I grimaced, not sure that was a complement or not. “I didn’t say anything because Tommy means nothing to me,” I told them. “He rarely crosses my mind. To me, he isn’t my father.” I knew that legally I wasn’t supposed to say anything about Tommy to anyone, but these were my friends. If I couldn’t trust them to keep my secrets, then I couldn’t trust anyone. That had been my mistake to begin with. I should have told Jesse about my dad weeks ago when he told me about his own childhood.

“No, he isn’t,” Emmie agreed. “He’s just a pile of shit taking up space. The first time I met him I was seventeen and he tried to seduce me.”

Three heads snapped up at that. Shane was sitting on the other end of the sectional with Nik. “The fuck you say!” Nik exploded. “You never told me that.”

She rolled her eyes. “He was your friend. You all had nothing but good things to say about the great Tommy Kirkman. I didn’t want to spoil your image of him.”

“I’m going to gut him,” Nik muttered.

“Stab him a few times for me, babe.” Emmie winked at him.

After that the atmosphere in the house went back to normal. Emmie’s emotions evened out, and we spent the rest of the day watching television. Lucy came over and sat with Jesse after lunch. I hadn’t wanted her to see him all beaten up, but she was just as worried about him as I was. In the last few weeks, he had become special to her. He was something that she had never had before, a father figure that spoiled her rotten.

She sat on his lap and cuddled with him, kissing a boo-boo from time to time. Jesse held me close to his side, and I was content. It felt like the three of us were a family.

The next week passed by in a blur. Saturday night was put behind us, and I was happy to be moving forward. Jesse’s bruises started to fad, and his face got back to the same sinful sexiness I loved so much. The guys stayed home. Since Jesse couldn’t go into the studio, they took the week off.

I loved having him around during the day. It made work so much more interesting. But I also enjoyed having the other guys around too. Drake and I had gotten close over the last few weeks. I understood him better now and didn’t ever question his feelings toward my sister anymore. Drake was a good man, and I would trust him with Lana’s life. I liked spending time with Shane and Nik too.

It felt like we were all just one big family, and I loved every minute of it.

…Emmie…

I woke to an empty bed. That made me particularly sad, and I snuggled Nik’s pillow close for a few minutes before forcing myself to get out of bed. I had gotten spoiled the week before. Having Nik home and all to myself—getting to sleep with him until noon—had been my own personal paradise.

This week he was back at the studio. He wanted to get as many songs recorded as possible before I went in to have my scheduled C-section next week. So far there was a list of songs a mile long that they had already gotten down, but I knew that only a fraction of them would make the new album. It just depended on how the label wanted to go. What direction they thought the new material should go in. Nik and the guys had the final say so on what they put on there, but the big guys in suits would have a bigger say in it all.

Missing Nik, I got up and showered. I was feeling really good today. Better than I had in what felt like a long time. This last trimester had kicked my ass that was for sure!

Once I was clean I got out and wrapped a towel around myself. My stomach peeked through and I grinned at myself in the mirror. I kind of liked the pregnant belly I had gotten, despite the ugly stretch marks that I had to go along with it.

After I was dressed, I went around the bedroom straightening up the room. Tossing Nik’s underwear in the hamper in the bathroom, I found that I couldn’t stand the sight of my bathroom so disorganized. Before I knew what I was doing, I had the bathroom looking like new.

Standing up from having scrubbed the tub, I felt a small pinch in my lower back. Grimacing, I put the cleaning supplies back under the sink, but I still felt restless. The urge to clean was almost overwhelming. After I washed my hands, I went downstairs to see if Layla needed help with anything.

My friend was a dream when it came to keeping my house clean. The place shined. Especially the kitchen, which was where I found Layla. She was scrubbing the counters when I walked in. Seeing me, she grinned. “Hey, sleepy head. Enjoy your chance to sleep in?”

I smiled back. “It was nice, but I missed Nik. You don’t have to do my bathroom today, by the way. I took care of that for you. “

The grin on Layla’s face dimmed. “You were cleaning?”

I shrugged. “Yeah. I just felt this need to clean… Why are you looking at me like that?” Layla was frowning at me with concern.

“Emmie, you’re nesting.”

“Oh.” I had read about that in all those books Nik and I had bought. The need to get the “nest” ready before the baby showed up. There was some old wives tale about it being a sign that the baby was on its way. “I guess I am nesting. I feel kind of restless. Is there anything left to clean?”

“No!” Layla tossed her rag in the sink and washed her hands. “I’m going to make you something to eat, and you are going to go sit on the sectional. You’re going to watch television and not move unless you have to.”

Her concern touched me, but I actually had energy for the first time in weeks. I wasn’t wasting it sitting around. “Relax, Layla. I want to do something.”

She was already getting the bacon out of the fridge. “What would you like for breakfast?”

I glanced at the clock on the stove. “It’s too late for breakfast. How about a sandwich? Will you eat with me?” I loved getting to have a quiet meal with Layla. Even when we didn’t talk, it was nice just to be around her.

“Will you promise to rest afterwards?”

I sighed. “I really don’t want to.”

Her chocolate brown eyes narrowed on me. “I’m not Jesse. That little pouty thing doesn’t work on me.”

I laughed. I hadn’t even realized that I was pouting. “Oh Layla. I’m so happy that you came into our lives.”

For the next half an hour, we sat at the island and shared lunch. It was crazy how quickly I had included her in our family, it was even more so that I couldn’t imagine my family without her or her sisters. I was glad that Jesse was able to find happiness with someone as loving and full of life as Layla, someone who didn’t put up with his shit…Or mine.