Page 226 of G.O.D.S Omnibus

Davis and Laughn trail behind Grandma Betty, their arms full of random items. She drags them up to the counter, and I tell Brennan I’m going to go save them.

“Can you ring up these on top of everything else and put it on my card,” Betty tells the checkout lady.

“Grandma Betty, I can’t let you do that. We can pay for it.”

She turns around to face me. “Child, please make an old lady happy and let me pay for this for my great grandchildren. I might not live to see the next one being born.”

She bats her lashes at me and smiles. With how good she looks, she won’t be going anywhere in the near future.

“Fine,” I say, falling victim to the damn puppy dog eyes. Now I know where Chester gets it from.

She gives me a playful grin and turns back to the register and slides her card across the counter. The young girl rings up her purchases and hands her a receipt along with the bagged-up items. The sales assistant then tells us that everything will be delivered within two weeks.

Two weeks is all we have until this feels even more real. It’s one thing to have the belly, but add a house scattered in baby stuff to that equation, and we aren’t ready.

Chapter Seventeen

Jolie

My worry increases as the days turn into weeks and Melinda hasn’t texted or returned my calls. Brennan insists Corey is watching out for her, and she seems fine. He reports nothing out of the ordinary is happening. Even so, I make sure I text her every day, and today is no different. I had another scan yesterday, and the babies are getting so big that we can no longer see their whole bodies on the screen.

Trace lies beside me on the couch, rubbing circles on my leg. “What are you looking at?” he asks, and I hold my phone back so he can see. I had the pictures from the box Melinda gave me scanned onto my phone.

“That’s your sister, right?”

“It is. For the four years that I had no memories, I thought I had no family. I would have killed to have a sister. And I know I didn’t want kids, but I’m kind of glad Zadom will have a sister, even if she doesn’t have a name yet.”

“You can have as many kids as you would like—you have plenty of willing participants. We can start practising if you want.”

“As much as I like the sound of that, Sinclair has signed us up to an antenatal aquaerobics class.”

“We?” Trace questions, and I nod.

“Yup, since it’s just us here, and someone has to babysit me. As per your rules, not mine.”

“Lucky for me, I love to swim and seeing you in a bikini is always a plus.”

“Even big and fat?” I huff.

“You’re not fat! And yes, believe it or not, some men find pregnant women extremely sexy and I’m one of them.”

“Is that so?”

He leans over the top of me and smiles, nodding his head. “Anything you do is extremely sexy.”

“Remember that soon when you see a head hanging out of my vagina.”

My phone buzzes from between us, and I pull it out expecting it to be Sinclair reminding me of the aquaerobics or Blayne complaining about it. The only upside to nearing the third trimester is seeing the finish line of her pregnancy.

I’m surprised to see a message from Melinda.

Melinda

Please stop contacting me. I thought I could do this when I didn’t remember you, but I can’t.

Melinda

I’m sorry.

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