Page 44 of Ruin Me Sweetly

My eyes grew wide, jaw slackening.

Holding socks.

Then I noticed the lack of clothing and gasped.

Please, still be wearing jeans.

He was.

“Oh.”

He had his own bedroom.

Bare chest.

In Amber’s room.

“Well, this should be interesting,” Luke said behind me.

I tried to peer around Zach.

“Zach,” I said lightly. “When did you get here?”

“Yesterday,” he said.

I unlocked my phone and raised it, showing him the screenshot of their notification.

“So, it’s true?” I asked.

Luke moved in behind me until I could feel his warmth. His hands rubbed gently from my shoulders down to my elbows.

“Like I said. She’s an adult, sweetheart.”

She was an adult under the law of the land. Not to me. That was where the real problem lay.

“She’s still my baby,” I whispered.

“She was always supposed to be a Rayne,” Zach said, his voice gentle, then firm. “One way or another.”

I gasped and glanced around for Amber again.

“She’s in the bathroom,” he said, watching me warily.

“Right, right,” I mumbled, suddenly at a loss for words.

I turned into Luke’s chest and closed my eyes. I needed a moment to process everything—this new dynamic, and all its implications.

His arms closed around me until I felt his strength surrounding me completely.

“Don’t make me come for you, Zach,” he said quietly, but I felt every word of it vibrate beneath me.

I smiled, though it was a sad, wistful smile. I’d always wished Amber had a consistent male role model growing up. Now she finally had one, right as she was becoming an adult herself.

Luke tucked me into his side and led me toward our bedroom.

❧ ❧ ❧

We ended up lying in bed after I took a quick shower, just talking about the past, the present, and our baby. So when the quiet knock came, I was ready.