Page 114 of Secret Baby for My Brother's Best Friends

"What?"

"I'm dating all three of them."

"Was this Jake's idea?"

I laugh. "Believe it or not, no. And James, you really need to get rid of this animosity you feel towards him. I know you're angry, but what happened wasn't entirely his fault."

"You don't know him!" James hisses. "And you're falling for his lies."

"He hasn't lied to me yet."

"How would you know? You're naive enough to think someone like Eric was a good idea."

I flinch, my anger simmering to the forefront. "James..."

"No, absolutely not. This is not happening. You're coming with me right now."

"Calm down, James," Jake says, and he triggers even more wrath directed at him.

"Don't fucking tell me what to do. She's my sister, you asshole!"

"James–"

"We're leaving, Chelsea, now."

"No."

"Chelsea..." His eyes narrow. "Let's go."

I shake my head. “I’m not going with you James. That’s final.”

His eyes spark. “We’ll see about that.”

36

ADAM

Ihear the raised voices from inside while parking my car. It comes through my open window audibly, and seeing as James’s truck is in the driveway, I can pretty much already guess what’s going on.

He caught her and Jake together.

I sigh. Well, it was bound to happen anyway. It's not like we could keep the secret forever, and a part of me is somewhat relieved. This sneaking around shit isn’t for me. I tend to be pretty straightforward and honest with people, and I’ve always thought that keeping this particular secret for too long would lead to an even bigger blowout.

I guess I was right. As Jake says something else, I hear Chelsea's voice rising above his, and I smile.

That's one of the things I love about Chelsea: her feistiness. It’s easy to miss because she can be pretty shy and easygoing, so some might assume she would be a doormat.

That is, until you try to push her. Then she digs in her heels and shows you exactly who she is.

She proves it every time we fight or do something she regards as stupid.

Like Sam being his usual irritable self the other day. He never directed it towards her, but when he said something rude to me, she raised an eyebrow at him, and he was back in line by the afternoon.

She's the perfect combination of sweet and spicy, shy yet brazen. She's the woman we met all those weeks ago; at the same time, she's someone totally different.

It's a good thing she knows exactly how to deal with us. Those other two can run a sane person ragged, but she gives it back as good as she gets and doesn't let them get away with shit.

I sigh and get out of the car, readying myself for the fight that’s going to meet me. When I enter, it’s to find Chelsea standing between a conflicted Jake and her brother.