All Chapters of Forbidden Desire:My Best Friend's Brother : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

[Kendall]I’m straightening up and vacuuming inside while Camden cleans out the pool, and I think to myself how domestic we are. The hum of the vacuum fills the room, but underneath, there's a comfortable stillness—a kind of warmth that echoes the quiet intimacy we share. Camden usually makes dinner because I’m simply not that good of a cook, but sometimes I bake cookies or cakes. The smell of vanilla and sugar often lingers in the kitchen, mingling with whatever dish he’s prepared. We watch reality television every week, a show that we both like, and we usually fall asleep on the couch those nights. The weight of his arm draped over me, his warmth against my back, is the last thing I feel before I drift off. If we don’t fall asleep there, we fall asleep after making love, curled into each other, his hand resting possessively on my hip.It’s been three weeks since Camden mentioned taking me to Dante’s, and about six weeks since we went on the run, and I can’t help but wonder what ha

I only let Kendall rest for a few moments after my breakdown, grabbing the two bug-out bags that I’ve stashed in the pantry in the kitchen. The sound of the zipper tearing through the silence feels deafening, my movements sharp, driven by urgency. The cool metallic pull of the bag in my hands contrasts with the warmth of the dimly lit room, which suddenly feels stifling. There’s so much we’ll have to leave behind, but I don’t care. The air tastes bitter, like regret, and I shove it aside, focusing on the task. I walk into the bedroom, my footsteps muffled by the worn carpet. Kendall has her eyes closed, her lashes casting shadows against her pale cheeks. The dark bruises beneath them look like smudged ink, sharp against her too-fair skin. “We have to go, *principessa*,” I say softly, my voice catching on the last syllable. She stirs, slowly sitting up and swinging her legs off the bed. The mattress creaks faintly, a reminder of the fragile moment we’re in. She rises cautiously, f

[Kendall]Camden looks at me, shocked, his face paling, and then he just stands up and walks out of the room. He doesn’t say a word to me, and I don’t follow.My head is spinning from the drugs and the trauma and the shock of Jimmy telling me that I’m pregnant.He said there was no way to tell how far along I am without ultrasound equipment, but I haven’t been with anyone else for years, and I know the baby I’m carrying is Camden's. He must know it, too, because he hasn’t questioned me.I was happy at first, almost felt giddy.Jimmy was just looking at me with intense blue eyes.“Are you okay?” he asked.“What?” I felt out of it from the drugs, like this might be a dream I was having.“Do you want to...take care of it? I have my ways,” he said mysteriously, and I shook my head, shocked.“No. No, I want...I want the baby,” I said finally.He nodded. “Then I’ll leave these prenatal vitamins. Take them every day, and do your best to keep things down. I’ll leave some nausea medication, to

KendallA week later, I’m tired of the damn sling I’m wearing and I’m tired of Camden not touching me. I feel a lot better since the doctor gave me the nausea pills, and I stopped taking the other drugs the second day. I’m taking my prenatal vitamins every day, and I’m feeling a hundred times better.I keep telling Camden that, but since Jimmy can’t come out and see me until next week, he won’t give in. It’s driving me crazy, sleeping next to him every night and not being able to be with him. I look at his bare broad back and shoulders, stare at him every night, but there’s nothing I can do about it.I decide to ramp things up a little since Jimmy’s tied up with other emergent situations, and so at dusk, I go skinny dipping in the pool out back.It’s a fancy saltwater one, and it feels good on my injured shoulder, anyway. Camden's out on the terrace, fake-smoking as I call it, and the pool is right nearby, so I know he can see me as I shuck off my dress, throwing it on to the lawn cha

[Camden]“Shit, I didn’t know it would be that heavy,” he says quietly.“What do you mean?”He shrugs. “I mean, I’ve already put it together that you’re sleeping with her.”“You have?” I gape at him.“Yeah, I mean, please, Camden. She’s exactly your type and you’ve been stuck with her what, month and a half to two months? Of course you’re sleeping with her.”“I hate that you know me so well,” I groan.“But that you’ve knocked her up surprises me,” Dante says, sipping his coffee and wincing. “Yeah, it’s not that great.”I crack a smile. “I didn’t mean to knock her up,” I sigh.“You didn’t use a condom?”I shrug. “Didn’t exactly have time to pick them up on the run from Marco.”“That motherfucker is sneaky,” Dante curses.“Yeah, he is. There’s still no leads?”“Oh, plenty of leads, but none that have panned out.”I order something simple, just a waffle, because I figure they can’t fuck that up much. Dante does the same.We sit there in silence for a moment before Dante speaks.“You know