Page 21 of Curtis & Jae (Mate Match #1)

Twenty One

Jae

We stayed the night at the clinic, taking tips from other omegas there on how to get Leo to latch properly.

Despite our exhaustion, Curtis was the one to hold Leo and settle him when I needed to close my eyes for an hour or so.

He argued that I’d just given birth, so it was the least he could do.

The man was my hero. He’d been with me for everything, being attentive and gentle as always.

If I hadn’t fallen in love with him before, I would have fallen hard then.

During my most vulnerable time, I felt safe and cherished by the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

Just going home was a production. Leo needed to be fed first, then his diaper changed.

Of course, he spit up on his outfit, meaning he needed a different one.

Then there were the hundreds of pictures we had to take for our family and friends.

Even the people Curtis worked with wanted to see the newest member of the crew.

By the time we got into the house, the last thing I wanted to do was deal with people.

Luckily, my parents were there to corral everyone into an orderly line for baby cuddles.

My dad and Curtis ensured I was sitting down with my feet up, Percy in my lap, and a soothing cup of tea in hand while my mom made something delicious in the kitchen.

Lara and Jennie had done our laundry while Ricky had vacuumed.

They even had Milo doing chores! There was a little playpen for Ella set up so she could watch everyone.

Our nephew was the first to hold Leo before his grandpa, Ricky, got a turn. The older man’s eyes filled with tears.

“I wish your mama was here to see him.”

“She’s been with us since before he was born. You know she wouldn’t miss out on seeing him.” Curtis looked tired. My man needed a nap.

“Mom?” I whispered, gaining her attention. “Could you get Curtis to have a nap?”

“Of course. You should both be resting right now.”

“He’s barely slept, looking after me and Leo instead of sleeping.”

“He’ll run himself into the ground.” Her frown was out of love for my man. We’d grown closer recently, with Curtis making us see each other in a new light.

Leo became fussy, so Curtis scooped him out of Ricky’s arms and cradled him close to his chest, rocking slightly. He was a natural with our baby.

Mom went to him. They spoke in low voices, but enough of my mom’s words carried for me to hear.

“You are doing a remarkable job caring for my son and grandson, but you need rest.”

I didn’t need to hear Curtis’ words to know he was protesting.

“What would your mother be telling you right now?” Mom guilt. My mom was wicked. I couldn’t help letting out a tiny scoff. Everyone else was too absorbed in their tasks or talking about the baby to intrude on the moment between Curtis and my mom.

This time Curtis’ protest was weak. He knew he needed to relax, or he’d get sick.

“Now, both of you are going to have some sleep. We’ll watch Leo for an hour. Just a short nap. You must learn to sleep when they are sleeping. We will help with the house.”

Curtis relented. “Alright. Just an hour. Jae will probably have to feed him soon.” He gave a tender glance to the baby against his wide chest.

“Good. One hour.” Mom paused. “Curtis?” His eyes met hers. “I was prepared to like you for Jae’s sake. Now, seeing you with my grandchild like that, I’m ready to love you for you. I would be proud to call you my son one day soon.”

“Can I count that as your blessing to ask Jae to marry him?”

He looked over at me, smiling when he saw I was watching. The love in his eyes was almost overwhelming.

“It is a request that you do it as soon as possible. Now give me that sweet baby!”

Curtis gently passed Leo over to my mom, her expression softening beyond anything I’d seen from her in my life. I saw the moment she made room in her heart, not only for Leo, but for Curtis. She patted his arm, then went to join my dad on the couch.

A nap did us both a world of good. I slept curled up in Curtis’ arms, content with my life and secure in my future.

Some of our family stayed for dinner, though Lara, Jennie, Milo and Ella all left after the adults got their baby cuddles in. Our parents were such a great help rather than getting under foot. Most looked reluctant to leave.

The house was so quiet when they returned to their homes. Curtis was burping Leo after I’d fed him again.

I was tired, sore all over, yet I’d never been happier. I had the love of a good man, a sweet baby, and a loving family.

Taking a seat next to Curtis, I laid my head on his shoulder.

“Should we try to put him down to sleep?”

“Yeah, we could all do with a few more hours.” Curtis kissed the top of my head and then Leo’s little nose. “I still can’t believe he’s here. I love you both so much.”

“Love you, too.”

“I might be slightly delirious with tiredness, but I swear to you, I’m going to marry you soon. Make you happy until the end of our days.”

“Is that a proposal?”

“Yeah, it is.” He turned, meeting my eyes. “Jae, will you marry me? Be by my side for the rest of our lives?”

“I’d love nothing more.”

Curtis took a week off to help me out at home.

He probably would have taken longer, but the crew needed him and I was fine.

Me and baby Leo were learning each other.

I knew he loved being held up against my shoulder instead of cradled.

Leo liked to nap with his arms sticking up like he was surrendering to sleep.

He hated baths, and I got that, still he needed to be cleaned after some epic diapers.

Me and my baby had lots to learn, though we had all the support we needed to do it. Being a dad was the best feeling in the world and I was glad to be going on this adventure with Curtis by my side.

The doorbell rang while Curtis was at the grocery store. It felt like we’d run out of everything. Leo was fine for food because I was nursing, it was just that there was nothing for us to snack on!

“Hold on!” I called to the visitor. I tightened my robe around me and carried Leo to the door, hoping it wasn’t another delivery from my brother or grandparents.

My brother, Jun, had been the one to tell my grandparents about my pregnancy and had apologized many times since then.

He was out in Korea visiting them when I called to let them see baby Leo.

I was never angry at my brother, it hadn’t been done out of malice, I knew that. My brother just didn’t think sometimes.

His recent olive branch gift was this incredible three wheeled stroller which was perfect for running with, probably more useful when Leo was a little older.

I guess he felt guilty about our distance and telling our grandparents before I could.

He’d been so warm on the call with them, saying several kind things about Curtis and the baby.

Everything was forgiven. Our baby was the start of a new chapter for my family.

Brady’s face was pulled into a frown when I answered. “Hey,” he greeted. “I came for baby cuddles!”

“Everything okay?” I asked while I stepped out of the way to let him in.

“Yeah. It’s fine.”

“Is Xavier still bothering you?” Brady had told me the two alphas were divorcing and the situation with the other omega was complicated.

He turned evasive. “Look, is it okay if we don’t talk about him for a while? I just need—” He stood, wringing his hands.

“It’s fine. Come in, take Leo. I need a shower!” I led him into the living room, where it looked like a bomb had gone off. Brady began picking things up for me like the amazing friend he was. There were never enough hours in the day to get the place clean.

“I was going to say, but I thought it was rude to point it out!” He laughed, sounding more like himself.

Once he sat on the sofa, I handed Leo over to him. “Hey little Leo, I’m Uncle Brady.”

It was sweet to see them together. Brady held the baby so carefully, like he was glass and could shatter at any moment.

“Uncle Brady is going to watch you while Daddy showers,” I cooed to my precious son.

“Go! You reek!” Brady laughed.

“See how nice you smell after you’re covered in baby puke.” I took my chance to run for the shower.

The water felt so good! Curtis was great about letting me get washed up, but his visit to the grocery store had run on longer than he thought since we were out of pretty much everything. He hadn’t predicted Leo spitting up on me as soon as he left the house either.

Even though I knew Leo was safe with Brady, I didn’t linger under the water. Just showered off quickly and found something puke free to wear. I needed to do laundry.

When I returned, the living room was fuller. My mom was chatting with Brady and Maddy, who was taking her turn to hold Leo. I heard Curtis and Marty in the kitchen and went to help them after kissing my mom on the cheek.

“Hope you don’t mind us popping in like this,” Marty said while he unpacked the many grocery bags. “We found Curtis looking half asleep in the grocery store and wanted to make sure he got home safe.”

“It’s good to see you!” I went to hug Marty. He returned the gesture and bussed my cheek.

“You look so good! We won’t stay long. Maddy has been desperate to get her baby cuddles in.”

Curtis tidied up the now empty bags. “Careful, she’ll be asking for a sibling now,” he teased. “Maybe you’ll let us sign you up for Mate Match at last.”

“Maybe.” Marty’s lips twisted into a smile. I thought I noticed a wistful look in his eyes. Perhaps he’d caught a dose of baby fever.