As I sat at my mother’s kitchen table while she flipped her way through the third photo album of the evening, I found myself charmed even more by the way Reece listened intently to every word she said. All her bragging about my precocious childhood was making me want to drink again, but he seemed enthralled, even if he wasn’t.

“Why does he have that bunched up towel in his hand?” he asked, leaning over to inspect the latest picture she was showing him.

“Oh, that,” my mother laughed, pressing her hand to the pendant my father had bought her on their last anniversary. “That was his Puffy. It looked like a puppy once, but he carried it around and chewed on it so much that the poor thing lost all its stuffing, and he’d still never let me wash it.”

“Okay, that’s enough of memory lane,” I groaned, gathering the dessert plates.

“But we’re just about to get into your scout years,” Reece protested, his eyes dancing with amusement as he watched me.

“You were around for the scout years, you just don’t remember how nerdy I looked in the uniform, and I’d like to keep it that way,” I said, taking his plate.

“Let me get these,” he insisted, standing to take the stack from my hands. “Dolores, the meal was absolutely incredible.”

“Oh, it’s just an old family recipe,” she said, waving him off even though I could tell she was blushing. I’d been worried that my mother would hold our tumultuous past against him, but we’d talked briefly before dinner and she assured me that she’d give him another chance if I had.

Patrick, on the other hand, was going to be harder to win over. He’d been grudgingly civil to Reece all evening before he had to duck out early to meet his fiancee, and I was just relieved they had all managed to avoid the topic of business. Usually, I was the one who needed to avoid it.

Brayden had scarcely said a word, but it was hard to tell if he was upset that we had a guest over for dinner or just being his usual sullen self.

“I’ll help,” my mother offered, standing to join Reece in the kitchen.

I started to follow them just to make sure she wasn’t planning on threatening him as soon as they were alone when Brayden blocked my path.

“What is it?” I asked impatiently.

“You really think he’s changed?”

“I know he has,” I said, folding my arms. My back was aching and I’d been plagued with morning sickness all day, so I wasn’t in the mood for whatever it was he had brewing. “People change, Brayden.”

“I know that,” he muttered, looking away. “I hope he has, for your sake.”

“Is that all? Because I’d like to make sure mom doesn’t kill him.”

He rolled his eyes. “If Patrick resisted, I think he’s safe from her. There is something else, though.”

“Well?”

“I heard about Drew Richards,” he said, his expression turning into one of guilt.

I chewed the inside of my cheek, trying to maintain my patience. Drew’s wasn’t a name I wanted to be reminded of on a good day, and his death and all the relief that came with it was still too fresh to talk openly about. “Yeah. It’s kind of a small town, I’m sure everyone’s heard by now.”

“You don’t think the circumstances are a little suspicious? He’s been fine all this time, and his tire just blows out the one night a year he’s in town?”

I frowned. “What are you getting at, Brayden?”

“Nothing.” He looked pointedly at the kitchen, making it clear that was a lie. “It’s just that he shows up at that thing every year, and even though I’ve thought about killing him plenty of times, this is the first year he’s turned up dead.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Don’t. I know what you’re implying, and just don’t.”

“Reece a powerful guy, Ellis, and who knows what kinds of friends he has?”

“You need to leave,” I gritted out. “That’s my mate you’re talking about.”

“I know.” His voice softened. “I’m not accusing him of anything. Hell, if he did do it, I admire him for having the guts and no one’s ever gonna hear a word from me about it. I’m just worried about you.”

“Well, don’t be. I can take care of myself.”

“I know you can.” He frowned as he watched me. “I’m just sorry you had to. I’m sorry that I wasn’t a better big brother to you back then.”

I stared back at him, shocked to hear anything resembling an apology coming from him. We hadn’t talked about Drew in more than a decade, and sometimes I wondered if he even still remembered what I’d told him that day. “It’s fine, Bray.”

“No, it’s not,” he said firmly. “I hope Reece really has changed, and if he’s willing to do what I think he did to protect you, that’s a pretty good sign that he has. You deserve that. Someone to take care of you and look out for you the way you’ve always done for everyone else.”

“Thank you,” I said, still wondering who’d replaced my brother. I hesitated. “You know, Brayden, about what happened back then… We were both kids. You handled it as well as you knew how. We both did.”

He nodded, even though I could see the sorrow in his gaze. After a few minutes of neither of us knowing what to say, he murmured, “Congratulations, by the way. You’re gonna make a good dad.”

I touched my stomach. “I hope so.”

“You will.” He smiled a little. “Can’t say I thought you’d be the first of us to make mom a grandma, but you’ll figure it out and Reece has experience.”

“Can’t say I thought I would be, either,” I snorted. Mom and Reece came in from the kitchen, and from the look on his face and the bright smile on hers, I could tell she’d read him the riot act while Brayden and I were talking.

“All set,” she announced.

“What did she say to you?” I whispered as Reece came to wrap an arm around my shoulder.

“Nothing I didn’t deserve,” he said with a soft laugh. “Your mother loves you very much.”

“Yeah,” I sighed. “I know she does. I’m getting a little bit tired, so we should probably head out.”

“Thank you for coming, sweetheart,” said my mom, pulling me into a crushing hug. She leaned up to kiss Reece’s cheek and gave it a pinch that was only slightly menacing. “It was lovely to finally meet you, Reece. Don’t be a stranger.”

“I won’t,” he promised with a nervous laugh as he helped me into my coat and led me out to the car. Once we were alone and on the road, he muttered, “Man, that tiny woman is scary.”

I laughed. “Now you see why we never got into trouble as kids.”

“Damn right about that. My dad’s gonna love her.”

“Speaking of which, I don’t suppose I could get away with never encountering him again?”

Reece grinned. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about. Seriously. You’re passionate about what you do, and he respects that.”

“What I did,” I mumbled.

“About that. Now, you know me. I’d be thrilled if you decided you wanted to take some time off and just rest until the baby comes, but I know you. You need a project, and I was wondering if you’d given any more thought to coming back to the company.”

“I did think about it,” I admitted. “But from what I hear, my replacement has been doing great and it’s not fair to put the workers through another change, even if I was ready to go back in full swing.”

“You have spies, do you?”

I smirked. “You know me.”

“Of course,” he sighed. “So, what do you want to do?”

“I don’t know yet,” I admitted. “But starting a new job while I’m throwing up every twenty minutes isn’t practical, either. I’ll take some time to decide.”

“Sounds good to me.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. He was trying to sound so casual, but underneath, I could tell he was brimming with excitement that his mate was going to be close to the “den” for a while. “You need to take some acting classes.”

“What?” he asked innocently. “I’m just happy you’re happy.”

“I am,” I admitted, my thoughts drifting to what Brayden had said earlier. “There is something I’ve been wondering.”

“Hm?”

“Did you…?”

He looked over when I didn’t finish. “Did I what?”

I watched him carefully, trying to tell myself that it just wasn’t possible. That the man sitting next to me wasn’t capable of doing what Brayden thought he’d done. The same subtle awareness between us that had reassured me it was safe to take this next step in trusting him and letting him in told me that was bullshit. That Reece was a good man, but he was also very capable of doing whatever he needed to in order to protect the people he loved.

For a moment, I thought of asking and somehow, I knew he’d tell me the truth. When I realized I wasn’t sure I wanted to know, I changed my mind and smiled at him. “Nothing.”

It was a good night, and there was no point in souring it with a name we’d both rather forget.

For the first time, there was too much good ahead of me to dwell on the past.