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like nothing can touch me or hurt me or break me. He’s all I need.
    That’s how he makes me feel.
    “You aren’t most guys.”
    “You seem to think so.”
    “I’m just scared.”
    “That’s understandable. How long have you known?”
    “Not long. A few days.”
    “Have you told anyone?”
    “You mean my brother?” I laugh. “Yeah, right. I think we both know exactly what he’s going to say.”
    Aidan raises an eyebrow, but his hands don’t stop rubbing my legs. A girl could get used to this.
    “You mean you don’t expect him to support your decision to raise our child wholeheartedly?”
    “I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic.”
    “Richard isn’t a bad guy.”
    “Richard would think having a baby is a mistake.”
    I touch my belly, rubbing it.
    “Can I?” He reaches for me and I nod. Aidan places his hands on my still-flat tummy. Soon it’ll grow. Soon I’ll be round and big and showing and everyone will know I’m growing a baby. Soon everyone will know I had sex. Soon everyone will know I’m going to be a mommy.
    Soon I’ll have to tell my brother, too.
    “You’re beautiful, Mia. I’ve always thought that.”
    “Really?”
    “Ever since Rich and I were roomies. He had this goofy picture of you he used to keep in a frame on his desk.”
    “The one of us on the trampoline.” I remember the day my mom took the picture. I remember how hard we were laughing in the hot summer sun, how we didn’t mind how much we were sweating or how gross and sticky we felt in the heat. We just cared that we were together having fun. That was all that mattered to us.
    “He used to tell me stories about you all the damn time. He always acted more like a dad than a big brother.”
    “Yeah, well, welcome to my world.”
    “Come with me.” Aidan stands suddenly and pulls me to my feet. He surprises me.
    “Where are we going?” I ask suspiciously.
    He just shakes his head and grabs my hand. Then Aidan leads us through his surprisingly messy house and out the back door. It’s already dark and I can see stars.
    “Um, Aidan?”
    “Just trust me,” he urges me. He leads me across the backyard, which is big and open. I try not to picture our child – our cub – running through the yard, but I can’t help it.
    Will we have a little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes?
    Will we have a boy with a mysterious smile?
    What if we have twins?
    We walk across the grass, hand-in-hand, and Aidan leads me toward the end of the yard.
    “My garden,” he points. “There’s a little pond over there, too. It’s great for fishing.” He points, but I can’t see the pond in the darkness. “We’ll have to put up a fence around the backyard while our baby is little. That way he or she can play in the backyard.”
    “Are you serious?” I ask him, still surprised at his reaction. “You’d really want to be around our child so much you’d put a fence up?”
    “I want to be around both of you,” he says. “All the time.”
    Then Aidan grabs me and pulls me against his chest.
    “What do you want, Mia?”
    “I want that, too.”
    “What is it? What’s holding you back?”
    “Are you sure you really want that? What if you feel trapped? Or, you know, obligated?”
    “I’ve wanted you for years, Mia. You’re a legend.”
    “What?”
    “Your brother built you up in my mind long before I ever met you, sweetie. I feel like I know you so well. I’ve heard so many amazing stories about your childhood, about who you are and what you stand for. I’ve been measuring women against you for years and somehow, they’ve never stood a chance.”
    “Not compared to me?”
    “Not compared to you,” he agrees.
    I think about what he’s saying, about what his words really mean. I knew my brother and Aidan were close, but I never realized they were so close they shared stories about their families. I don’t know why I never thought about that. Richard told me things about Aidan. It would only make sense he would