Page 71 of Hoarded By the Dragon

It will be a relief to let restoration go. It truly is a much more frustrating job than I’ve let myself realize. The years I’ve spent punishing myself with my profession are over. Now it’s time to figure out what I really want to do in life.

Tears well, and I roll my eyes at myself.

At least Kalos has given me a list of things to avoid that he and Maggie agree on for pregnancy safety. The list is tiny and makes me feel silly all over again for being so overwhelmed before even asking Maggie what was relevant to gestating a dragon.

I’m smart. I could reason that the rule against baths over a certain temperature definitely didn’t apply, but everything else I had no idea about. Maggie had gently explained that most of the food restrictions were to avoid getting sick, and with the temperature the baby is running, getting a fever isn’t going to affect anything.

So my rules are: avoid stress, extreme workouts, and sleeping on my back. Even that last one is debatable.

Right now, stress is the only thing I’m unsure how to avoid. Especially with the mood swings, but I’m doing my best.

My phone lights up with a text, and I ignore it. Avoiding stress isn’t the only reason that I’m not going to respond to the texts Nemo has been sending me, but it’s a good one.

It started slowly. He sent a text last week asking how I was, which I’d ignored with a pang of guilt. I wanted to respond. I wanted to believe that he was going to be worried about me, but my actions were validated when the next text was about the perfect job for me and to call him if I was interested.

Nemo doesn’t care about me. He probably never did.

Am I really so unlovable?

I sniff and wipe away the tears angrily.Stop this. Stop this right now.

Since those texts, Nemo’s been sending more, acting like because I broke into Kalos’s place, I’m back in the business. He gossips about mutual contacts we have, who has taken which job, what items are in demand this week, or a sly inside joke we used to share.

He was never so chatty when I responded before, so I can only imagine that each detail he drops is a ploy to suck me back in. And I’m done.

I’m done being used by him.

I should text him back and tell him to stop contacting me, but I don’t. Because I’m weak. Because I’ve known him for so long that I don’t want to just cut our ties. I still care about him.

He must care about me a little, right?

These mood swings are going to be the end of me.

A tap on the open door has me jumping in surprise. I almost don’t recognize the man standing there since our meeting before was so brief.

“Sorry!” he says. “Ben said I could find you here.”

“It’s alright,” I say as I try to match a name to his face. When I do, surprise has my eyes widening. Kalos’s godson, Gage, stands in the doorway sheepishly.

“I see you remember me,” he says.

“Yes, sorry, I wasn’t very awake when we first met.” My cheeks heat at the memory of napping on Kalos’s lap after the getting in the way of an angry dragon and humping him like a rabbit in heat.

He nods. “I remember. Can I come in?”

“Sure,” I say. “Kalos isn’t here…”

Gage winces. “I wanted to apologize to you for my reaction to the news of your pregnancy.”

“Oh, that’s fine. You were surprised.” I place my hand on my stomach.

Gage watches the move, his gaze softening. “Yes, I was. I just wanted you to know that I’m excited that another dragon will be born. We are rare and that can be lonely.”

“Kalos explained a little about your history and why you needed some time,” I hedge.

Gage’s smile is a little rueful. “I admit that I may have felt a little jealous. Kalos has been in my life since I hatched, even if on the sidelines. The thought of losing his attention threw me for a loop. It was a childish reaction.”

I’ve mulled over Kalos’s confession about their relationship since that moment.

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