Page 116 of With A Little Luck
He chuckles, grabs her ass, and pulls her closer for a quick kiss. “The gate guards are on high alert, and we have four guys simply driving around the neighborhood. I’m good, little one.”
My heart thumps erratically, and I focus on not bursting into tears in a room full of strangers.
I just really need Ridge and Trigg to get here so I can see with my own eyes that they’re safe.
Briar and Saylor are clearly trying, but with everything going on, I’m not great company.
Hart sticks to my side like glue, which I appreciate. His pheromones help settle my frayed edges, but I’m still barely keeping it together. He pulls me onto his lap in the recliner and stretches back.
I try not to lie completely flat too often, but this is just enough of an angle that it feels fine.
Hart rubs my stomach, and the two women make small talk. It’s very sweet how they try to include me here or there, but considering I’m still a mess, they don’t push too hard.
Nothing quite seems real, like there’s a sheen between me and reality.
Omen finds one of King’s toys and plays tug of war. Once he wins, he tosses it across the room, and King stares disdainfully.
“You little shit, are you truly not going to fetch it?” Omen asks in his thick Irish accent. He laughs, pushing himself off the floor and going over to pick it up. “You could not be more aptly named.”
I laugh, and my stomach lets out an embarrassing growl so loud that everyone swivels to look at me.
“Someone better feed the pregnant woman before she turns into a zombie and tries to eat all of our faces.” Omen chuckles.
“Want me to grab you something?” Hart asks, nuzzling his cheek to the side of my head.
“We have mini sandwiches,” Saylor says, smiling. “And a fruit and veggie tray, cheese and crackers, and these fancy olives Briar picked out. I’ll be happy to make you a plate.”
“Or you can come browse with us.” Briar shoves herself off the couch and comes over, offering me her hands. “I don’t know about you, but eatingalwayscheers me up.”
“There’s a dessert tray too.” Saylor pops up over Briar’s shoulder, smiling.
I’m still embarrassed from all the stuff I blurted out earlier, but I barely nibbled at a piece of toast before my appointment. Putting something in my stomach when I’m this stressed might be a bad idea, but having a few bites is better than nothing.
I tilt my head and smile at Hartley. “Would you put down the leg part? I should at least try to eat something.”
“Absolutely,” he says, kissing my temple. He pushes his legs down and swivels the chair forward.
I take Briar’s outstretched hands, and Hart helpfully gives me a push up.
It sparks a memory of being outside my house this morning.
Everything happened so fast…
I was too focused on needing a bathroom to understand why Ridge put me on my feet and gave me a shove. By the time I righted myself and turned around to bitch him out, the sound cracked through the air, and he was bleeding everywhere.
If he had still been holding me, I’m pretty sure the bullet would have hit me too.
Dammit.
I’m so conflicted.
I owe him an apology for snapping at him, but I’m beyond frustrated that all of this happened to begin with.
The worry comes back in full force, and I remind myself of what Keir said—no news is good news.
“Come on,” Saylor says, taking off for the kitchen. “The dessert tray has bite-size cheesecake bars and brownies.”
Well, that’s enough to perk up any omega, especially a pregnant one.
