11. Jake

We're both a little exhausted by the time we make it back to the hotel room. I set Walker in his carrier, where he sleepily yawns and stretches out like he's about to get some rest… from resting all day. Babies.

Caroline stops to look at herself in the full-length mirror by the door. After her makeup, hair, and fitting session with the dress, she looks like a movie star. We barely made it to our cab before getting swarmed outside the clothing store, and she was getting stares as soon as we stepped into the hotel lobby.

"I can't believe they just let me walk out with this on," she says, running her hands down the dress. "I don't want to sit down again. I just want it to stay perfect."

I grin. "It's all paid for and done. You can relax. But I do need to get myself ready. The gala starts in an hour."

She checks her phone, looking nervous. "That means Andi and Jesse will be here soon. What are we even going to say? They're going to think we're insane."

"We'll just say we were embarrassed. Easy. Maybe we've been quietly seeing each other for a few… months. Is that believable?"

Caroline folds her arms and chews her thumbnail, eyebrows scrunched up. "Months… um, well, maybe one month. I may have said some things about you two months ago that would seem suspicious."

A laugh slips out of me. "Wait, what did you say about me?" I've got my back to her as I gather my suit and slacks from the closet.

"It was nothing."

"Nothing, huh? But ‘nothing' would be the kind of thing someone wouldn't say about their boyfriend. What was it?"

She's pacing now, clearly uncomfortable. "I just said something about how you aren't the family man type. That's all. I told my friends I wanted to start a family and find my forever person. See? No big deal."

"Why the need to bring me up at all in that conversation? Were you already talking about me?"

She blinks. "Well, yes. Maybe your friends are less perceptive than mine, but the girls have suspected something going on between us for years now. I've always denied it, but they suspect it. So when I complain about my love life, they sometimes like to bring you up."

"Your love life," I say slowly. "Like this mystery man you were with when you got pregnant with Walker?" I don't say the part that has been eating at me for the past year–that Walker being somebody else's kid means she was sleeping around the last time we were hooking up. I already know I don't have a right to be mad. Having no right to be mad just makes me more mad, though. Go figure.

Caroline swallows hard enough that I hear the click in her throat. "Jake… There's something I need to–"

A knock at the door cuts her off. "Open up, asshole."

I recognize the voice. It's Jesse's.

Caroline goes pale. I have to admit my own chest goes a little tight at the thought of this conversation we're about to have. We're not just about to lie, but I'm going to have to tell her brother I'm dating his sister. Caroline will have to tell my sister she's dating me, but I know Andi will just be excited so that one isn't as big of a deal.

I move to the door and pull it open.

Jesse is waiting with crossed arms and bulging muscles. I think he's actually flexing, probably trying to intimidate me. He has dark hair, worn short, and tanned skin. He's also one of the few people who is my size, which means I can't rely on towering over him and glaring when I get backed into a corner.

Andi is beside him, looking tiny by comparison. She's my little sister. We both have the same jet-black hair and pale skin. People always seem to know we're related, so there must be some subtle similarity in our features or mannerisms. Unlike Jesse, she's wearing an excited but curious expression, eyes darting between me and Caroline like she's looking for clues.

"Hi," I say, breaking the silence.

"You're a fucking asshole," Jesse says. "You punched me when you found me with Andi. Tell me why I shouldn't punch your ass right now. Engaged to my fucking sister and you didn't even tell me you two were dating?"

"In my defense, I also found you in a vibrating waterbed. My sister was wearing nothing but a towel, and her boobs were out while you were straddling her. I think you deserved to get punched, considering you guys had just met and supposedly weren't into each other."

Jesse's jaw ticks. "Just because I'm not walking in on it, that doesn't mean it hasn't happened."

"Alright," I say, standing up straighter and pushing my jaw out. "Hit me."

Jesse's fists bunch at his sides.

"Jake," Caroline says, touching my arm. "Don't be stupid."

"Jesse," Andi warns. "No hitting. You promised you'd play nice."

But this is between us, and Jesse knows it. His eyes are locked on mine, and he's thinking very hard about it.

I take a step closer to him. "Do it."

Jesse's arms snap out, and he shoves my chest, knocking me back a few steps. He bunches his fist and raises it, jaw clenched, but then he lets it fall to his side. "Fucking asshole," he says again. There's less venom and emotion in the words this time, though.

"Asshole," I agree with a faint smile.

"Goddamn sister fucker," he adds, smirking a little.

"You started it."

Jesse gives me a light punch on the arm, then shrugs as if admitting guilt.

I clap him on the shoulder, and we hug quickly, patting each other's backs.

Pulling back, I see Andi and Caroline watching us with baffled expressions.

"Do you understand what just happened?" Caroline asks. "Because I don't."

"The mysterious mating daurnce of the male haukeyplayaur," Andi whispers with a bad Australian accent. "Some claim to undahstandit, but naurn truly daur."

Caroline sputters with laughter.

"We're good," Jesse says simply. "That's all there is to understand."

I nod.

Caroline throws her palms up and shakes her head. She leans around the corner, looking both ways. "Where are the kids?"

Jesse turns around, showing a backpack I didn't see him wearing. Their infant son, Jude, who is almost the exact same age as Walker, is sleeping happily in some kind of back-mounted car seat holder. "Amelia didn't want to leave home," he explains.

"Paisley agreed to stay with her while we're gone. Mia and Nolan will help out when they're not at Taste. Amelia was super excited about the whole thing. She packed tons of bags, even though Paisley's staying with her at our cabin. We just couldn't quite get her to understand that she didn't need to pack, so we let it happen."

I can't help taking Jude's small hand between my thumb and forefinger. I lift it up and down a few times, smiling at him. He stays sound asleep, though. The last couple of days hanging with Walker have made me realize how much more time I should be spending with Jude. At a glance, babies his age seemed pretty boring and straightforward. Being around Walker more has shown me how much personality can be hidden between the frequent naps. "Hey, dude. It's Uncle Jake. You don't want to wake up for me?"

Jude takes a deep, snorting breath, then sinks into his many chins.

Jesse turns around, removing Jude from my view just as Caroline reaches for him. "You're lucky. If I wasn't wearing this baby, I may have decided to pay you back for that black eye two years ago."

I chuckle. "Feel free to collect on your debt if you change your mind."

Andi rolls her eyes and starts unclipping the carseat from Jesse's backpack thing. "Nobody is hitting anybody. Jesse promised me on the airplane, for your information. I wouldn't let him come here if he didn't."

"She's exaggerating," Jesse says, following us inside the room. "I'm a full-grown man who makes my own decisions. I definitely could've hit you if I wanted to."

"And this full-grown man wasn't stepping foot in New York City until he promised to play nice," Andi adds.

I look at Caroline. She's biting back a smile just like I am.

Jesse sighs. "Alright. Fine. She has me wrapped around her pretty little fingers. But who can blame me?" He hugs Andi from behind carefully, plucking the car seat from her hands. He kisses the top of her head.

"So cute," Caroline says.

"Gross," I say. "Get a room."

"This one will do," Jesse says, looking around. "You mind if we borrow your bed while you're gone?"

Andi whacks him on his pec. "Jesse," she hisses. Then she smiles at me reassuringly. "We'll play with and care for these adorable babies while you're gone. And nothing else."

Jesse gives Andi a look as if that might be up for debate.

"Alright, well, we appreciate this," I say. I go to gather my clothes so I can get changed.

"Hold on," Andi says. "Can I at least ask what the hell? You guys really have been dating and thought you had to hide it from us? Engaged? Really? Are you guys about to tell us this is some kind of joke?"

"Uh," I say, rubbing the back of my neck. "We've been off and on for a long time."

Andi waits, shifting her eyes from me to Caroline when she realizes that's all I plan to say. "Really? You've been off and on a long time, and suddenly you decided, ‘hey, here's a good idea, let's get hitched!'"

Caroline plasters on a smile. God, she's a terrible actress. "Yep. Pretty much."

Jesse looks dubious. "You'd tell me if something screwy was going on, right?" he's asking Caroline.

"Nothing screwy," Caroline says quickly. "We're just doing what we have to do."

That draws a sharp look from Andi and Jesse.

"Because we're that deep in love," I add, trying to save the moment. "We kept thinking there was no way to make it work with our conflicting schedules. So we fought it for years. But we eventually realized we love each other too much." I put an arm around her and pull Caroline to my side. She's stiff as a board. "I love the shit out of her," I add, smiling hard to try to sell the lie.

Caroline isn't helping. She looks like she's got the taco sweats and would rather be staring at a toilet right about now.

"Right…" Jesse says.

"I really need to hurry up, though," I say, letting Caroline go. "We need to be out the door in fifteen minutes if we're going to make this thing."

I take my change of clothes and head into the bathroom. Once I'm inside, I spare a quick moment to desperately hope Caroline gets it together out there.