Page 77 of The Omega's Surprise Baby
“You won't have to,” Shane reassured his son. I side-eyed him. We hadn't yet reached a decision about living arrangements either. So many things were still up in the air.
But at least we'd told the kids.
Now for the rest of the family.
* * *
There were somany people crammed into Dean's house that I almost didn't notice at first, but Nick was late. “Hey,” I asked Dean while I helped carry plates to the living room table. “Have you seen your little brother?”
He set the cranberry sauce he was holding down.Mmm, smells good.I was always hungry these days. The nervous anticipation I felt doused my ravenous appetite a bit, but not nearly enough. “Which one?” Dean asked.
“Nick. We got here together but then he went somewhere, I don't know.”
Dean rubbed his chin, eyes narrowed in thought. “Now that you mention it, I haven't seen him.” He glanced around us at all the hustle and bustle in the living room of people setting the table with all sorts of foods. “You don't think he's up to anything stupid, do you? He's always been a bit impulsive.”
“I don't know,” I said, stepping out of the way of someone carrying gravy.Mmm, gravy.I wanted to reach for the gravy boat and pour the stuff down my throat. Would that kind of behavior be frowned upon? Probably. People didn't even know yet that I was pregnant and starving every minute of the day because this baby was hungry all the time. The gravy walked past, and I made myself focus on the conversation again. “He's pretty down about Rhys's wedding, I think. You got a card?”
“Yes.”
“He didn't.”
Dean grimaced. “I see. I'll talk to him when he gets here.”
And perhaps that was Nick's cue to appear, because he chose that moment to walk into the living room. I exhaled a sigh I hadn't known I was holding in. Once he got close enough, I whacked him over the back of his head. “Don't make me worry, you idiot.”
“Ow.” He rubbed his head. “What was that for?”
I'm pregnant, I don't have to explain myself.I wanted to throw that at him and walk away, but there were too many ears in the room. “Wherewereyou?” I asked instead.
“Taking a walk around the harbor?” It sounded more like a question than an answer. When I only looked at him, he spoke on. “I told you I had places to be and people to meet.”
“Could you be any more cryptic?”
“Out of the way, guys,” Griff said, from behind us. “Turkey coming through. Take your seats.”
And like that, our argument was cut short. As much as I cared about my friend and as much as it shamed me to admit, right that moment, turkey came first.
* * *
During dinner, I sat by Shane's side, Mary next to me and Conner a little farther down the table with Jake and his family. The food was delicious and the conversation amicable—which I have to admit surprised me a bit. Big dinners were a different sort of affair back in Goldstone. If it wasn't frosty silence hanging over the table, it was one family member berating another for not living their life perfectly enough. Either that, or everybody pretended to be happy, which was even worse, in a way.
Nothing about the atmosphere in this room seemed fake.
Which made me think, once Shane and I announced our news, whatever reaction we got would probably be genuine as well.
I didn't know whether to take comfort in that fact or not. After what Shane had been through, a lot of his family members felt somewhat protective of him. What were they going to think of me? I hadn'tplannedto get knocked up, but where I was from, people were always quick to blame the omega for these things. Like I had conscious control of my womb. Right.
I scowled at my food.
“Something wrong with your mashed potatoes?” Shane asked in a hushed tone of voice.
Blocking out the buzz of conversations going on around us, I turned to him. “Just nervous.” I kind of wished I'd brought my guitar. Under the table, Shane stroked his foot along my leg, and that helped.
“We should probably just get this over with,” he said.
What? Was he planning to make the announcementnow? I must have looked at him like a panicked kitten because he took a moment to gently run his thumb along my cheek.
“Don't worry so much,” he said. “It'll be fine. They'll be happy for us.”
