by L. A. Casey
I just didn’t know who would be left breathing in the end.
“Babe.” Kane’s voice jarred me from my thoughts. “Are you okay?”
I blinked my eyes, and looked down to his wrists and lightly smiled.
“I can’t wait to see them both when you get them done.”
Kane playfully nudged me. “I could get them done tomorrow if junior here would hurry up and vacate your premises.”
I giggled. “She will come out when she is good and ready.”
“Like a typical woman then?” Kane mused. “Her way or the highway option.”
I bobbed my head up and down. “You got it.”
“Good thing it’s a boy then.” He grinned as he leaned in and kissed my head. “I love you, babydoll.”
“And I love you.”
Kane smiled and said, “You want to know something funny?”
“Always.”
“There are over seven billion people on this planet, and I can only tolerate eleven.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Who are the eleven people?”
He held up both of his hands and dropped a finger for each person he named. “You, Branna, Bronagh, Keela, Alannah, Alec, Dominic, Ryder, Damien, Tony the pizza delivery guy, and Susan who works in Subway in the village.”
I resisted the urge to laugh.
“Why the last two? You don’t know them.”
Kane pointed his index finger at me. “Tony brings me food, and Susan makes me food. Leave them alone, they’re good people.”
I snorted. “You really need to expand your circle of people.”
“I need to do a lot of things, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to.” He shrugged.
I grinned. “Why was there no mention of my father or brothers on that list?”
Kane gnawed on his lower lip then smiled wide. “Your family are my ultimate favourites, they’re above any list... obviously.”
I hummed. “Obviously.”
“Have I pleased my lady with my answer?” he asked in an awful British accent.
I was about to say yes, when his eyes dropped to my breasts, and he licked his lips.
I playfully rolled my eyes. “You’re such a man.”
He stood up, took a giant step backwards as his eyes dropped down to his crotch before he looked back to me and said, “I’m aware of that.”
“No, like, you’re so—”
“Handsome? Sexy? The best sex of your life?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Irritatin’.”
“But still handsome, sexy and the best sex of your life?”
My lip twitched. “I suppose.”
“I can live with being irritating if I’ve got the rest going for me.”
“You’re really annoyin’ me.”
He grinned. “Not irritating you?”
“It’s the same thing.”
“Not really. They’re different words.”
I was losing my patience.
“They have similar meanin’s though,” I stated.
Kane folded his arms across his chest. “But they’re still different words.”
That was it.
“Come closer to me so I can smack you.”
“Yeah,” he snickered. “Like that is going to happen.”
I leaned back and closed my eyes. “You drive me crazy, you know that?”
A hand gripped my thigh causing me to jump. I opened my eyes and was surprised to see Kane looming over me. The man could move fast for such a big lad.
“It’s only fair since you drive my body crazy all the time.”
I waggled my eyebrows. “I wonder if you’ll still be lookin’ for some when we’re in our eighties.”
“No doubt about it. I’ll speed after you in my wheelchair for some sugar.”
I burst into laughter and leaned my head against his when he crawled over me and tucked himself behind me on the sofa.
“How many babies will you give me?” he murmured as his hand absentmindedly stroked my swollen abdomen.
I glanced over my shoulder to him. “How many do you want?”
“At least five.”
I gnawed on my lower lip. “Five total or like, five boys? ‘Cause we could have all girls, and me body won’t be able to go until you get your mini football team of lads.”
Kane rumbled with low laughter. “Five total will be fine. I come from five siblings and you do too. I like the number five.”
I leaned back and kissed his forehead. “Five it is, bud.”
“They’ll have to be close in age, too,” he stated. “So right after this one comes out, we’ll have to get working on the next one.”
My lip curved upward. “So lots and lots of sex then?”
“Yep,” he chirped. “We have to make sure your eggo gets preggo.”
I laughed and held my stomach.
Kane slid his hand over my hand and gave it a squeeze. “We’re having a baby,” he whispered.
“We are indeed,” I beamed.
“I couldn’t be happier, Aideen,” Kane said and sat upright. He looked down at me for a long moment before climbing off me and walking out of the room.
I watched him leave the room and confusion caught hold of me. Wanting to know what he was doing, I heaved myself up off the sofa and followed him out of the room, down the hallway and into our bedroom.
“Honey, what’s wrong?” I asked from the doorway.
He was standing in front of his nightstand, staring down at something he plucked from the top drawer.
“I wanted to do this after the baby got here, and I wanted it to be perfect and romantic, but I can’t wait anymore.”
I stared blankly at him as he dropped his hands to his side. He turned to face me then and walked over to me, his eyes locked on mine.
“What are you talkin’ about?” I curiously asked.
Kane grabbed my hands gently, took a deep breath, then he did the most out of the blue thing ever.
He got down on one knee.
“Aideen—”
“Omigod.” I gasped and pulled my hands from his so I could cover my face.
“I love you more than I ever thought it was possible to love a woman.” He smiled wide, his eyes gleaming. “You’re my everything, and have completed my life by just existing. I can’t put into words the love I’m feeling knowing you’re carrying my unborn child... it’s mind-blowing. I love you so much, and I was hoping you would do me the honour of becoming my wife.”
“Omigod.”
With a cheek splitting smile, Kane said the words every girl in her right mind dreamt of hearing, “Will you marry me, babydoll?”
“Kane,” I whispered.
Kane lifted his right hand and revealed a large single diamond ring, with mini diamonds filling the band. Without words, I lifted my left hand and watched through blurry eyes as he slid the ring onto my ring finger and then sealed it in place with a forever binding kiss.
“Yes,” I said when I found my voice. “Yes, I’ll marry you. Yes. Yes. A million times yes!”
Kane sprung to his feet, grabbed my hands and pulled me up against his chest. He crashed his lips to mine and then kissed all over my face as I cried. Tears flowed from my eyes, and hiccups started when I couldn’t control the sobs.
“I can’t believe this,” I wept.
Kane kissed me once more. “I was terrified to ask you in case you said no. I know you love me, but fuck, that was the scariest thing I’ve ever done. The not knowing took years off my life.”
I blinked with shock. “When? How?”
“I bought the ring weeks ago, just after you got... hurt. I then asked your dad and brothers for permission, and after giving me a hard time for a few hours, they gave me their approval and called me an asshole.”
I cried again. “You a-asked for per-permission?”
“Of course,” Kane responded. “You’re precious to your guys, and I wouldn’t take you away from them without the go-ahead. I also wouldn’t have made it two days before they hunte
d me down and kicked my ass if I didn’t ask.”
I laughed as I cried.
I threw my arms around him as best as I could with my stomach keeping me from fully pressing against him. His arms wrapped tightly around me, and for a few seconds we were silent as we held one another. Kane broke the silence when he chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
Kane pulled back and said, “Damien was just getting used to seeing me with you, and knowing you’re really having my kid. Knowing we’re engaged will blow his mind.”
I beamed as I thought of my new favourite person.
“He will be happy for us,” I said with a nod. “They all will be.”
Kane pressed his forehead against mine and said, “You’re mine forever, now.”
I smiled wider than ever before. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
We both turned our heads when a voice shouted, “The favourite brother has arrived!”
I grinned. “Speak of the Devil.”
Kane’s mouth curved as he took me by the hand and led me out of our bedroom, down the hallway, and into our sitting room where we found Damien setting up Kane’s Xbox with two wireless controllers.
“What game do you have?” Kane questioned as he walked over and dropped onto our sofa.
Damien almost squealed with excitement. “Fifa 16.”
Kane clapped his hands together, but stopped when he found me staring. I grinned when he cleared his throat and focused on his brother.
“Heya, Dame.”
Damien looked over his shoulder to me and winked, “Hey beautiful.”
Kane rolled his eyes, but said nothing as I smiled at his baby brother. He fully accepted that I was head over heels for his brother, just like I was for the rest of the Slater brothers.
“Dame,” I whispered.
He looked back to me and smiled as I wiggled the fingers on my left hand at him. He shook his head for a few seconds, not understanding what I was up to until he saw the ring. His brow furrowed together and his lips parted.
He jumped up and spun around to look between Kane and myself with his mouth hanging open.
“Shut the fuck up!” he shouted after a long stretch of silence
Kane burst into laughter, and so did I.
“You guys! Is this for real?”
I bobbed my head up and down, my smile stretching from ear to ear. “We’re engaged. He just asked me before you walked in. I obviously said hell yes.”
Damien’s shock was evident, but so was his happiness for us.
“Congratulations,” he choked out before rushing forward and wrapping his large arms around me, squeezing me tightly.
When he released me, he dove for Kane. He cursed him out as he began hitting and kicking him as he lay in a mess on the sofa in laughter.
“Three of my brothers are engaged, there is just Dominic left to ask Bronagh,” Damien said when he got to his feet.
I smiled. “It’ll happen.”
“I thought it would have happened when we were teenagers, but I can feel him doing it soon. He worships the ground that girl walks on.”
I hugged my fingered ring to my chest and looked at Kane. “As soon as the girls get here, I’m startin’ to plan our weddin’.”
Kane swallowed. “Do I need to be heavily involved? I mean, you know I’ll do anything and I want to be involved, I just don’t understand the importance of flowers and colours and such. I don’t want to do or say the wrong thing.”
I snorted. “Honey, you just need to show up and say I do.”
He snapped his fingers at me. “That I can do, babydoll. Deal!”
I grinned and walked out of the room towards the bathroom so I could shower. As I undressed, turned the shower on and waited for the water to heat up, I let my mind drift.
It was hard to believe that Damien was home only six weeks. Even if I tried, I don’t think I could ever forget the day when he walked back into his brothers’ lives, and dived right into my heart.
He made one hell of an entrance.
Six weeks ago...
“Oh, my God,” Kane breathed in disbelief. “Oh, my fucking God.”
I was right there with him, I couldn’t believe who I was seeing.
I reached for Kane, but instead of a hard body, my fingers grasped at thin air. One second Kane was beside my bed, and the next he was across the room lifting his little brother into the air, which wasn’t an easy task because Damien was like Nico, he was massive in stature.
“Nice to see you, too.” Damien laughed when Kane set him back on the ground.
Kane held him out at arm’s length, stared at him for another long moment then crushed him with another hug.
Damien wheezed and slapped at Kane’s sides. “Can’t... breathe.”
I laughed, but winced in pain.
My throat hurt so badly.
“Damien!” Kane repeated out loud and touched his face like he was trying to check if he was real. “Fuck. Little brother, you’re here.”
Damien beamed and nodded. “I’m here.”
Kane shook his head in disbelief. “How are you here? I mean, I’m not complaining, I just don’t understand what is going on right now.”
“Dominic called me last night and told me what happened. I got on the first flight out. I landed about an hour ago and came straight here.”
Kane rubbed his face with his hands. “The others don’t know you’re here?”
Damien shook his head. “No, I didn’t tell Dominic in case I couldn’t get a flight.”
Kane exhaled a big breath. “Shit. He’ll kill you for not telling him.”
Damien guffawed. “I know.”
Without warning, Kane hugged Damien again. “I just can’t believe you’re really here. I’m tripping hard on this.”
Damien patted Kane’s back, but said nothing as they shared a special moment. When they pulled apart, Kane turned and with a bright smile on his face, he gestured to me.
“This is Aideen, my lady,” he moved closer to me and rubbed my stomach, “and this is baby Slater, your niece or nephew.”
Damien stared at my stomach. “I still can’t believe that. It’s insane to think you’re going to be a daddy.”
“Tell me about it.”
Damien flicked his big grey eyes up from my belly and his gaze focused on my face. He stepped up beside Kane and looked down at me and purred. “Hello, gorgeous. It’s a privilege to finally meet your fine self in person.”
Oh, the kid oozed charm.
God help the girl he set his sights on, the lass didn’t have a chance.
Kane side-eyed his brother then, out of nowhere, he lifted his hand and whacked him across the back of the head.
“Damn it,” Damien rumbled with laughter and rubbed the back of his head. “My reflexes aren’t what they used to be. I knew that was coming, but I still couldn’t move to stop it.”
Kane smiled with glee. “You’ll learn.”
Damien shook his head, smiling, then he looked back at me. I was staring at him with non-blinking eyes and he found it amusing.
“I know, you’re wondering why you’re with this doofus,” he jabbed his thumb at Kane, “when you could have had all of this.” He gestured to his body and did a little hip wiggle.
I wanted to laugh, but the best I could do was make a gurgle sound that still hurt and caused me to wince in pain.
“Dame,” Kane chastised with a concerned frown. “Don’t make her laugh; her throat is pretty torn up. She inhaled a lot of smoke and choked on it so much that she has gashes and cuts from all the coughing.”
Damien’s face fell. “I’m so sorry, Aideen. I didn’t know.”
I waved Kane off and gave Damien a tight-lipped smile. I proceeded to silently study him. I hoped he couldn’t tell, but I was so freaked out. I had never met identical twins in real life, and the likeness between Damien and Nico was uncanny.
“If your hair was brown,” I whispered and withheld a wince. “I’d think
you were Nico.”
“Good thing my hair is blond then,” Damien winked.
He even sounded like Nico, which made the entire experience stranger for me.
Kane snickered at me. “Why are you looking at him like that?”
Like what?
I shrugged my shoulders without looking away from Damien. “I’m tryin’ to find somethin’ else to separate him from Nico... I’m freaked out here. There are two of them.” My voice was so low; I saw the brothers strain to hear what I said.
I always knew they were twins, but seeing Damien in person really messed with my mind because he looked so much like Nico that it was scary. I’ve heard the girls list the differences between them, but for the life of me I couldn’t spot one besides hair colour.
Damien laughed at my bugged out expression. “This is cool. I haven’t been around someone being weirded out by me and Dominic in a long time.”
Kane patted his brother’s back. “You’re home now, you have plenty of time for all that again.”
Damien nodded. “It feels good to be back.”
“It feels even better to have you back,” Kane said cheerfully. “You’ll be here for my baby being born, bro. You’ve no idea how happy that makes me.”
Damien’s teeth gleamed like pearls when he smiled. “I’m still tripping that you’re going to be a dad, and that I’m going to be an uncle.”
Kane looked at my bump. “I think I’ll be tripping on it until he is grown.”
“She,” I whispered absentmindedly.
Damien looked between both Kane and myself. “Do either of you know the gender?”
“Technically no,” Kane chortled, “but I think it’s a boy and Aideen thinks it’s a girl.”
Damien raised his hand. “I’m team boy. We know how to handle Slater men. Slater women on the other hand? We have zero experience on that front.”
“Amen to that,” Kane breathed. “Can you imagine little Irish versions of Slater women? Fuck, too terrifying to even think about.”
I devilishly grinned as I whispered, “They’ll look and talk like us girls, I don’t see the problem.”
Kane deadpanned, “You wouldn’t because you’re the woman.”
