Chapter 4

I TURNED TOWARD TOMMYwith tears clouding my vision. “What’s going on, Tommy?” I gasped. “Why was he so upset about my pregnancy?”

Tommy and David live together... but why?

David’s reaction to me and my baby bump had been tantamount to watching someone get their heart broken in a very obvious, very public way. His pain and shock had been palpable, which made no sense.

Who reacts that way to a woman’s pregnancy?

Unless David wasn’t a brother after all, but a lover? In which case his hurt would make a lot more sense.

Tommy ran a hand through his hair and collapsed onto the couch, his expression soured with a grimace. “Damn it. I really didn’t want him finding out like that.”

I moved over to the window and watched as David hurried to his expensive-looking car, jumped inside, and raced off.

Damn it,was right. David was incredibly gorgeous. If I was being blunt, he was too hot for my sanity, especially if my baby was going to be related to him. I’d thought Tommy was as handsome as men came, and he was. But David’s raw sexuality poured off him like a waterfall.

How can they be gay?

My hormones were telling me it made no sense, so I had to find out. Now. The moment David was down the road and out of sight, I shivered with an unease I hadn’t ever felt before. It was strange in a way I couldn’t wrap my head around.

“Are you cold?” Tommy asked from behind me.

I shook my head as I turned back around. “No, I’m not. But you need to tell me what’s going on with David.” When he didn’t respond straight away, I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed. “You can tell me the truth, Tommy. I’m an open-minded person, but I just need to know. Is David your... lover?”

The closeness and intimacy they shared together was obvious, but asking the question was still difficult for me. I prided myself on being an accepting individual, but it smarted a little, since it hadn’t even occurred to me once that Tommy might be gay or bisexual. Married or divorced, maybe. But during the night we’d spent together, there hadn’t been a single moment where I’d had cause to wonder about Tommy’s sexuality.

“Oh, hell no!” Tommy jumped to his feet. “We’re brothers. Literally. We’re fraternal twins. I’ve got photos ... My parents will be here soon enough. You can ask them.”

I nodded slowly, taking him at his word as I shook the tension out of my shoulders. “Then what was that all about? It seems a bit weird that your brother, who I’ve never met, would get so distraught over our baby.”

“Ah... oh, fuck.” Tommy paced the room. “I’m going to have to tell you the truth to explain this situation, but you’re going to have to keep your mind open about it. Okay?”

“I can do that. But you’re not bisexual or married, are you?”

Tommy shook his head. “No, that’s not for me. I’m single and straight as the day is long.”

“Okay.” A rush of relief washed over me, but there was still a tension in my gut I couldn’t resolve. He wasn’t gay or bisexual and he wasn’t married, so what else could it be? I honestly had no idea what he was going to say, but at least he’d answered my questions and been upfront so far.

I’ll just have to see where this goes...

“In my family, twin boys are sometimes born in what is termed a ‘perfect pair’. It means that David and I are kind of opposite of each other in every way. I’m not as serious and I’m much funnier, at least, according to the family. He’s a fucking perfectionist, and way too smart for his own good. Even our coloring is different. I’m lighter and taller. He’s darker and shorter. Our strengths and weaknesses basically complement each other.”

I nodded as if an odd familial term for twins explained any of our current predicament. “Okay. So, what’re are you trying to say, Tommy?”

He dragged in a huge breath, running another frazzled hand through his gorgeous blond hair. “Well, in our family, most perfect pairs end up married to one woman. They share a family like Wade and Tanner, Nancy’s husbands.”

“Nancy’s... husbands?” I felt my eyes grow wide and my jaw hit the floor.

Tommy nodded slowly. “She didn’t tell you about that yet?”

“Well... no. She failed to mention that.”

Oh, shit. I’ve found myself in some kind of polygamous family cult. Crap. Not what I had in mind!

Tommy went on, oblivious to the fact I was beginning to hyperventilate.

“So, that’s what David was upset about. We were always meant to find the right woman together. Love her together, be a complete family. And now, with you and I...” He sighed and sat down with a thump. “I hate this. I mean, I’m so happy for us, for you and me—please don’t misunderstand. But my brother... we’d always planned our life to unfold a certain way... but I guess it doesn’t matter now.”

My head was starting to spin when there was a knock at the door.

Nancy stuck her head in, her voice soft. “Was that David I just saw driving off—” She paused mid-sentence, her gaze fixated on me. “Whoa, you need to sit down!” She rushed over to me, grabbed my hand, and gently encouraged me sit on the couch.

My stomach strained, feeling somehow tighter with my quick breathing. I was trying not to give in to hyperventilating completely, but that was fast becoming a problem. “Is it true?” I managed to get out in between breaths. “That you have two?”

Nancy frowned and glanced over at Tommy for some clarification or point of reference.

Tommy sighed again. “Sorry, Nancy. I had to tell her about perfect pair marriages after David kind of freaked out and took off.”

Nancy chuckled softly and kneeled in front of me. “Just breathe, slowly. Or I’ll get you a paper bag.”

I closed my eyes and focused on wrangling my panic back under control. After a minute or two, when I could finally breathe more calmly, I opened my eyes again and met Nancy’s gaze. I still wanted an answer. “Well?” I pressed, even though I had no real right to enquire about her personal life. She was family now, but realistically we’d only just met. She certainly didn’t deserve my emotion-driven snappiness, but my pregnancy hormones were ramping up and making me feel more panicked and grumpier than usual.

Nancy didn’t get upset at my tone of voice in the slightest. In fact, she took it in stride and instead she got to her feet with a grin. “I think you’re going to fit right in around here, Stacey. Come on, come along and meet my husbands. We’re just about to cut the cake.” Nancy dragged me to my feet and clung to my hand as she led me from the sitting room and into the rest of her beautiful house.

“I can’t believe it,” I whispered, mostly to myself, my mind reeling.

Nancy chuckled. “Yeah, I know, right? I freaked the hell out too. I remember it like it was just yesterday.”

“You did?” I asked, looking toward the woman, who was glowing with good health and happiness.

“Yeah, of course!” She laughed. “I was on my bike, riding like a bat out of hell, looking for a safe place to hide from my asshole ex, when a couple of brothers up and decided they both wanted me! Ah... nope. It blew my mind, and I panicked big time. That wasn’t the kind of life I’d dreamed of, or I ever thought I’d end up with.”

The brothers she was talking about glided up and took her from my grasp, kissing her and whispering to her in a coordinated way that almost made their intimate interaction look like a dance.

Finally, she got them to stop petting her and she gestured to me. “Guys, this is the young lady I was telling you about, Stacey.” She smiled broadly. “Stacey, this is Tanner and Wade, my husbands and mates.”

I nodded at the two men who grinned at me.

“Welcome to our housewarming,” the brother called Wade said. “Nancy says you’ll be staying here for a while?”

“Ah...” My voice died in my throat.

“Yes, she is,” Nancy said quickly, filling in for me. “She’s already set up in the guest suite.”

I managed to smile, though I didn’t feel quite comfortable in agreeing to anything out loud just yet.

“Come on. Let’s go cut that beautiful cake.” Wade swept his wife away, Tanner close behind, and I ended up watching from the dining area as they began the ritual of speeches and cake cutting. They thanked everyone present, then announced their pregnancy to one and all. The whole room lit up with happiness and cheers.

“Are you doing okay?” Tommy whispered to me, sliding up behind me.

“Yeah, I think so,” I managed, even though I wasn’t sure how I was. This entire situation seemed crazy. It defied everything I’d grown up to know as normal and socially acceptable. And yet as I watched Nancy and her men, I couldn’t help but see them as nothing more than a beautiful family—just people who were committed to one another and in love.

“I have a role to play in the next part of the reveal,” Tommy said into my ear, touching my lower back gently. “Excuse me. I’ll be back.”

“It’s a boy!” The collective family all around us cried as the cake was cut and slices of brilliant blue cake were revealed.

Tommy walked over to the new throuple family and handed them a card.

“Thanks,” Nancy said, but didn’t move to open it.

“You’ll want to open that now.” Tommy gestured with a grin. “Because I didn’t tell you everything we saw at the early scan.”

Nancy’s brow creased as she opened the envelope and pulled out the contents. A single ultrasound image. She stared at it for several long moments as silence descended upon the room. “Is that...?” She pointed at the picture, her eyes like saucers.

“I can’t say for certain,” Tommy announced, “but I’m pretty sure that you are carrying the next set of perfect pair boys in the family!”

“Oh my God!” Nancy cried, clasping her hands to her cheeks, gobsmacked as the room erupted with delighted laughter and riotous cheering once more.

Nancy was snatched up by her proud husbands, who kissed and hugged her like she was the queen of their world and just made them the happiest men on Earth.

Tommy walked back to me, his hands shoved into his pants pockets. “I’ve been holding onto that secret all week,” he shared with me, a twinkle in his eye.

I smiled at him but wasn’t sure how to process all the emotions coursing through me. This was a lot to take in on top of being six months pregnant. “I think I need to sit down,” I said.

“Okay, no problem. Where do you want to go?” he asked.

“My room,” I answered, not even thinking about it before the words spilled from my lips. “Would you mind grabbing me a soda, please?” My stomach liked the fizzy bubbles for some reason. They seemed to help whenever nausea struck.

Tommy grabbed a drink from one of the buckets of ice, and we headed upstairs.

I didn’t know why he was following me, but we probably needed to talk more, I imagined. Thankfully, I’d made the bed again after my nap, so everything looked neat and tidy. I sat down on the floral comforter and took a steadying breath.

Tommy stood by the door, clearly not wanting to overstep the mark on my personal space. “Can I stay for a moment?” he asked.

“Sure,” I said, gesturing to the armchair in the corner of the room. “It looks like Nancy is happy to allow me to stay here for a while, which is nice of her.”

“It is,” Tommy said, before passing me my soda and sitting down. “Can you tell me more about your situation, Stacey? I mean... I love that you came all this way to tell me about our baby face to face, but do you have to leave again at some point? Do you have family waiting, or anything to get back to?” he asked.

I shook my head, then took a sip of the refreshing beverage. “No, nothing like that. My parents are elderly now and can’t really help me. I was working on a casual basis, but as soon as my pregnancy became obvious, I was no longer needed.”

I raised my gaze to meet his eyes and my anxiety came flooding back at what I had to admit next. “I was married,” I stuttered, tripping over the words. “He wasn’t very... nice to me, so I ran away. And that was the night I met you. I was hiding, looking for somewhere safe to stay for a while and wandered into the hotel to book a room.”

Tommy chuckled. “And you literally ran into me in the foyer,” he recalled.

I gulped and nodded my head. “You... you saved my life in a lot of ways that night, Tommy.” I’d wanted to tell him so many times, so I paused to make sure I got it out right. “I’d managed to pack everything I needed in my car, but my ex is, well was very persistent about getting me back at the time, and I was afraid. But that night we spent together? You showed me what passion could be and what kindness was. I... could never go back after having experienced that. That’s why I set out to find you.”

Tommy stood up and moved over to my bed. He sat down next to me and put his arm around me, not speaking, just offering me his physical strength and silent comfort as my past haunted me.

I dropped my head onto his shoulder as if it was the most natural thing in the world and closed my eyes. It had been a very long, very tiring six months of travel and fear. But if I was lucky, if I could accept all this... “perfect pairs” business, it was beginning to look like I’d finally reached my destination.

My baby and I are finally safe.