“You realise our apartment isn’t as big as Kane and Aideen’s, right?”
Everyone snorted as they filed into the apartment. Ever since we all made up six months ago, the gang made more of an effort to come around to my apartment to see me and Damien, just so we didn’t have to be the ones travelling all the time. Jax and Georgie ended up in my arms, and winces were drawn from me when the kids poked at my fading bruises.
“Ah-ah,” Bronagh chastised them. “Lana has a booboo.”
“Booboo,” Jax repeated then made a kissy noise.
When I walked into the sitting room, he leaned in and dramatically kissed my face.
“I swear he does that on purpose because he knows I can see him do it.”
The men laughed while I rolled my eyes at Damien.
“Leave ‘im alone. He is kissin’ me booboo.”
“I’ll kiss your—”
“Shut up!”
“Both of you shut up.” Bronagh grunted. “Nobody on planet Earth is as uncomfortable as me right now so be quiet.”
I sat down next to Damien, and Jax climbed over onto his lap where he gently petted Barbara who was curled up at Damien’s side. That little traitor loved him way more than she loved me, and I was the feckin’ one who rescued her. Damien handed Jax a console controller that wasn’t switched on, so our nephew could ‘play’ the game on screen with his uncle.
“That’s so cute,” Branna said with a smile.
I looked at her and gazed at the twins who were both sleeping on her chest.
“How do they fall asleep so fast?”
“Ryder says they’re like Damien,” Branna answered. “Apparently, he can sleep on command.”
“Tell me about it.” I grunted. “His head touches the pillow, and he is out for the count.”
Damien grinned but didn’t comment.
“How come you aren’t at work?” I asked Alec.
“Paternity leave.”
I nodded, then said, “I’m sorry I made you cry.”
He scowled. “I didn’t cry. I told you all that dirt got in my eye and that was it.”
“Sure,” everyone said in unison and laughed.
“Either way,” I continued, “I’m sorry for bein’ a massive bitch to you all.”
“You were pretty mean,” Bronagh commented. “But considerin’ ye’ defended me when you were attacked for not wantin’ to become a prostitute, who can blame ye’?”
“I still can’t believe that happened!” Keela exclaimed. “Like, how does that happen in real life?”
“I don’t know.” I shivered. “But it was horrible.”
Bronagh agreed with a bob of her head.
“How is your mouth?”
I looked at Kane and said, “Much better. I can still feel the stitches with me tongue, but they’re dissolvin’, slowly but surely.”
“Have you had any tea yet?”
I shook my head to Branna’s question and nodded towards Damien. “He won’t let me.”
“Jesus,” Bronagh said. “No wonder ye’ were like a witch. Ye’ve had no tea this entire week!”
“She can have it once her wound is fully closed.” Damien sighed. “Another few days won’t hurt. It’d be like putting salt on the wound if she drank it now with how much sugar she uses.”
I piped down because that was the God’s honest truth. I loved sugar in my tea.
“I have a question.”
I looked at Alec.
“If you had to kiss one of the girls”—he grinned—“who would it be?”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re a burden upon this world.”
“Stop ruining my life and answer the damn question.”
My lips twitched.
“Well, it’d have to be someone other than Bronagh since I already kissed ‘er—”
“What?” Alec cut me off.
Kane leaned in closer. “What?”
Nico choked on air. “W-what?”
I laughed. “What?”
“You kissed Bronagh?”
I jumped after Damien whispered in my ear.
“Y-yeah,” I stuttered, then cleared my throat. “Yeah, I did, but only when we were drunk forever ago because I thought me lips felt chapped, and she said they looked fine, and I said they felt chapped, so she kissed me and said it was all in me head because they felt soft to ‘er so … yeah.”
I was babbling, and I knew it, so I clamped my lips together to prevent myself from further embarrassment.
“How was it?”
I blinked. “What?”
“How was the kiss?”
I looked from Damien to Bronagh and back. “Fine.”
“Better than fine,” Bronagh corrected. “It was sexy.”
It really wasn’t, but I let her tease the lads.
“I wish I could have seen that.”
“Me too,” the brothers agreed with Alec
I focused on Nico.
“Someone else kissin’ Bee turns you on?”
“No, no,” Nico said. “The thought of another hot female kissing her turns me on. It’s purely fantasy, though, because if it came down to the wire and Bronagh offered me a threesome with a woman, even a woman as hot as you, Lana, I’d say no. I want no woman other than my lady.”
Even a woman as hot as me?
“Shut up, Nico.”
I hated when he categorised me as hot because I knew he was just being polite because I was Bronagh’s best friend. I was in no way ever fishing for compliments when I told him off for it either. I truly hated when he said it.
“What?”
Alec sighed. “She thinks you’re full of it when you call her hot.”
“You are hot, though,” Nico concluded.
I scowled at him, and he winked in response.
“I think you’re hot.”
“I know you think I’m hot,” I said to my better half. “Ye’ can’t keep your bloody hands off me.”
Damien grinned. “I plan to keep my hands on you for a very long time, freckles.”
Oh, I was counting on it.
Code red.
That was what I texted my best friend twenty minutes ago as I sat on the lid of my toilet and stared at the unopened box of tampons. They should have been opened and used by now but weren’t. After Damien left for work, I followed my normal morning routine. I took care of Barbara, then got showered and changed into work clothes before I spent a few hours in my studio. When I took a break for lunch, I went into the toilet, and the second my eyes landed on my unopened box of tampons, my heart stopped.
I checked my personal calendar and determined my period was due exactly fourteen days ago, which was more than I originally thought. Normally, I wouldn’t panic, but there were at least five of my birth control pills left in the package from last month, which told me I didn’t take them on at least five days. Damien didn’t use condoms when he had sex because I was on birth control. Birth control I wasn’t taking correctly.
“Fuck,” I whispered. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
The front door to my apartment opened and closed.
“I’m ‘ere!”
“Bathroom,” I called out.
Bronagh barrelled into the room with a small pharmacy bag in her hand.
“I never thought you would text me code red.” She panted. “You think you’re pregnant?”
I nodded. “I’m two weeks late.”
“Lana.” She blinked. “Holy shite.”
She quickly removed the contents of the bag, opened the pregnancy test box, and even though she had taken the tests before, she read the leaflet from top to bottom. She told me what to do and handed me a test. I wasn’t shy as I lifted the lid of the toilet, pulled down my leggings and underwear, and peed on the stick. When I was finished, I capped the test, flushed the toilet, and washed my hands as I put it on the counter.
“You’re shakin’,” Bronagh commented.