Theo blanched. “Just some scribbles.” He held his hand out to me, but I continued studying the sketched figure standing on top of lines and arrows. It was naggingly familiar, but I couldn’t quite place—

  “Hold on,” I said as I finally realized what it was. “How did you get this?”

  “I’m not sure what you’re taking about. Let me see it.”

  Theo had never struck me as the kind of guy to crack under pressure, but it seemed like it was exactly what was happening.

  “Rafe drew this,” I said, flapping the page in the air. “It’s some sort of skateboarding trick that he was trying to explain with pictures. He makes these all the time. How did you get it?”

  Theo let out a long sigh. “Fuck.”

  “What’s going on?” I asked, feeling even more put off by his expression.

  “Sit down,” he answered. “Let’s talk.”

  Talking was why I was there, but I hadn’t planned on my brother being the main topic of conversation.

  “Did something happen with him?” I demanded.

  “Yes and no. Let me start off by saying that everything ended up fine, so there’s no need to freak out.”

  “Too late,” I huffed at him. “You’re being weird and evasive and it’s stressing me out. Just tell me.”

  He leaned back in the chair and stretched his legs out in front of him. Even in workout shorts and a t-shirt he looked incredible, but I was too nervous and keyed up to let it get to me.

  “Rafe called me last night to pick him up from a party.”

  I considered it for a beat because it didn’t make sense. Rafe called Theo?

  “Why didn’t he call our mom? Or me?” My heartbeat sped up to triple time. Whatever had gone down between my brother and Theo was way more complicated than what we’d agreed to.

  “Max, don’t get upset, but…he’d been drinking.” Theo paused. “Okay, the truth is he was drunk, and he didn’t want either of you to find out.”

  “Shit,” I slammed my hand on the table. “Drunk? Where was he?”

  “A house party in Edgewater.”

  I was furious. Was it his first time drinking, or was it an ongoing thing for him? I wasn’t exactly an angel when I was in high school, but Rafe was way too young to be experimenting. I grabbed my phone and started punching the screen.

  “Hold up, what are you doing?” Theo asked me in a worried voice.

  “Calling Rafe to scream at him.”

  “Max, no, you can’t!” he exclaimed, reaching for my phone. “I promised him I wouldn’t tell you. He trusted me.”

  “Getting drunk at thirteen is unacceptable,” I said, glaring at Theo. “I’m not letting this slide. He needs to understand that there are consequences for decisions like this.”

  Theo shook his head at me, his expression pained.

  “What?” I demanded, my finger hovering over my phone.

  “Rafe said you’re like his second mother, and he’s right.”

  Mother.

  I was instantly reminded of why I was there. But I couldn’t even think about discussing my news until I figured out what the hell was going on with my brother.

  “What am I supposed to do?” I asked him, my anger fading to helplessness. “Our mom is busy dealing with her own mess, and it’s not like Nick is going to step up and be the parent Rafe needs right now. I’m like the only sane person in his life.”

  “Well, that’s not exactly true,” Theo said quietly. “I like to think that he reached out to me for a reason beyond just needing a sober ride.”

  I slumped back in the chair, clutching my phone to my chest. He was right. Rafe kept his world small with just a few close friends, and the fact that he’d called Theo meant something beyond not wanting to get a lecture from me.

  “Did you guys talk, or was he too drunk?”

  “I did what I could. I wasn’t about to lecture him too much, but I think I made my point. And he seemed to come around after he threw up.”

  “He vomited? He was really drunk, then.”

  “He had shots and beer, so …”

  Shots. I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself.

  “I’m asking you not to say anything to him, okay?” Theo grasped my hand. “I don’t want to lose his trust.”

  I sighed as I looked down at our intertwined fingers. “Fine.”

  I felt derailed from the real reason I was at his place. The conversation I needed to have with Theo was a massive, life-altering discussion, and after hearing what was going on with Rafe, I felt like it was just another mess I was inserting into his life.

  No. It was a baby, not a mess. And given how kind he’d been with my brother, I suspected Theo would meet the news with positivity after the initial shock wore off.

  “Can I get you a drink?” he asked. “I was just going to grab myself a beer—do you want one?”

  I opened my mouth to explain that that wasn’t an option for me, but nothing came out.

  “Water is fine,” I finally managed to say. “Busy day.”

  I wasn’t quite ready to tell him yet, and definitely not in a casual “I can’t drink because I’m pregnant with your baby” way. I needed a few minutes to clear the air and reset everything before I let Theo know he was going to be a father.

  He came back to the table carrying two tall glasses of water.

  “I decided to join you and not drink,” he said as he placed one in front of me. “I swear Rafe gave me flashbacks to my frat days. I think I had sympathy nausea.”

  I laughed, wondering if he’d feel the same when I went through morning sickness.

  “I tell you, I don’t envy Rafe’s parents. Or you, for that matter, since you’re basically his parent too.”

  “Oh?” Worry started bubbling inside of me. “Why is that?”

  He took a long sip of water before speaking. “Parenthood is a lot. I mean, first you have to make it through infancy, where the whole deal is trying not to drop this tiny, wobbly sack of potatoes. You get through that stage, then you have to contend with a toddler, whose only goal is to be a chaos agent. Nonstop tantrums, you know? After that you might get a few sweet years before, boom, adolescence. Everything goes to hell again, because there is nobody dumber, older or uglier than you. You have to deal with raging hormones, and attitude, and drinking …” he shivered. “You finally make it through all of that alive and hope that the person you created still likes you enough to want to hang out with you in the end. And that’s not always guaranteed. I know some guys, good guys, whose kids want nothing to do with them. The part that people don’t want to talk about is that having kids is a total crapshoot. You create this human and hope that you haven’t made the biggest mistake of your life.”

  By the time he finished, I was speechless and fighting off my own waves of nausea. This was how he felt about having children? Nothing but nonstop stress and unhappiness?

  “Your face,” Theo chuckled. “I’m guessing you agree with me?”

  I took a few seconds to collect myself before answering. “No, not at all,” I finally managed. “If parenthood is so terrible, then why do people keep having kids?”

  He shrugged. “Societal pressure? Instinct? Wanting heirs? Thinking that your kid won’t turn out shitty? What I’m saying is hanging with Rafe was all the birth control I needed. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not a bad kid. I like him a lot. I’m just glad I’m not the one responsible for him. I just couldn’t imagine living with that level of stress every day. Constantly being worried about what he’s doing … wondering if he’s equipped for all of the bullshit in our world, stressing that I wasn’t a good enough example for him. I don’t know, I don’t think I could hack it. I like being a free agent, and maybe someday, the fun uncle.”

  Theo turned to stare off into the distance and I tried not to start crying. He saw children as a burden, not a joy.

  I steeled myself as the realization hit me that I was going to be raising this baby on my own.

  “Sorry, was that too much?” he asked.

  I busied myself taking a huge gulp of water, to hide my teary eyes. “Nope, it was fine. I’m glad you told me how you feel about … all of that.”

  I needed to leave. If I couldn’t share the most important thing going on in my life right now, I certainly didn’t want to talk about yachts, or photos, or the internship.

  I’d always sort of assumed that Theo wanted a nontraditional life. He’d worked hard and now he was all about enjoying being a playboy billionaire, doing what he wanted when he wanted. He’d just made it clear to me that having a baby was the absolute last thing he envisioned for himself.

  “Are you free today?” he asked. “You said you’re busy, but maybe we could steal some time together later?”

  I shook my head and stood up abruptly. “Sorry, I’m booked all day. I need to run.”

  Theo finally seemed to sense my discomfort. “Are you mad about Rafe?”

  I managed to sift through my fog about what I’d just learned. “I’m angry at him, not you. I appreciate that you helped him, but trust me, I don’t expect it in the future. Especially since that sort of stuff is so unappealing to you.”

  “Max, I never said that.” His eyebrows knitted. “What’s going on here? You seem upset.”

  “We agreed to no complications.” I gestured toward the table where Rafe’s drawings were scattered. “This looks like it’s getting complicated.”

  “Hey, hey,” he replied, jumping out of his chair to stride over to me. “What’s going on with you? It feels like we need to talk about something.”

  If he only knew. There was so much I wanted to say, but now definitely wasn’t the time. Though given his feelings, I wasn’t sure the time would ever be right.

  “Just feeling weird about the fact that my thirteen-year-old brother was doing shots last night and he called you and not me.”

  Theo grasped my arms and looked into my eyes. “He’ll get through this stage. With your help, and mine.”

  How could I not feel mixed up about everything? He’d told me in no uncertain terms that he wanted nothing to do with the stress of parenthood, yet here he was offering to help me navigate Rafe’s adolescence? Maybe he felt that he was removed enough from it to make it manageable, so he could dip out if he needed to.

  That wouldn’t be the case once this baby arrived, and it scared the hell out of me.

  30

  THEO

  We were on our way to the wedding venue, and I was having a hard time not staring at Max. She looked even more beautiful than the night of the engagement party, wearing another gown we’d picked out together. It was a simple yellow dress with a low dip in front that showed off her gorgeous cleavage. Her ass looked incredible, too. She had a special glow about her, despite the fact that she couldn’t seem to give me a genuine smile.

  “Today is going to be a whirlwind, so I apologize in advance. You feel ready for everything?”

  Max nodded. “Yup. And don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine fending for myself. You take care of your family.”

  She raised her chin a little after she spoke, looking almost defiant. Something had gotten into her since the Rafe drama, and in the two weeks since I still hadn’t been able to figure out exactly what was wrong. It almost seemed like she was avoiding me. She’d gone to various wedding events, but they’d been girls only—a bridesmaids’ luncheon, the bachelorette party, etc. We attended the rehearsal dinner together the previous night, but it had been just like the few times we’d gone out to dinner together the past few weeks—she had excuses about why she couldn’t come back to my place. To be fair, they weren’t excuses. They were reasons, work- and internship-related reasons, but still. I just wanted to be with her. I missed holding her.

  Maybe the wedding would help us find our way back to one another? A few turns on the dance floor and everything would feel right again.

  At least I hoped so.

  I gave my keys to the valet and ignored the way the kid’s eyes bugged out of his head when he realized that he’d be parking a Bentley.

  “Sorry we had to come a little early,” I said as I led Max into the venue, the historic Vizcaya Museum. I was the one footing the bill for the event, but it felt like I was seeing everything for the first time.

  “Oh my gosh, this place is perfect,” Max sighed, looking around as I led her to the gardens where both the ceremony and reception would take place.

  It was a magnificent setting made even more extraordinary by the sumptuous flowers and lighting that was just starting to turn on in the fading sun of the late afternoon. I could see the event planners doing last-minute adjustments down by the ceremony area, where a flower lined aisle led up to the area in front of the stone arches where Jess and Tim would be married.

  “Yeah, it’s exactly what Jess wanted.”

  My phone went off in my tux pocket and I pulled it out, not surprised to see my mom’s number.

  “Everything okay in bride-land?” I said as I answered the call, knowing my mom was helping Jess get ready.

  “Why aren’t you taking pictures with the guys?” she shrieked at me. “You’re late.”

  I chuckled. The stress was getting to her.

  “I’m early, and I’m on my way. I can see them getting set up down by the water. The photographer isn’t even ready yet.”

  I half-listened as she ticked off a list of problems that were nothing more than minor annoyances, opting to watch Max instead. She seemed distracted and a little unhappy. Today was supposed to be a fun day, and it felt like we weren’t off to a great start. I knew she was comfortable around my family, so that couldn’t be it.

  Was it me?

  “Theo, don’t forget,” my mom was saying when I finally tuned back into her.

  “I’m sorry, you cut out,” I lied. “Forget what now?”

  “Uncle Frank has your boutonniere. He said he’d give it to you, but you know how forgetful he can be.”

  “Got it, Mom. I promise I’ll track him down.”

  I hung up and joined Max at the edge of the balcony overlooking the vast blue of the ocean. “Great view, huh?”

  “It’s perfect.”

  I slid my arm around her shoulders, and I could’ve sworn I felt her stiffen.

  “Someone down there is waving at you,” Max, said, pointing toward the grassy area.

  I squinted. “My cousin Danny. I guess that means they’re ready for photos.” I turned to her. “Do you want to come down and watch? Maybe you could give the photographer pointers.”

  I’d meant for it to sound funny, but Max didn’t laugh. “No, I’ll wait up here.”

  “Do you need anything? A drink maybe?”

  She shook her head and I noticed that she looked a little pale.

  I pulled her into my arms and tried to ignore the way she left her hands resting on my waist, instead of circling around me and gripping me the way she used to.

  “I want you to have fun tonight, okay? I might be a little distracted with my cousin-duties, but once the ceremony is over it’ll be you and me. Sound okay?”

  Her head was against my chest, and I felt her nod.

  “Back in a bit.” I tilted her chin up and kissed her. “If you need anything just let me know.”

  I glanced over my shoulder at Max as I headed down to where the group had gathered. I needed some clarity about what was going on with her, because she looked downright miserable. Beautiful, but miserable.

  By the time I made it back to the seating area after photos, it was nearly go-time. People were settling into the silk-draped chairs in the ceremony area. I found Max sitting in the back row, chatting with a group of women I didn’t recognize. I was happy to see that she was laughing.

  “Sorry to interrupt,” I said. “Max, I just want to let you know that we’re supposed to be in the second row.” Jess had asked me to be the one to walk her down the aisle, but once that was done, I’d be sitting down with Max, and it just made sense for my seat to be right up front.

  She gave me a look I couldn’t decipher and slid out to follow me to the front. I reached for her hand and threaded her arm into mine.

  “I guess this is it,” she said in a low voice as we walked down the aisle.

  “What do you mean?”

  “The climax of our little act,” she responded, not looking at me. “Probably good that everyone will be able to see us together since it’s the Max and Theo Show season finale.”

  I’d been so busy I hadn’t even made the connection that the wedding meant the end of our arrangement. Hearing Max say it sent an arrow to my heart. I glanced down at her, hoping to find her smiling her mischievous grin at me despite all the recent weirdness between us.

  Her expression was stony.

  “I guess it is,” I began, squeezing her arm against my side. “But maybe we should disc—”

  “Theo.”

  We both turned to find one of the bridesmaids peeking from behind an arch of roses, beckoning me over. She mimed pointing at a watch.

  “Okay, hold that thought because I need to go,” I said, wishing I had more time to talk about the future with Max. But we could tackle it at the reception, when we’d both relaxed with a few drinks, and I’d held her in my arms on the dancefloor.

  “Good luck,” Max said.

  I leaned down and kissed her lips. Her mouth went hungry for a moment, but when I pulled away there was a tiny furrow between her brows. I had to ignore the way it made me feel so I could be fully present for Jess as I got ready to walk my cousin down the aisle.

  I found her surrounded by her bridesmaids, practically levitating with happiness.

  “Hey,” Jess said, squeezing my hand as we waited our turn out of sight. “Thanks. For this.” She raised our joined hands. “And for everything. It means the world to me.”

  “Anything for my sister-cousin,” I replied. “You look absolutely stunning.”

  Jess was a goddess in a sparkly strapless gown, one of three she’d settled on for the day. She’d felt bad about not being able to decide between them, but I wanted her to get everything she wanted. There was no better feeling than using my good fortune to help make dreams come true for the people I loved. I knew all that mattered to Jess was marrying her best friend in front of her family and friends. She appreciated the sumptuous event, she’d made that fact very clear to me, but the core of it all was her love for Tim.