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.You might regret doing that one day.”Barb shook her head.“I won’t tell the kids why we didn’t get married unless he tries to tell them lies.I won’t use my children against him, but I have a feeling he’s not exactly going to be the devoted father type.His parents were really nice about it.I didn’t expect that.They offered to help pay the bills if I would allow them to visit their grandkids.”“What did you tell them?”Barb shrugged.“They seem like really nice people.I told them I didn’t need their help paying bills but as long as they didn’t say bad things about me to my twins, I had no reason not to let them see their grandkids.They live close enough they can visit without being too intrusive.”“Can you get any of your money back for the wedding?” The thrifty part of Leo’s soul hoped so.Barb shook her head, dashing his optimistic hopes.“No.But Greg’s parents said they’d make sure Greg paid me back for everything since he’s the one who caused the breakup.I think I’m going to really like them better as non-in-laws than if I’d married into the family.”“What can I do to help?” Leo didn’t think there was much assistance he could offer at this point, but he felt like he needed to do something.Barb’s warm smile eased his anxiety over her future.“You did so much just be being here for me.I can’t tell you how much I appreciated you coming and staying to support me.With Mom and Dad gone, I didn’t really have anyone else to ask.You’ve always been there for me, Leo.I wanted you to know how much I love you.”The crying started up again.Leo wrapped an arm around his cousin and gave her an awkward one-sided hug.“We’ll get you through this.Did you want to come stay with me until the babies are born?”Barb shook her head.“No.I wouldn’t do that to you.”“Are you still working?” Leo eyed Barb’s rounded stomach and tried to remember how much longer she had before the twins were born.“No.Greg said he wanted me to take it easy during my pregnancy since I’m carrying twins.” Barb rolled her eyes.“Now I wonder if he just wanted me out of the way.A new executive started at our company and she’s really pretty.”If Barb hadn’t just found her fiancé groping another woman, Leo would’ve said she was imagining things.Sadly, her hunch was probably right.“Then there’s no reason you can’t come stay with me.I doubt you want to be around Greg.Or I can come and stay in Atlanta until the babies are born,” Leo offered.Relief crossed Barb’s face.“Thank you, Leo.” Tears filled her eyes.“I can’t ever repay you for your help.”Leo squeezed her fingers.“You always stood by me, Barb, when some of our family turned away when I came out.This is the least I can do.”It might have been twenty years since Leo had come out at eighteen, but he remembered who had stood by him and who had conveniently forgotten he even existed.Invitations to family gatherings had dried up and his loving parents became cold strangers.When Mel had died, they hadn’t even sent flowers to the funeral.“Hey, people are assholes,” Barb said as if reading his mind.“Speaking of assholes, did you get close to the concierge’s last night?”“Barb!” Leo’s face burned with embarrassment.“I can’t believe you said that.”Barb rubbed her stomach as pregnant women tended to do.“I need to live vicariously.I haven’t seen any action since I lost sight of my toes.”“Greg isn’t into pregnant women?”She shook her head.“That should’ve been the first indication.He used to be all over me.That changed after I started to show.” She indicated her advanced pregnancy with a grimace.“And you’re still beautiful,” Leo said.Pregnancy added a new fullness to her thin face and a nice flush of pink to her cheeks.She had one of those rare physiques where she gained most of the baby weight in her stomach and little anywhere else.Leo knew she carefully watched her food intake so she wouldn’t have a lot of post-pregnancy weight to lose.She looked gorgeous.“When did you want to leave? I already kicked Greg out of my suite,” Barb said, deftly avoiding discussion of her appearance.Leo ran his fingers through his hair.“I was hoping to take Chris out tonight, but I can cancel if you need to leave.I’d completely understand.”A wide smile crossed Barb’s face
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