CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

D espite the fact that he and Chloe reconciled, she moved in, and Silas seemed to be okay with everything for now , Dom was still processing the fact that he was going to be a father—again.

A baby.

Chloe was pregnant.

With his child.

He wasn’t sure where to turn or what to do, so he shot off a text message to the group chat with all of his brothers demanding an emergency meeting at the brewery.

They were all down there within thirty minutes. Silas went over to Bennett’s with Griffon and Jake. Talia was there too. Apparently, Justine and Brooke were going to take all the kids to Sunday morning kids’ yoga at the yoga yurt. Vica had a work call, so she wasn’t able to join them.

Each one of his brothers yawned like a male lion as they entered the brewery, grabbing a stool and sitting down, sleepy-eyed. Wyatt still had bedhead.

Jagger scratched at his thick beard, cradling a stainless-steel Yeti mug. “This is my one day to sleep in, bro. What the hell can’t wait until noon?”

Clint was already pouring them each a glass of beer and passing them around.

“Chloe’s pregnant.”

Everyone’s jaw dropped.

“Gonna need something stronger,” Wyatt said, standing up and heading through the door that connected the brewery to the kitchen. He returned less than a minute later with a bottle of Pecker Rye and five low ball glasses. He poured everyone a dram. “All right, start over.”

“Chloe’s pregnant,” Dom said again, tossing back the rye.

“And it’s yours?” Clint asked.

Dom shot his oldest brother a glare.

Clint held up his hands in surrender. “I’m just asking. I mean … she’s only been here, what? Eight weeks? Maybe she’s been with other guys? Maybe she was pregnant when she got here and didn’t know? Maybe it’s Hawke’s?”

Dom surged to his feet, anger lancing hot through him.

Jagger was on his feet too, resting a hand against Dom’s chest. “Easy. He’s just asking. Just looking out for you.”

“And your reaction is also very telling about how you feel about her and the baby,” Bennett said gently. “I take it you’re happy?”

Dom sat back down, his nostrils flaring. “It’s mine. I believe her when she says she hasn’t been with anybody else. And it’s not Hawke’s. She has no reason to lie.”

Clint glanced at the others. “One of you say it. I can’t keep being the bad guy. He already wants to put his fist through my face.”

“She has ample reason to lie,” Wyatt said softly. “And while I like Chloe too, I mean, there’s a lot to inherit here. The land, the business. We’re building a dynasty.”

“She’s not like that,” Dom gritted out.

“I don’t think she is either,” Wyatt said. “But we’re also trying to cover our asses here. We co-own a business. She comes after you, she comes after all of us.”

“What’s she coming after me for?” he demanded. “Child support? If things don’t work out between us, then of course I’ll take care of my child. What else can she come after?”

“You were— are —her boss. You slept with her. You got her pregnant. We’re not ignorant to the uneven power dynamic here.” Bennett sipped his rye. “It was the main reason Chloe didn’t want to get involved with you. And now that she has, and she’s pregnant, this is messy.”

The idea of Chloe and his child being considered “messy” burned like dry ice on his tongue.

“So what do I do? I tried to fire her and she wouldn’t let me.”

“You what?” Bennett rolled his eyes. “Fucking hell.”

“She wouldn’t let me. I said if I fired her, she could collect severance, then we could be together.”

“You tried to fire her after she told you she was pregnant and the baby is yours. Do you have any idea the implications this could put our business in?” Bennett appealed to his other brothers for support. “I’m not crazy right? That was insane.”

Everyone but Dom nodded solemnly.

Jagger pulled in a deep breath through his nose and made a sad face, pursing his lips like a duck for a moment. “Sit down, Dom. You’re making me anxious with your pacing.”

Glaring at his younger brother, Dom reluctantly took a seat back on the stool.

Jagger cleared his throat. “Obviously, we have a group chat without you. We all have group chats minus one person. And we did discuss what would happen if something like this happened.”

Fresh rage simmered in Dom’s veins. “And?”

“And,” Jagger said, his throat bobbing on a swallow, “you’re fired.” The glint in his eyes behind his wire-rimmed glasses had just the smallest playful edge to it, but Jagger had always been a tougher one to read than the rest of the brothers.

Dom’s mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?”

Wyatt gaze rolled to the ceiling, then back to Dom. “He means you’re demoted. Obviously, you’re still part owner. We’re not voting you out as shareholder or anything. But as far as bar manager goes, you’re being demoted to bartender. So we’re firing you from the management position.”

Dom was back on his feet so fast the stool teetered then crashed to the ground obnoxiously loud behind him. “You can’t do that.”

“We can. We voted,” Clint said stoically. “It’s to save your ass, our asses, and Chloe’s ass. We’re making her bar manager—”

“She’s better at it than you are anyway,” Wyatt interjected.

Dom glared at Wyatt.

Bennett’s dark-blue eyes landed on Dom. “If we give Chloe some power, it won’t look as bad. To the other staff members, or the public. We also don’t want people—staff or otherwise—looking at her sideways thinking she’s getting preferential treatment because she’s sleeping with the boss. Besides, aren’t you happier now that you’ve got bartenders you can trust, and you’re able to spend more time with Silas?”

“You think Renée, Penny, or anybody else is going to be okay with being overlooked?” Dom’s argument was weak, but they’d blindsided him and fired him. Add in the bombshell Chloe dropped on him last night, and he was still picking shrapnel out of his hair. “That they’re not going to think she slept her way to the top?”

“We already polled all the staff and they think Chloe would make a fantastic bar manager. Nobody else wants the job.” Bennett was Mr. Serious, but he also kept his tone even and empathetic with just the right amount of regret in his gaze. “Come on, Dom. Deep down, you know this makes sense.”

“Does it?” Dom’s eyes swiveled between all of his brother’s faces, searching for one of them to take his side. “So, what? I’m her boss, but she’s my boss? How the hell is that going to work?”

Jagger shrugged casually. “Yeah, basically. And we don’t know yet. Because this situation is new to all of us. But we just know that you sleeping with a subordinate, and getting her pregnant, does not look good for business. And you know how news travels on this island. At fucking lightning speed.”

“God, can you imagine if Jolene got wind of things?” Clint made a face of horror and shook his head. “I’m pretty sure she’s the reason the entire island knows about Joey Jefferies and what he did to Chloe at the hostel. Poor Abe is having a hard time with it. He’s hardly out in public anymore he’s so ashamed. It’s not making Hawke’s life any easier either.”

Bennett leveled his gaze at Dom. “This isn’t a punishment. It’s a solution to what could otherwise be a very messy problem.”

“Stop calling my child and the woman I love ‘messy,’” Dom growled and began to pace again, glaring at his brothers.

“You’re spiraling,” Jagger said gently. “Sit down and be the rational Dom we all know you are. You’re spiraling from the news of the baby, and now you feel like you’re being edged out of your own company.”

“Don’t tell me what to do or feel!” Dom snapped. “And I’ll sit when I fucking want to.”

His brothers all exchanged looks and a few eyerolls. Clint leaned over, picked up the stool and stood it upright again.

“You will still work in the pub as a bartender, but giving Chloe the management position negates a lot of the whole uneven power dynamic.” Bennett took a sip of his beer. “And, it will give you more time to spend with Silas before the new baby comes.” His gaze turned wary. “Does he know?”

Dom nodded. “Yeah … we told him this morning.” He ran his fingers through his hair and yanked out the elastic. “Not in the way we wanted to though.” Sighing, he took a seat back on the stool. “Came barreling up the stairs and found Chloe in my bed, and I was naked coming out of the shower.”

“Oh shit,” several of his brothers said at the same time.

Dom nodded. “But we sat him down and told him in the gentlest way possible.” A smile spread across his face at the memory of Silas’s reaction to the baby and how he wanted to help pick out the name, and then said he wouldn’t let Carnation hurt the baby the way she hurt him. He was going to be a fantastic older brother. Then he focused back on Bennett. “Aya’s apparently teaching him how to bite to defend himself and he plans to teach the baby and defend the baby, so …”

Bennett’s chin fell to his chest. “Yeah … I’ve got my hands full with that child.”

Clint and Wyatt’s body’s slightly jostled as they held in their chuckles.

Exhaling a long, slow breath, Dom’s shoulders rounded, and he took a sip of his beer. “I wish you guys would have included me in the discussion. It feels like I’m being ganged up on. I know this is a democracy, but …”

Clint’s head bobbed. “I get that. We’re sorry. But from a legal standpoint, we needed to have a game plan if you came to us and said that things between you and Chloe were getting serious.” He shrugged. “I mean, the whole restaurant knows. It’s never been a secret, as much as you both might think it is.”

Dom’s eyes went wide. This was new information.

Wyatt scoffed. “ Everyone heard you that day when you two banged it out—twice—in the cash room. And don’t forget, we all ,” he pointed to Jagger, Clint, and Bennett, “have access to the video feed.”

Dread created an icy lather in Dom’s belly. “You guys didn’t—”

“No, of course not,” Jagger said, shaking his head. “We do have some class and decency. Give us a bit of credit. I’m honestly surprised it took you as long as it did to delete it from the cloud though.”

“The one of them in the bar is still in the cloud,” Bennett said off-handedly.

Shit.

Dom forgot about that one. He yanked his phone from his back pocket and brought up the archived video file, scrolling back to November 1st and the camera that sat up in the far corner to oversee everything in the bar. As soon as he found it, he deleted it. Then he cleared the trashcan as well to be sure.

Clint’s gaze softened and he stood up, pulling Dom into a hug. “Congratulations on the baby, man. That’s great news.”

“And congratulations on the demotion,” Wyatt added, taking his turn in the hug queue. Dom flipped him the bird which made Wyatt chuckle.

Swallowing, Dom met each of his brother’s eyes. “We’re not telling anybody about the baby. Besides those that live on the hill, that is.” He inhaled deep into his belly. “Chloe … she, uh … she lost several pregnancies in the past, and then the son that survived, he, um … he died when he was eight—so four years ago—in a really terrible accident. She’s very nervous about this pregnancy, and has basically convinced herself that it’s not going to go to term. So, the longer we can keep it a secret, the better.” His bottom lips wobbled at the thought of Chloe having previously gone through so much loss, and possibly having to go through more.

His brothers all nodded.

“Anything we can do,” Bennett said. “I’m assuming she’s going to want to have an appointment with Justine.”

“She might be considered a high-risk pregnancy given her age—over thirty-five—and all her previous losses,” Wyatt added. “Should we hire another bartender to help offset her load?”

Dom’s heart swelled with how supportive and understanding his brothers were being. Sure, he was still a little miffed that they effectively fired him from the bar manager position, but as his initial anger died down, he realized it was what made the most amount of sense. Besides, when she had the baby, he would probably step back into the management role for a while anyway.

“I’m assuming Chloe has moved into your house?” Clint asked. “Or that is the plan anyway? That way you can be there for her, and so she and Silas can get to know each other?”

Nodding, Dom finished his beer. “Yeah. She was against the idea at first, but I just kept thinking, what if she starts to bleed or have cramps, and can’t reach me or any of us because she’s down in the cabin? At least up here, we’re all within shouting distance.”

“It’s a good idea.” Wyatt gripped Dom’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze, then laughed. “Kind of funny how we’ve all moved the women we’re with now into our homes—rather quickly. But so far, it’s working well. And I’m sure it’ll work out for you guys too.”

Dom could only hope.

“So, little brother,” Clint started, directing his question to Jagger, “who are you moving into your house? Is Ms. Raina Aaronson looking for a new abode?” He snickered at his own joke, but all he got in return from Jagger was a steely glare and two middle fingers in the air.

They all chuckled, and for once it wasn’t at Dom’s expense.

Now that his brothers knew about the baby, and his relationship with Chloe, that last residual bit of weight finally slipped off Dom’s shoulders.

They agreed that he would be the one to tell Chloe about her promotion, since it was his job they were giving her.

With all the kids at yoga, his brothers all meandered off into different directions to go begin work for the day. Just because it was Sunday, didn’t mean their business shut down. There was still shit to do.

Dom was on the nightshift tonight though, which had him feeling uneasy. This would be the first time Chloe and Silas would be in the house alone together. Were either of them ready?

Was he asking too much from both of them too soon?

He was about to hike up the hill and back to the house when a familiar little red Suzuki Tracker with a sassy blonde behind the wheel, pulled into the parking lot, blasting music. Renée was all smiles and glittering gray eyes as she climbed out of the left side. “Hey, bossman.”

“Good morning,” he greeted her.

“How’s Chloe feeling? She didn’t look too good when she left last night.” The smirk on her face said of course he’d know how Chloe was feeling, considering that they were more than just friends .

“She’s feeling better,” he said, not biting the bait she dangled.

“Good to hear.” With her purse slung across her body, and jacket tucked over her arm, she headed for the open back door of the kitchen.

“Hey,” he called to her, making her pause and spin around, “I’m sorry if I’ve been such a grumpy asshole lately.”

Her gaze softened and she smiled. “You two finally stopped being idiots and decided to just be honest with your feelings, then?”

He made a noise in his throat that just prompted her to widen her smile.

“Something like that.”

“Well, I’m glad. It’s about time. Chloe’s great and we all really like her.”

“Yeah … me too.”

She tossed him a cheeky wink, then spun around again and disappeared through the rear kitchen door.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Dom stalked up the hill and through the security gate, the heavy fog and cool December wind coming off the water reminding him that he needed to dress warmer. A Henley was not enough anymore. Not until at least April anyway. Silas said it was calling for mostly just drizzle all day with minimal wind. Though the highest temperature it was supposed to reach all day was a balmy thirty-eight. Chuckling at his future weatherman son, he reached the house, and the moment he opened the door he was greeted with the undeniable sound of someone vomiting.

Uh-oh.

It was upstairs in the en suite, but the noise was unmistakable.

Unlike Wyatt, who would immediately vomit the moment someone else vomited, Dom had a stronger constitution than that. He ditched his muddy boots and took the stairs two at a time, finding Chloe kneeling on the bathroom floor, a towel beneath her knees and her hair in a bun on top of her head as she leaned over the toilet bowl.

He went to her and slid to the floor on his knees beside her, rubbing her back. “What can I do?”

“Nothing,” she said, her tone more of a whine than anything else. “This is just … part of the process I guess.”

“Were you sick with you other … um … did you experience morning sickness before?”

She shook her head and reached up to pull the toggle to flush the toilet. “No. At least never like this.”

He grabbed a hand towel and handed it to her so she could wipe her face. “Let me help you. Do you want ginger ale?”

She shook her head. “No.”

His gaze settled on the big, free-standing soaker tub next to the enormous window with a perfect view of the sound. “How about a warm bath?”

Her head tilted to the side in thought, then she nodded.

He rose to his feet and put in the plug, then turned on the faucet. He and his brothers all had identical houses. They were all two-stories with three-bedrooms and two and half bathrooms. The kitchen, dining room, living room, half-bathroom, and a study or office were on the main floor, while three bedrooms and two bathrooms were on the top floor. And the way they laid out the lots ensured that each of them had an unencumbered view of the sound over the treetops from the primary bedroom and en suite.

While the tub filled up, he retreated downstairs and brewed her a cup of peppermint tea. He didn’t know much about morning sickness since Remy didn’t really experience any, but he knew that peppermint tamed belly problems. So that was the least he could do.

When he returned, she was naked and climbing into the tub, having used some of his body wash to create bubbles.

Her deep sigh as she slid beneath the bubbles eased the sudden tension around his heart. He wanted this pregnancy to be easy for her. She deserved that. She deserved anything and everything she ever wanted after all the pain and loss she experienced.

He set the tea on the windowsill and shut off the tap. “How are you feeling?”

Her smile was small, and her eyes were tired. “Better. Thank you. This helps.”

Sitting on the edge of the tub, he met her gaze. “So, uh … I told my brothers. About us. About the baby.”

All she did was lift her brows. “And?”

“And they fired me.”

“Wait, what? They can’t do that.” She sat up, eyes flaring open wide. Then she tilted her head to the side in a ridiculously cute way. “Can they?”

“Everything is voted on. And they held a vote without me. But had I been there, it wouldn’t have mattered. It would have been four against one.”

With brows scrunched, she leaned back against the wall of the tub again, studying him. “You seem awfully okay with this. Is there a catch?”

Reaching forward, he tucked a wayward strand of her dark-red hair behind her ear. “I mean, I still own one-fifth of the business. They can’t vote me out as a shareholder. But as far as managing the bar is concerned, they, uh … they had somebody else, somebody better , in mind.” He inclined his head toward her. “So now, you’ll be my boss.”

Her rapid blinks were adorable as she struggled to process everything. “Me?”

“You’re a better bartender than I am. Everyone loves you. The staff, the customers. I’m a grump who has to force himself to be nice to people to get their money. It’s exhausting.”

That made her laugh. “Yeah, but you’re a cute grump.”

Shrugging, he smirked. “I know. But once I got over the shock, and they spelled it out for me, it does make sense. It levels the playing field a bit better. The power dynamic isn’t so skewed. I’ll still technically be your boss, since I’m still an owner, but you’ll also be my boss. I’ll just be another bartender, another employee. Another grunt.”

Her snicker made his dick twitch. “Another grunt, huh?”

“Apparently, they took a poll of all the staff and nobody else wants the position, or thinks they could do it better than you. The job is yours if you want it. And according to Wyatt, and Renée, everybody at work already knows about us anyway. So … it’s not like we need to make some big announcement about that either. Renée was just relieved we finally stopped ignoring our feelings.”

“I am too,” she said softly, her eyes burning like two teal orbs. But then her mood quickly shifted from lustful to anxious in the utter blink of her beautiful eyes. He wanted to replace her teeth with his and nibble on that plump bottom lip as she worried it back and forth in thought. “What about Hawke and the hostel?”

He shrugged. “We can figure it out. He does need to find somebody else though. And with the baby coming, the sooner the better. I wouldn’t want to be without enough staff come the spring and summer when the tourists turn into locusts and swarm.”

“So, like, I get to tell you what to do and stuff?” she asked, a shimmer of intrigue and playfulness emerging in her blue-green stare.

Picking up on her wavelength, he slid to his knees and let one hand delve beneath the bubbles. “You do. Is there something you’d like me to do for you right now?”

Pursing her lips, she spread her legs and sucked in a sharp breath as he found her center. With his thumb, he ran rough, wide circles around her clit, enjoying the way it almost instantly swelled. Once he knew she was primed, he slid one finger, then another into her tight heat, pumping gently until she relaxed a bit more.

Leaning back against the tub, she closed her eyes, her teeth once again pushing hard against her plump bottom lip until it turned white. A soft moan escaped her and his cock thickened against his zipper. Sexy little hip-lifts made the water slosh about, but it wasn’t so full that it’d flood the bathroom floor.

“Oh god,” she breathed, her hip-lifts growing more erratic.

Her beauty stole his breath away. Even just sitting there in the tub, nauseous, and frantic with worry about whether the pregnancy would even survive, she was a sight to behold. She was his. And he soaked up every moment. Memorized every contour of her face. The small, white scar through her left brow, the splash of freckles across her nose and cheeks, and even the faint apple-seed-sized birthmark on the right side of her neck just below her jaw.

Her mouth parted and she drew in another quick breath. Her clit had doubled in size beneath his thumb and her pussy squeezed his fingers.

Then, she stilled, pulled in a deep breath through her nose, held it, and let go.

Color filled her pale cheeks as her chest rose and fell with rapid succession beneath the bubbles. Her tight channel squeezed and released his fingers as her clit throbbed against his thumb pad. And he just took it all in. He watched as her eyes pinched closed tight, creating adorable little lines on either side, as her mouth opened wider to create a perfect, sexy “O” and how her knuckles turned white as she gripped the edge of the bath with all her tiny might.

And he just kept going. Prolonging her pleasure. Giving her what he could to make her feel better. To ease the torture in her brain and body. And he would continue to do so for the next eight months and beyond.

Eventually, her climax waned and came to an end. Boneless, she slumped against the wall of the tub and slowly peeled open her eyes, blinking beautiful blue-green sparkles at him. A slow, shy smile curled her mouth as he removed his fingers and brought his hand out of the water. “Thank you,” she whispered. “That actually really helped.”

“Anytime,” he replied, reaching across her for the mug of tea. “This might help too. It’s peppermint.”

She took it from him and had a sip, humming in delight as she swallowed. “Thank you.”

“What do you plan to do on your day off?” he asked, wiping his wet hand on his jeans.

“I texted Justine and asked if we could have a chat when she gets back from yoga with the kids.”

He nodded, then her mention of the kids reminded him what he wanted to speak with her about. “So … I have to work tonight.”

She nodded.

“That means Silas will be here. And you will be here.”

Her eyes went wide as she took another sip of her tea.

“You don’t have to babysit him. That’s not what I’m asking. He can go to Clint’s, or I can have Jagger take him. Or we can see if Jagger will hang out here and maybe you two can get to know each other but without the pressure of you also being the adult that needs to make sure he doesn’t choke on his grilled cheese.” He was trying to make the topic as light as possible, but the way her eyes darkened and that playful, post-orgasm glow quickly drained from her face, he could tell she was processing how serious and complicated it all really was.

“Well … I mean, it’s not that I don’t want to get to know Silas.” Her hand fell beneath the water to her belly. “I’m carrying his brother or sister.”

Dom’s head bobbed softly. “But we don’t have to rush things. He can be slow to warm up to people too. Unlike the other kids who all jumped at the idea of having a new woman in their father’s and their lives, I’m not sure how Silas is handling all of this or where his head is. He’s shy. And he’s very sensitive.”

“And the last thing I want is for us to rush or push and make it more challenging for everyone. Or cause any setbacks.” He reached for her hand that rested on the edge of the tub and laced their fingers together. “How about we let Silas set the pace? If he wants me to stay with him, I will. But I also won’t be offended if he’s not ready.”

While he appreciated her willingness to go at his son’s speed, he was also concerned about her heart. She lost her son in the most horrific way. Was she going to be okay welcoming another little boy into her life, into her heart, so easily? “What about you?” he asked. “What about your comfort level?”

Tightening her grip on his fingers, her eyes glittered at him under the recessed lighting. “I’ll be okay. I’ll admit, the first time I saw him it was really hard. But he’s such a lovely little boy … and I can’t run away from children simply because I lost mine too soon.” Her gaze met his. “You’re not running away from love because you lost your wife too soon, right?”

The mention of Remy sent sharp, tiny barbs into his heart and caused a rock to lodge in his throat. He was still grappling with the guilt over moving on. But he also didn’t want to add that to Chloe’s plate. She didn’t deserve it. So all he did was squeeze her fingers back and smile. “I’m going to leave you to relax. I’ll just be downstairs. It’s cleaning day, so … sorry about the loud-ass vacuum in advance.” Unease flitted across her eyes for just a moment as he released her fingers and stood up. “Call me if you need anything.” Then he pressed a kiss to her forehead and left the bathroom, taking his guilt, confusion, and painfully scarred heart with him.