

“Where’s my granddaughter,” Mum said, bursting into the room with her arms full of presents. Miles followed behind her carrying a large pink gift bag and another three presents in the other hand.

“Mum, I told you not to spoil her,” Oakley scolded.

“Hey, I cut down a lot!” she replied. Everleigh turned around, and her eyes almost popped out of her head. She lit up and ran towards her nan, and I stood still, rooted to the floor.

I was falling in love with my baby’s mum.

“You okay?” Holly asked. “You look pale.”

I’m finding it hard to breathe right now.

“Fine,” I replied. “Drink?”

Her forehead creased, probably concerned that I was finally having a breakdown.

“Sure. You really okay?”

She stepped closer, and I could smell her Charles Worthington shampoo. I only knew what it was because I checked the ingredients to make sure there was no funky stuff in there that could make the baby come out green or have five heads. It didn’t.

I stepped back, needing to put some distance between us before I did something stupid like kiss her.

“Orange juice?”

Turning around, I walked to the kitchen not waiting for a reply. I knew that was what she’d have. Idiot. I’m a massive idiot. My divorce wasn’t even close to being final and here I was falling in love with someone else.

“Hey, man,” Brad said, standing up straighter.

Well at least it wasn’t ‘hey, fucker’ anymore. “Hey,” I replied. “You alright?”

“Yep. You?”

“Yeah, just getting Holly a drink.”

His lips thinned.

“Look, mate, can we get past this?”

“If I’d got Oakley pregnant?”

“Cole would killed you.”

He sighed sharply. “You know what I mean.”

“Alright. I get it; I’d be pissed too, but I didn’t do this on my own.”

“I don’t care if she threw herself at you, you should’ve said no. I’ve never put much thought into my little sister having kids, but I assumed it’d be after she’s finished uni and with someone that she’s with. Not a one-night stand.”

“Isn’t that what most of us want? Doesn’t always happen like that. Life’s not that perfect, mate. I can promise that she’ll never be alone in this.”

I could stand there and tell him I was falling for her and that everything I wanted was within my reach, but I was scared that if I admitted it out loud I’d lose it. And I was scared that she didn’t want anything to happen between us.

“I need something stronger than this,” he said, holding up a cup of what must’ve been Coke.

“Me too, but it’s a four-year-old’s party.”

He smiled. “Right. Better wait for the after party then.”

“Am I forgiven?”

“I reserve the right to hold it over you if I want the last slice of pizza, first call on who to chat up or who’s paying for the last round.”

I held my hands up. “Deal. And if you’re a dick to me I can use the I’ve-slept-with-your-sister line to shut you up.”

“I fucking hate you, Jasper,” he said, shaking his head and holding his hand out. I shook it, glad to have my friend back.

“You’ve made up,” Holly said from the doorway.

“Er, yeah. Suppose it could be worse, could’ve been a guy that did a runner.”

Her jaw tightened. “I don’t sleep around, Brad, Jasper was my first.”

I spun my body to face her. I’m her first?

Holly registered the shock in my eyes and added, “First one-night stand! Not my first first.”

“First or only?” I asked.

She blushed scarlet. “Only.”

Good.

I mentally calculated her sexual past. Her first boyfriend, Harry The Boring, and me. Only three.

Good.

“Can we talk about something, no, anything else?” Brad asked.

“Cocktail sausages,” Holly said, eyeing the two stacked bowls on the counter. And I was pretty sure I saw another plate in the dining room with the rest of the food too. When I asked Oakley to grab another bag because they were what Holly was craving I had no idea she’d go that crazy.

I still couldn’t even eat them after lobbing the full plate at the wall when I was arguing with Abby.

“What?” Brad asked, looking at Holly like she was crazy.