Page 24 of Duke's Baby Deal
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Duke assured him.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
It was weird to be getting ready for my mating. I’d hardly seen Duke since the night after full moon, though Bax had dropped by at one point to let me know that Duke was planning a traditional ceremony, since he’d heard I’d wanted one. I did, though it felt awkward to have something so romantic when I was carrying another man’s pup. Duke had stopped in the day after Bax’s visit to ask who I wanted invited and to let me know I didn’t have to worry about anything other than getting myself to the ceremony, which would be at Abel’s and Bax’s. I’d insisted on making food for after, in part because I didn’t think it should all land on his shoulders, but also because it kept me busy and distracted.
Holland and Jason had come over, and Rosie was on her way. Jason had brought some things with him. Not clothes—I’d still had the stuff for my blue and black shirt and a pair of black jeans that I’d hardly ever worn for fear of fading them—but an assortment of well-thought-out little gifts that could be sacrificed to the fire. With that off my plate, the only real job that was left was to turn my fancy blue and black shirt into a mating tunic.
It wasn’t the mating I’d always dreamed of, though it was the mate of my dreams. Somewhere up there, a rabbit god was laughing his fluffy tail off at my situation. Because, really, the only thing more devious than a rabbit was a fox, and we didn’t hunt foxes. For that matter, we didn’t hunt rabbits anymore either, but I assumed that rabbit gods would have a long memory.
Regardless, someone had set me up so I got the mate of my dreams, but only because he felt like he had to rescue me. I’d cried about it the night he’d come to visit, soaking my pillow until I had to turn it over to sleep without drowning in salt water. But as the next day wore on, my disappointment didn’t exactly fade, but I realized that sulking wasn’t going to help things. And maybe he’d grow to love me if I was a good mate. I thought he’d been fond of me once. Maybe I could make him feel like that again.
So I put my all into making a mating tunic that would knock his socks off, in the limited amount of time I had. We were mating a week after full moon, mostly because Duke was still trying to find someplace for us to live. Because it wasn’t a planned mating, we hadn’t been on the list for mated housing, and all the houses coming open were assigned. But yesterday, he’d dropped by the daycare to tell me that he’d found a place, and not to worry, and that I could set a date.
Holland and Jason were huddled in the living room, piecing together the arms and the cuffs of my tunic. I was in the kitchen, using up a good portion of my banked credits making finger foods that would keep until the next day, when it would be served as part of the mating celebration. Mom was off working, and Dad was hiding in his bedroom. Too many omegas in too small a space for his comfort.
Someone knocked on the door and I yelled, “Just come on in, Rosie! You know how to work a door!”
The door opened, and Bax said, “Does that apply to me too?”
I dropped what I was doing and raced to greet him. “Oh, what are you doing here? You brought Taden!” I peeked inside his blanket, then stepped back, mindful of the fact that he wasn’t my baby. That thought made me put a hand on my belly, and I caught Bax smiling at me, like we shared a secret.
“I brought over a few things you’ll need tomorrow,” he said, and lifted up a bag that dangled from his free hand. “Makeup, the paint for your body, a few other things. If you’re going to get ready here. You’re welcome to come do it at my home.” He hugged me with that arm, then stepped back. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine,” I said. “Nervous.”
“I hear that’s normal,” he teased. Then, in a lower voice, he asked, “This is what you want, right?”
“Of course,” I said brightly. “I mean, I get my own place, and Duke and I have an agreement.” My voice got louder and more strident, until it nearly cracked on the last word and I bit off the next rambling sentence to smile brightly. “Come in.” I took the bag from him and waved him into the living room. He cast me a worried look, but smoothed it away before he joined the others in the living room.
I hid by the front door for a moment, somehow again on the verge of tears. I’d been like this at unpredictable moments ever since Duke had proposed, and I wasn’t any closer to being in control of it now than I had when the first one had hit. I didn’t have time for hysterics, as much as I’d like to just throw myself on the floor and kick and scream until someone fixed it. Because, yeah, it was entirely possible for someone to create a time machine and go back in time to make me stay safely inside on full moon. And it wasn’t like I had a mating to plan for tomorrow and hardly anything done.
My emotions were ridiculous.
Okay, time to grow up. I walked around the corner into the living room to check out what was happening.
“You sure Rosie is bringing more cloth?” Holland asked through a mouthful of pins.
“She said she was.” I still had food to make, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the remains of my shirt. It didn’t look like anything now, except the sleeves were visible. Holland had been surprisingly friendly while we talked about what could be done and we’d come up with a design that kept all the blue at the top, near my face, and the black at the bottom. We were going to cut the hem into points so it would move freely while I walked and—I don’t know where he dug them up—Holland had found some turquoise sequins that we could scatter around the black part so it didn’t just become one giant shadow.
Speaking of Rosie seemed to have conjured her, because she blew in through the door like a summer storm, laughing and kissing everyone and squealing in delight while we explained what we wanted to do with her mating gift of black suede.
We were left undisturbed, except for a couple of minutes where I had to feed Dad. Bax helped with the food, Taden tucked into a neat loop of cloth that kept him close to Bax’s chest. In the living room, the other three rapidly stitched my mating tunic together, interrupting the cooking on occasion to have me try it on, then pushing me around and commenting on the fit like I was nothing more than a doll. We bickered about it, laughing all the while, and I almost forgot I was going to a pity mating with the man of my dreams.
Almost.
Bax watched us from the hallway, one hand on Taden, the other held clear of his body to keep from smearing flour and cookie dough over his clothes. Our eyes met, and he smiled, and I suddenly felt better, like maybe this wasn’t a disaster. Maybe I could make this work, if I tried hard enough. Maybe he knew something I didn’t.
I hoped so.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
It was time.
We were having the ceremony in the small back yard. Someplace more private than Mom and Dad’s—I was terrified of a crowd, even though the pack seemed to believe the romantic story we’d been telling. I wondered why it was so convincing to them, but I was exhausted and overwhelmed, so I pushed it aside to think about some other time.
The afternoon of the mating found me in Bax’s bedroom, wearing nothing but a robe after scrubbing myself in his big bath, my hair being styled by Holland while Rosie worked on my make-up because my hands were shaking too hard for me to hold a brush.
She thought it was cute. I’d only just realized that tonight was my mating night. With everything that it implied.
