“No!” I exclaimed too quickly.
The roguish grin he threw my way told me he knew exactly why I refused. “Something wrong with my room, Kate?”
“It’s stuffy,” I quipped.
A guttural laugh that had my bones turning to Jell-O burst from him right as he turned to leave us. A frustrated snarl ripped from my throat, only making him laugh harder. This afternoon was going awesome. Talking to his sisters would be moot. They couldn’t change my mind, no matter that I didn’t mind either of them.
“We can go in my room. They furnished it when I moved,” Ava suggested with a shrug.
I held a hand out for them to lead the way. Anything was better than talking to their mom again. Maybe she would find something to busy herself with before I left so I wouldn’t have another confrontation on my way out.
I followed them to Ava’s room across the hall. A queen-sized bed covered with a gray duvet and a million pillows took up a good portion of the room. White nightstands stood next to the bed, and teal curtains hung in front of the window. It was a pretty fancy guest room.
I just stood there with my arms wrapped around my stomach when they both plopped on the bed. With the twins side by side, I could pick out the blatant differences, like Mia’s longer hair that wasn’t curly at all, or the darker tone of her skin, as opposed to Ava’s fair complexion. Mia’s resembled Mr. Hart’s skin… Kai’s skin. And then Ava stared at me with Kai’s gray eyes, while Mia’s were vibrant blue, sometimes changing between a royal shade and dark. But they both were about the same height and build as Mrs. Hart, the same soft features to their faces and lips that were nearly too wide for their faces but allowed for gorgeous smiles.
“What’s it like being pregnant?” Mia broke the silence.
“Uh, really uncomfortable?” My nose wrinkled. She nodded. “You’re not thinking of getting pregnant before your wedding, are you? I don’t think your mom would approve.”
With a chuckle, her eyes rolled back in her head. “She approves of very little when it comes to me.”
“Oh, you’re being dramatic.” Ava shoved her before meeting my gaze. “Mom just needs some time to adjust. She’ll be happy when she thinks about being a nana to that sweet little baby.”
A nana. What my mom would be. Except, if she ever found out about the baby, she would most certainly demand to be called grandmother.
But she would never meet my baby. That was one of the reasons I would never consider getting married. Amongst many others.
“Even still, I’m not too keen on being run through the mud by your family much more.” I cracked my knuckles, glancing around the room before catching Mia’s pointed glare at Ava. Funny that Ava would tell Mia how she had acted at the beginning. I should have known this would be just as big of a disaster. No matter. This whole thing was pointless. Coming to their house was pointless.
I exhaled slowly, telling them, “I’m going to get a cab and head out.”
“Look who’s being dramatic now.” Mia stood, followed by Ava. “What’s so bad about marrying Kai, anyway?”
“Marriage is not for everyone” was all I said before leaving the room. I should have realized, should have been more prepared for the topic. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t casually chat with anyone about tying my life to someone else’s. Wholly depending on someone like that was forbidden.
Panic settled deep in my bones, causing me to run down the stairs. And slam smack into a wall of muscle. My teeth sang as I stumbled backward. Perfect sturdy arms caught me around the waist before I could fall on my ass. Arms that felt amazing around me. Just as they had when he kissed me right when I got there. Earthy scents of patchouli and sandalwood with an underlying hint of smoke surrounded me, making it hard to think straight. Which only angered me more.
I met his steel gray eyes, loathing the amusement in them. His lips were in a thin line but twitching at the corners. I wiggled out of his grasp. “Why are you in such a hurry?” His dark eyebrows hitched up.
“I already told you I’m leaving,” I snarled, baring my teeth like an animal.
“We would really like it if you stayed.” A glance over Kai’s shoulder showed his mom standing at the banister, her husband at her side.
“We haven’t even eaten yet,” Mr. Hart added with an encouraging smile.
I wanted so, so badly to tell them all to eff off, but my rational side told me this may be the only time to fix things with them. It shouldn’t have bothered me so much that they all viewed me as a whore. I did that to myself. I lived my life the way I did for reasons I wasn’t willing to share with anyone, so I had to settle with them thinking that about me and choose not to be offended when they did.
Hope shined in Kai’s steel eyes. The odd thing was that I also had hope. That was why I had come in the first place. His family was just that, a family. They had gone through a lot in the previous year, so I could excuse them for being taken by surprise yet again. But the greatest thing was that they were good, genuine people— nothing like my own family.
Despite my secrets, despite my fears of this road that had nothing to do with my plans, I wanted to be a part of this family that actually loved and cared. Not only for this baby who deserved this kind of unit more than anything in the world but for myself. It was something I’d never had. Something I had always longed for.
Kai seemed to sense the change in me. As his sisters sauntered down the stairs, he wrapped me in a hug that warmed my soul. But that wasn’t supposed to happen. I wanted to be a part of his family—to an extent—but being too close to him would ruin everything.
Pushing out of his arms, I glared up at him. The smirk he wore didn’t reach the sadness in his eyes, which made my chest squeeze. I wanted to scream, “Give a pregnant lady a freaking break!” but that would have made me even more crazy in their eyes.
Without saying anything, he moved aside so I could get down the stairs. I did so with my chin held high, my shoulders back. When I got to the bottom, the Harts stood in front of me, Mrs. Hart with tears in her eyes, her husband with his arm wrapped around her waist. Their relationship was foreign to me. In marriage, I had only witnessed cold callousness and deliberate cruelty. Another reason I was opposed to the notion.
I wasn’t sure I could handle her crying. Mostly because I wasn’t prepared to do so myself. No one wanted to witness my ugly cry.
“I apologize for the way I acted,” Mrs. Hart said. I didn’t know how to respond to that, but she went on. “Kai explained some things and… I’m just so glad you want to share that little life with us. We should have congratulated you just as Mia and Ava did.” She nodded to where the two now stood behind me. They both beamed at me when I glanced back.
“We would love to sit down and have a dual celebratory meal together,” Mr. Hart said with a soft smile. He was a very handsome man, his caramel hair peppered with gray strands. Kai definitely got his height and build from his dad, and probably his calm nature. He was one of those men you could feel wisdom and kindness emanating from. “If you want a little space from us, we wouldn’t mind putting you in a hotel for the night. But if you’ll let us make it up to you, we would love for you to stay with us.”