Page 161 of Hidden Empire
“I know, brother,” I tell him, clapping him on the back of his shoulders.
“Seriously,” he emphasizes. “I mean it.”
“I mean it too,” I clarify, looking into his eyes. “I know, Ivan.”
I’ve always known that my little brother doesn’t covet the company of women. There have been moments where I’ve considered that perhaps Jade may be an exception for him, but that idea was built from my adoration of my perfect girl more than anything else. Why Ivan hasn’t spoken to me about this before, I’m not sure. I’ve been giving him time to come to me, but I worry his silence is born out of fear, and I can’t allow him to be scared any longer if that’s the case.
Judging by the bob of his throat and the worry in his eyes, I regret keeping my mouth shut for as long as I have.
Hugging him so tightly that our bodies clash, I apologize silently. “Best brother in the world,” I comment quietly, leaving the compliment between the two of us. “Thank you for keeping my wife safe.”
He clears his throat, coughing away the emotion. “Thank you for letting me.”
“Anatoly got my message here safely?”
“Yeah,” he replies easily. “He’s been here since. I can hardly get him to take a break.”
I chuckle. “Sounds like someone else I know.”
Ivan huffs, not a fan of being called out. “Yeah, yeah. Well, I’m your brother. I wouldn’t work this hard for you with what you pay Anatoly.”
God, I’ve missed my little brother.
“He’s making more now.” A lot more.
“I suspected as much,” he responds. “You wouldn’t have anyone making less than a pretty penny guarding Jade, especially while living in the same house as her.”
Absolutely. No one I don’t intrinsically trust is getting near my woman.
“Nico!” I hear Jade call out. “Armani!” she adds, screeching with excitement. “You’re home!”
When I turn to watch her, she’s already tackling the two of them into a shared hug, forcing them as close as she can get them. Smacking kisses on both of their cheeks, she eventually lets them go to stand on her own.
“Whoa,” Armani grunts. “You really are pregnant, huh?”
Jade blushes, touching her bump. “Sure am, sorry I didn’t tell you guys sooner. Or, you know, myself.”
“It’s twins, right?” Nico asks, looking at her stomach like it’s a foreign creature.
“It is,” she lights up, telling him.
“They’re fourteen weeks now.” She’s so proud as she tells them this. My precious girl is going to be the best fucking mom. Raised by a horror show, I would fully understand if this was hard for her, but she seems to be flourishing.
They both continue to stare at her, taking it all in. I informed them about my improvised but appreciated marriage to Jade and her pregnancy, but I didn’t expect them to digest it until they saw it. It seems reality is setting in for the pair of them.
“Want to touch?” she asks, nodding to her bump. “They don’t move a lot during the day, mostly when I’m trying to sleep, so you won’t feel that.”
Good, because they will not feel my children move before I do.
Tentatively, Armani nods and extends a hand. Nico hesitates before doing the same. I watch in awe as my wife introduces her brothers to our babies with the biggest shining smile.
“We don’t have names yet, and we don’t know the sexes, but…” she trails off, poking the left side below her ribs. “Baby A tends to hang out around here, and Baby B is over here.” She pokes the right side closer to her chest than her hips.
Armani’s eyebrows draw closer together. “I’m staring right at you and literally touching your stomach, and it’s still hard to believe you're pregnant.”
Jade nods, agreeing. “Trust me, you get used to it.”
“I doubt it,” Nico replies, taking his hand back. “You’re happy then?”