Hooked On Her - Stacey Lynn Page 0,3

drinking wine, which by the way, I noticed she didn’t touch, and then she’s been puking all morning. I’m single and Canadian, Sawyer. Not an imbecile.”

He rips off paper towels from the holder next to the sink and keeps cleaning his pants. Wadding them into a ball, he tosses them at the garbage can near me.

He misses by a long shot.

“Nice.” I slide off the stool and toss them inside. “Are you keeping it a secret from everyone or just me?”

He huffs and takes his second turn at his coffee. This time I wait until he’s done. Making him spill once was an accident, if I do it again, he’ll probably toss his mug at my face.

“Debbie wants to wait until she’s passed the first trimester.” He glances down the hall before lowering his voice and returning to me. “She’s only eight weeks. Sick all the time.”

His coffee mug trembles in his hand. It rattles like my heart and while I logically knew my brother’s long-term girlfriend was pregnant, as it settles in and he confirms, my emotions take over.

My brother is going to be a dad. Hell. I’m going to be an aunt!

“Sawyer!” I screech, shove to my feet, and I throw myself at him. The move makes coffee slosh over the rim, his stomach, and pants again and this time I end up as soaked as him. “This is so exciting!”

“You’re such a brat,” he groans and shoves me back. “Why are you doing this to me?” He brushes his hand down his shirt and drips of coffee fly into the air before splattering onto his white tile floor.

“Sorry.”

“No. You’re not.”

“A little.” I shrug. “I’m more happy than anything, though.”

“Yeah.” His smile wavers before he points a finger at me. “Two steps away. I want a cup of my own damn coffee before I’m wearing all of it.”

I raise my hands and step back, questions bubble. They’ve been dating for years and have lived together for two.

And now they’re having a baby.

“Was this… was this planned?” I ask.

“No.” The mug in his hand shakes again and I laugh. I haven’t seen my brother nervous since, well… ever. Even when he was in college and knew he was going to be drafted, he didn’t tremble.

I’m itching to give him crap for it but in truth, his nerves make me nervous.

“Are you… are you okay with this?”

“What? Yeah. Yeah, of course I’m okay with it.” He shoves a hand through his dark hair and makes a face. Not a good one. “It’s just… we’re not married. Or engaged. And I thought we had more time but now…”

He trails off. My heart pinches. “Sawyer. If you want to marry her, all you have to is ask her.”

He sets down his coffee mug and sighs, taking one more glance down the hall. “I don’t want her to think I’m asking because she’s pregnant. Like I’m, I don’t know, only asking because it’s what I should do.”

See? He’s such a dolt!

A laugh bubbles so fiercely and quickly I can’t contain it to which he scowls at me.

I slide the plate of crackers toward him that I’d prepared earlier, laughing even harder. “She’s been in love with you for years and lives with you. She would have said yes to marrying you three nights after you met, you idiot. Just ask her. Oh, and take her crackers. If she keeps some by her bed, it’ll help with morning sickness.”

“How do you know?” His tone is suspicious, borderline angry.

I roll my eyes. “Because I have female co-workers who have had babies. Don’t glare at me like that. Go, take care of your girl, and grow some balls on the trip to her.”

“You’re a brat.”

“Love you too, Soy-sauce.”

He growls at me and I jump out of the way. When I was little, I couldn’t pronounce his name correctly, so I shortened it to soy. Then I learned about soy sauce and started calling him that when he was a teenager. I loved the pissy face he made when he had his high school girlfriends over and I called him that.

I’m halfway back to my room, trying to figure out what I’m going to do for the day. By my count, I only have a couple of hours before Debbie’s feeling better, Sawyer digs his balls and guts out of a hidden corner, and then they’re celebrating.

And I’ve already learned how thin the walls are here.

“Hey!” he calls out and I spin on my heels.

“Yeah?”

“You still coming