Page 24 of Such a Feisty Omega

“It’s a very big deal. I was going to tell you tonight. I was nervous about it and wondering if it was too soon but at the same time not soon enough. I love you, Julian. I have since the night I first saw you and it grows every day.”

We shared several kisses and the rest of the way home, we basked in the aftermath of our confessions.

When we pulled into the driveway, Andreas turned to me. “Welcome home, omega. I’m so glad you’re mine.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Andreas

Having my mate under my roof held a satisfaction I hadn’t anticipated. Reed’s bio dad had never had this effect on me, but as I sat at the dinner table with Julian and my son, I wanted to puff out my chest like a banty rooster in pride at my little pack.

“More noodles peeze,” Reed asked. He still had so many cute toddler mispronunciations, although some of them were fading as he grew up. When I remembered that little baby who wasn’t much bigger than my hand, it was hard to imagine he’d grown up to be such a big boy, feeding himself with his little fork and spoon set.

I served him the noodles and he dug in, shoveling them as fast as he could. “Having a growth spurt, are you, Son?”

He nodded, and Julian added some more broccoli too.

“Then you’d better have more veggies, so you can get as tall as Daddy.”

“Thank you, Papa Julian,” he said, spraying a little food, but I was so tickled to hear him say that, I didn’t tell him to finish eating before talking. It was adorable and it was a thank-you as well, so extra points for courtesy.

Broccoli was a veggie he’d eat without complaint, too. He loved dipping the little trees in ketchup for some reason. I knew his preschool friends used ranch, but Reed was a unique fellow. I was just glad he was eating something besides noodles and nuggets.

“What do you guys say, after dinner, we go shopping for baby furniture?” I asked. “I think we’ll need Reed’s input since they will be sharing a room.”

His idea. We had planned to put together a separate nursery, but Reed wanted his brother to share with him. Although we didnot know the sex, Julian was sure it was a boy. And so was Reed. I didn’t have an opinion or a guess. As long as they were healthy and happy, I’d be more than satisfied.

I cleared away the table, waving off Julian’s insistence on helping. “You’re working hard growing a baby. The least I can do is load the dishwasher.”

“You know I’m supposed to exercise,” he protested.

“Then do that walking around the showroom.” I put the last plate in the dishwasher and came back in to round up my brood. “You guys ready?”

They were, more or less. But getting out of the house with a toddler and a pregnant omega could be a challenge, so it was about a half hour later before we were actually on the road to the baby store.

It was quite the place, and we’d browsed it early in the pregnancy, unsure which way we wanted to go. White? Wood? Primary colors? And what style?

But with baby coming soon, it was time to make decisions. Maybe our mistake the last time was not bringing Reed because he knew exactly what he liked, and it was the matching set that went with his toddler bed. It was one of those convertible models that grew with your child, and if I’d been thinking, I would have suggested it to Julian right away. Pricey but so great. We wandered the store a bit more and bought bedding and some other items. The store would have everything delivered in a few days. I really felt prepared now.

“Who wants ice cream?” I herded my little family out onto the sidewalk. “There’s a great place right down the block.”

Of course, Reed did, and Julian agreed, although not quite as enthusiastically. He had been slowing down on eating as he traversed the third trimester, but he did order a scoop of vanilla in a bowl, Reed got a gummy bear sundae, I chose a double chocolate cone, and we sat down to enjoy our treats. Just as Ipopped the last bit of the cone into my mouth, I saw Julian’s eyes squint and a hand flatten on his belly.

Uh-oh.

“How long have you been having pains, mate?” I didn’t give him a chance to deny it. We just needed to time the pains and then figure out if it was real labor or more false.

He smiled, but I could see the pain in his eyes and my concern ramped up another notch. “Since this afternoon, but they just got stronger and closer together in the last half hour or so.”

“Why didn’t you say something before we came here?”

“Was I going to deny a little boy ice cream?”

Reed looked back and forth between us, and I didn’t want to alarm him. “Mate, how close together are the pains?”

“Close enough, we need to go now.”

Turned out, that meant about four minutes, which became three by the time we got in the truck, and I had him call Talon and his mate to bring his bag from our house and take care of Reed. There was no time to go home first.

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