Rae’s eyes get big and swing towards me, as if I’m going to defend her. But I’m shocked. Nobody has ever stood up for me like that before. No one. My eyes swing to Rae, then to Jack, and I literally have no words.

“Fuck you, Baylee,” Rae snaps, and then storms off down the hall.

I still have nothing.

“The rest of you,” Jack says, snapping me out of my stupor. “Wait outside. Get out. Now.”

The group of people left stand and stumble their way out the door. They’re either too drunk, or just smart enough, but either way they aren’t going to attempt to argue with Jack. Hell, I wouldn’t argue with Jack right now. His strong demeanor is ... incredible. All the playfulness from his personality has gone, and a serious side shines through, a side I certainly wouldn’t mess with.

“Right,” Jack says, clapping his hands together and turning to me. “Let’s do this.”

I blink.

Who is this man?

~*~*~*~

“Baylee,” Jack says, taking my arm and pulling me to his side. “These are my friends.”

I stare at the five people standing in front of me, and honestly, could they get any better looking? Seriously?

“From the left,” Jack continues. “We have Roman and Molly.”

I stare at Roman and Molly. He’s got an arm thrown around her shoulder, and she’s tucked into him. He’s gorgeous. Tall, dark and handsome, and she’s equally as attractive, with blonde hair and probably one of the prettiest faces I’ve seen in a good long time.

“Then you’ve got twins, Phoenix and Quinn.”

I glance at Phoenix and Quinn. Well. Just damn. Good looking doesn’t even cover it. The first one, Phoenix, has brown hair, slightly messy, and the nicest green eyes I’ve ever seen. His brother, and twin, Quinn, looks identical, the only difference being his hair is cropped short. Both are stocky, well muscled guys.

“And this last pain in the ass is Matilda. Molly’s sister, though it’s not certain whether she’s adopted yet or not.”

Matilda is gorgeous. Hands down. Dark hair, brown eyes, skin the colour of coffee and milk. She’s breath taking. Like a young Pocahontas.

“Eat a dick, Jack,” she says, and flips him the bird, before turning to me. “Hi, Baylee. Nice to meet you finally. Jack has told us so much about you.”

I blink.

Okay then.

“You, too,” I say, my voice softer than I’d like.

“Yes, indeed he has,” Molly says, stepping forward. “You’re the one he couldn’t get. Good for you, girl.”

“Yeah,” Phoenix says, laughing. “Do the fucker good.”

Jack leans over and thumps Phoenix on the arm.

“Looks like someone had a good time here,” Roman says, eyes scanning the room. “Nice place, by the way.”

Molly rolls her eyes. “Don’t mind him. He’s a snoop.”

It’s not a nice place, but I like him already for saying it is, even when he clearly knows it isn’t.

“My, ah, sister had a party,” I say. “She made somewhat of a mess. I really appreciate you guys coming to help me out. This isn’t how I planned on us meeting.”

“So you were planning on meeting us?” Quinn grins, wiggling his brows.

Jack grunts and shoves him out of the way. “Go and start cleaning, dickhead.”

Quinn laughs all the way into the kitchen and something inside me lightens. How they’re interacting, how obvious it is that they are all so comfortable with each other and love each other, it blows my mind. It makes me long for that kind of connection with a family.

“All right, girlfriend,” Matilda says, clapping her hands together. “Where do we start?”

I stare at the mess. “Wherever you want.”

They all get to work, and for a moment, I just watch them, so humbled by their willingness to help. Surely, they would have been sleeping, or busy, or doing something fun for the night, yet they all stopped it to come here and help a perfect stranger.

“You okay?” Jack asks, coming up beside me.

“Yeah,” I say softly. “I’m just ... They’re so kind.”

“Don’t let them fool you,” he teases lightly. “They’re all giant pains in the asses.”

Pains I’d happily have in my life.

Happily.

“Who are all these people?”

I turn to see Rae staring at my five helpers with her signature scowl on her face.

“These people are helping me clean the mess you made, now go back into your room, or believe me, you’ll be helping.”

She scratches at her arms oddly and shifts from one foot to the other, her eyes darting around.

“Well, they’re making so much noise. Tell them to stop screaming.”

Screaming?

Everyone has stopped and is staring at the heavily pregnant girl standing at the end of the hallway.

“What?” she snaps, crossing her arms, still rubbing at one. “Do you want to take a fucking picture?”

“Rae!” I bark, storming towards her and taking her arm, spinning her around and pulling her down the hall. When we reach her room, I spin her towards me. “What’s wrong with you?”

“They’re being noisy. I’m pregnant, and I’m trying to rest.”

Her eyes dart to the left, and then quickly back to mine.

“Are you using?”

Her eyes widen and she takes a step back. “Don’t accuse me of things like that, Baylee. Don’t!”

“Well, you’re acting a whole lot like you are. Considering you supposedly didn’t drink tonight, I have to wonder where this reaction is coming from.”

She crosses her arms. “It comes from this fucking thing growing inside me! God, forget about it.”

She turns and storms into the room, slamming the door so loudly in my face I flinch and take a step back. I drop my head, take a deep, staggered breath, and turn around. Jack is standing about five feet away, staring at me. “She used to do drugs?”

I nod. “Yeah, she did. She stopped when she got pregnant, but ...”

“You’re worried she’s doing it again?”

I rub my arms. I don’t think I can cope with that again. I want to give her the benefit of the doubt, I really do, but I just don’t trust her. “I am, yeah. She’s acting strangely, and she’s angrier than she usually is.”