THE BRAVO BOYS - SNAKE EATER [book three]

Chapter SIXTY SEVEN

Shelby Quinn

Logan and I could hardly keep our hands off each other long enough to shower, get dressed and make it back downtown in time for Dinner with Dallas. Between then and finishing a delicious plate of Tex's baked salmon, I haven't found the right moment to talk to Logan about the unexpected and unplanned surprise of it all.

Our unborn baby.

Perhaps there is no such thing as the perfect moment. Perhaps I am simply overthinking and avoiding it because I am terrified telling him will change everything.
Including his decision to agree to marry me. Maybe it was hasty of me to propose, but I needed to know he wanted to be with me, for me, and not just out of some sense of obligation. But I want more than anything to call him mine. To watch him become a father to our children and to live every day with him by my side.

Spending time with Logan and Dallas only solidified how idyllic that future could be. And I don't know if I am strong enough to bear his rejection if he doesn't want all those things too.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Logan calls from the kitchen as Dallas dashes past the door, dressed in a pair of ripped blue jeans and a cropped sports tee.

She sheepishly skids to a halt, reversing two steps before joining us by the kitchen island where Logan and I sit. "Well, I thought you two might want some time to catch up, so Dusty is taking me to the movies."

"Oh, fun!" I look up from the plate of fruit I'd been snacking on to smile and she beams back at me with an enthusiastic nod, her strawberry blonde curls bouncing wildly..

"I know, right!"

Logan eyes her protectively and she steps forward with sweet puppy eyes. "I'll be home before midnight, I promise."

"Alright." With an assuaging sigh he reaches into the back pocket of his pants to pull out his wallet. Plucking a few fresh bills he offers the money in an extended fist to the teen and her grin widens. "You better take this then."

"Really?" She squeals, rushing around to simultaneously snatch the cash as she bounces on tiptoes to peck him on the cheek. "You're the best!"

He rolls his eyes and shakes his head at me, demonstrating what a complete softy he really is.

"Bye Uncle Lo, bye Shelby!" Flinging an impractically tiny handbag over her shoulder she calls out her farewell as she hurries out of the kitchen and off on her date.

Leaning casually against the counter, Logan smiles at me. "There's no way she makes it home before midnight."

"Probably not." I giggle, popping a particularly juicy grape into my mouth. "But she's a good kid. And Dustin is a sweet boy."

"Uh-huh." Logan hums doubtfully. "Yeah, I think I need a drink." My throat dries as I watch his impressive muscles flex when he reaches above his head to retrieve a top shelf scotch from the cabinet. He turns to me with an inviting wave of the bottle. "You thirsty, Barbie?"

"No, thanks." I quickly shake my head, seeing the opening I'd been waiting for and kicking myself for being such a coward. I have faced far more dangerous fears, but somehow this feels scarier than any of them. "Um- actually- remember that thing I wanted to talk to you about?"

He pours out two fingers of amber liquor, sloshing the glass back and forth before tossing it back. "If this is about the Specter job, I already told you, Sweet Thing, I'm good with it. And Iris wasn't the one who convinced me to take it-"

"It's not that-" I interrupt.. My heart rate quickens dangerously and my tongue feels swollen, suddenly every inch of my body runs hot with rampant anxiety. "I just- I have to tell you something and you gotta promise me that you won't freak out."