Page 16 of Pucking With My Head (Pucking Pregnant #4)

Cullen

“ D addyyyy,” Joey whined, bouncing around the kitchen. “Is dinner almost done? Can I wake Bethany yet?” she asked, pouting at me with wide, adorable eyes.

She had bounded home from school so excited to see Bethany.

When Jensen had dropped her off in the morning, he had told her that the omega she adored wasn’t feeling well and was sleeping in the guest room.

Joey had wanted to go see her immediately, but after some coaxing, Jensen convinced her that they should wait until dinner so she could rest.

Usually saying no to my daughter was a struggle, especially when she was making a face like that, but I knew that Bethany needed as much rest as she could get.

So, while I threw together dinner, Joey was bouncing around, telling me to hurry up.

I had decided to make chicken noodle soup for Bethany, with freshly baked rolls. There was also some chicken alfredo if she wanted it.

“How about you go grab a tray, and we can start getting it all ready for Bethany?” I suggested.

“Yes!” Joey nodded enthusiastically and darted to the pantry where we kept the trays, happy to have a job.

“She’s so excited.” Jensen chuckled from the doorway, where he stood wearing jeans and a California Chargers jacket.

“Just got in?” I asked. “Have you managed to go check on Bethany yet?”

He nodded. “That was the first thing I did. She’s awake but a little groggy from all the medications.”

“Is she okay to eat?”

Jensen smirked. “Judging by the way she was grumbling at me that she was perfectly fine and ready to go home, I think she can handle a meal.”

“Is she being stubborn still?”

“Of course, she is. Apparently, Gideon had to glare at her to make her take her medication earlier.”

“I don’t envy her, then.”

Gideon was kind and fair, but also unrelenting and straightforward—especially when it came to looking after those he cared about.

“Hi, Daddy!” our daughter greeted Jensen as she bounded out of the pantry, tray in hand. “I’m going to take Bethany’s food up to her!”

“Maybe it’s best to let one of us carry it,” Jensen said, his smile never wavering.

Joey thought for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, I spill things.”

I snorted. That was an understatement. Joey had all the grace of a bull in a china shop when she was excited.

When she had first expressed an interest in skating lessons, I had been concerned, but somehow, she took to it like a duck to water.

On the ice, she was graceful. Off the ice, she was rambunctious.

We made quick work of filling the tray. A large bowl of soup with plenty of noodles in it, several pieces of bread, and some fresh butter on the side. A bottle of water and a glass of fruit juice. I wanted her to have options.

As soon as I picked up the tray, my daughter beamed and started ushering me out of the room, excited to finally see Bethany.

“You know, Daddy, I don’t like that Bethany’s feeling yucky, but I do like that she’s here. Maybe we can have more sleepovers in the future?” she asked innocently as she followed me up the stairs.

“Maybe.” I hummed noncommittally. It was one thing to have her staying over while she was unwell, but under any other circumstances, my mind would be wandering to a place where it probably shouldn’t.

A place that didn’t involve much clothing.

“Bethany! How are you feeling?” Joey shouted as she opened the door.

“Joey! Inside voices,” I reminded her. “Remember, Bethany’s head hurts.”

Joey paused and looked back at me, wincing, before turning to Bethany, who was sitting up, a soft smile on her face. “Sorry!” she whispered.

Bethany chuckled. “That’s okay. I’m feeling a lot better.

What have you got for me?” she asked as Joey clambered onto the bed.

Bethany instantly wrapped one arm around her, pulling her into her arms. It was so natural a move, like something one of the dads would do, it made my chest burn with some undescribed emotion.

There was no denying the girls looked related. Sure, Bethany was too young to be her mother, but with the same blonde curls, they could have easily been family. Joey’s curls were slightly more platinum, but over the years, they had slowly been darkening to a tone more like Bethany’s honey blonde.

“Daddy Cullen cooked. He’s the best cook out of all my daddies.”

“Who’s the worst?” Bethany asked with a giggle. As I gently handed her the tray, she smiled and mouthed thank you .

“I can answer that for you,” I said. “That would be Jensen. He is so obsessed with health and nutrition that he will eat steamed vegetables with no seasoning.”

“Oh, that sounds…interesting.” Bethany grimaced before looking down at her tray. “This looks amazing!”

As she spoke, her hand ran lazily though Joey’s hair, their closeness evident.

The omega beamed at me, and the smile was like a punch to my chest.

I was falling, even if I didn’t want to admit it.

I cleared my throat. “I’ll leave you girls to eat. Call me when you’re ready for me to take your tray like a good servant.” I smiled, turning and leaving the room hastily.

If I stayed, I would have ended up begging her to run her hands through my hair as well.

Bethany was in our home, and she was sick. She was treating me just like everyone else, but there was still that hint of tension whenever she looked at me.

So, before heading to the restaurant, I took a drive across town to the fancy chocolate place that I had heard so much about. It was ridiculously overpriced, but apparently it was an omega’s dream. As a chef, I could appreciate some high-quality chocolate.

After spending what felt like the equivalent of Joey’s college fund on twenty different flavors, I grabbed the bags from the sales associate and headed home.

Joey met me at the door, and after I gave her a chocolate lollipop, she scampered off to annoy Gideon as he tried to work.

Most evenings, she would bounce between the three of us, or we would all settle in the same room together.

It was a little different while Bethany was staying with us, but that wasn’t a bad thing.

“Hey.” I spoke softly as I entered the guest room. The door was ajar and the light was on low.

Bethany was sitting up in bed, looking worse for wear. She had dark circles under her eyes, and her skin was pale and almost sallow. The sight of her clearly sick did things to me that tied my insides up in knots.

“Hey,” she greeted me weakly. “Sorry I’m still invading your space. I’ll leave as soon as I can.”

Approaching the bed, I said, “If you think you’re leaving this house before you are completely better, then you are delusional. You may be able to go toe-to-toe with me, but Gideon?”

Bethany grimaced. “Yeah, he’s too scary to slap.”

“Even I wouldn’t dare.” I chuckled.

“What do you have there?” Bethany asked, cocking her head to the side.

“Speaking of slapping me, I bring a peace offering.” I handed her the bags.

As she gently opened them, her eyes widened. “Cullen! This place is fancy…” She trailed off, rummaging through the bags.

“I didn’t know what kind of chocolate you like, so I got a bit of everything, and I heard the dark chocolate could be good for headaches.

Now, I don’t know if that’s a medical fact or just what people say because they want chocolate when they have a headache, but I thought it would be best I get it. ”

“You bought so much,” she whispered as she stared at the goodies.

“Well, I owe you an apology.”

“What for? You’ve done several asshole things in the last few weeks.” She grinned at me as she spoke.

Clearly, she wasn’t going to let me off easy.

“The whole accusing you of being a stalker?”

Bethany bit her lip thoughtfully. “Though your logic was fucked up, I can understand why you did that. Whereas other things you’ve done are just cruel. You told me I looked like a cheap whore…”

My face was probably bright red. I was usually so much more confident. Talking to one sickly omega shouldn’t have been as painful as this was, but Bethany had a way of putting me through the wringer.

As she spoke, she pulled out the chocolate, oohing and aahing at the various options as she inspected them. Totally unaware that I was mentally warring with myself as I tried to figure out how I could properly apologize for everything.

“I didn’t mean it. I…let’s just say, the things I said that night had nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. You looked stunning.”

Bethany nodded. “I know I did. I’ve been saving that dress for a date, and unfortunately, I ended up going on a date with an alpha that smelled like raw meat.” She shuddered. “Maybe dating isn’t in the cards for me for a while.”

I swallowed. Should I encourage her to date, tell her that she’s beautiful and any guy would be lucky to have her? Or should I let her think that dating wasn’t for her just so I didn’t have to watch her with other men?

One thing was for sure: I was going insane.

“From what my staff told me, he’s a bit of an asshole. Word has it, he pulled the I forgot my wallet move with several women.”

Bethany’s nose scrunched adorably. “Well, in that case, maybe I dodged a bullet.”

“You can slap me again, if you want.”

She grinned. “I’ll remember that the next time you piss me off. It’s kind of hard to be angry, though, when I’ve got this much chocolate in front of me…oh! Raspberry white chocolate. This looks amazing.”

“You need real food as well. What do you want?”

“There were these garlic and herb lima beans on the menu at the restaurant. I was going to order them before you so rudely interrupted my date…”

I burst out laughing. “I’ll have them whipped up in twenty minutes.”

“I can get used to this service.” She giggled, popping a piece of chocolate into her mouth as I turned to leave. “Though, Cullen,” Bethany called out around a mouthful of chocolate as I reached the door.

“Yeah?” I turned back to look at her, and she was smiling sweetly at me.

“You ever call me a whore again, and I’ll take a crowbar to that pretty car of yours.”