Page 44

Beth

W hen Joey had returned from school the night before, she watched the sonogram with rapt attention as Jensen explained it to her. She had been so confused as to how the wiggling bean on the screen could be her sibling, but Jensen took plenty of time to explain it.

“Are you going to be here for Christmas?” Joey asked as we rummaged through the boxes of Christmas decorations scattered around the living room.

“I am!” I confirmed with an enthusiastic nod.

I had hardly spoken to my family since that disastrous weekend and the bullshit Hayden had pulled.

They had texted several times, but I hadn’t bothered to reply.

Dodging their calls was becoming second nature.

My brother hadn’t been served yet—Gideon had told me that he had filed the suit, but it would be a week or two for it to be delivered to him—so for some reason, they thought I would come running home, same as usual.

Instead of worrying about what they did or didn’t believe about me, I was ignoring them while focusing on decorating with Joey.

We had picked out some new decorations, as well as pulling numerous boxes from the attic.

Not that we had retrieved the boxes from the attic.

We had simply directed the guys to do as we bid.

Joey nodded. “When are we going to get all the stuff for your room?”

I had officially moved into the nest, and Joey was thrilled, but she had insisted I needed more blankets.

“Some of my friends at school go get Christmas nest stuff from the big store. I’ve never been there. Have you?” she asked.

I paused, cocking my head to the side. What did she mean by the big store ?

The nesting supply store? It wasn’t uncommon for omegas to take their young daughters shopping with them, especially if they thought there was a chance they could be an omega themselves.

Nesting was one of the few habits of omegas that were encouraged at a young age.

While I hadn’t planned to go to a nesting store…I wasn’t exactly going to turn down an excuse to go to one, either.

“I’ve been there once or twice. You know what? My nest is pretty empty. I think we could do a bit of shopping.”

Joey’s eyes lit up. “When?” she asked excitedly, jumping up and down on the spot.

Leaning over to the coffee table, I picked up my phone and opened the pack group chat.

Bethany:

Joey and I have decided that the nest needs more blankets, so we’re going shopping.

Cullen:

I’ll join you when I finish up here.

Jensen:

No fair, I’m stuck cleaning up scraped knees.

Cullen:

You’re the one who decided to work with a hockey team.

“How about now?” I asked, putting my phone down. “Daddy C is going to meet us after he finishes work.”

“Yes! Let’s go.” She jumped up, untangling the fairy lights forgotten. We could do that later…or we could convince the dads to.

We piled into my car, and I was suddenly very thankful that the guys had opted to get me a large SUV because I could fit plenty of blankets in there. Financially, I had the pack card, and the guys had made it clear that the nest room was to be decorated and to not worry about the cost.

My lack of employment would be a problem for future Bethany. For now, Joey deserved to be spoiled, and my nest could most certainly use a refresh.

Joey stared down at the blankets with a comically serious look. We were standing in the middle of the largest nesting store around and both Joey and I were in heaven. Everywhere we turned, there were throw blankets and sheets. Anything warm, cozy, and soft.

“What’s going through that brain?” I asked gently.

“I like both of these,” she admitted. “But I don’t know which one to get.”

I chuckled to myself. “We can get both, then,” I said fondly. “Throw them in the cart!”

Joey beamed at me as she did just that. I recognized the glee in her face all too well. As an omega, when I could procure plenty of nesting materials, I had a special kind of excitement that rushed through me; it was almost primal.

“Now, I think they have throw pillows in the back shaped like different animals!”

“Even dinosaurs?” she asked with wide eyes.

I nodded seriously. “Even dinosaurs.”

In a nesting store, no one could expect an omega to be a voice of reason.

By the time Cullen joined us at the store, the cart was piled sky-high. As he strode over to us, wearing a pair of dark slacks and a white T-shirt, smiling happily, my insides couldn’t help but tingle.

I wanted to kiss that five-o’clock shadow so badly.

“Hey,” I greeted him, pulling him in for a quick kiss.

“Where is our little terror?” he asked, looking around the store.

I snorted and pointed to the absolutely gigantic bin of throw pillows. “She’s in there, looking for just the right one. She picked out most of this stuff herself.” I gestured toward the cart that was overflowing.

Cullen’s gaze was comical as he looked at the sheer size of the pillow palace. “We have a little omega on our hands, don’t we?” he whispered.

I nodded. “Good luck, Dad.”

Joey took a moment to hug Cullen when she surfaced from the mountain of squish, but quickly returned to her adventure, leaving us to trail after her.

We were in the curtain department when a wave of nausea hit me. Joey was in her own little world, but Cullen noticed.

“Hey, here,” he said softly, pressing a small packet of crackers into my hand. He must have stashed them in his pocket. His other hand rested on my lower back, rubbing in that comforting way. He was so close, all I could smell was him.

“Thank you.” I took the crackers gratefully, ripping the package open and nibbling on the corner of one as we walked around.

“I thought the nausea was supposed to ease as you entered the second trimester?” Cullen asked.

“It is, but it doesn’t go away entirely.” I paused to pick up some soft muslin sheets in dusky blue that appealed to me, tossing them into the cart.

“I’ll make sure I keep a stash of the crackers in all the cars, then.”

“Thank you!” I gave him a little side hug, subtly huffing some more of that bourbon scent. Those crackers had been a savior a number of times.

“If you’re feeling too icky, we can always go back home and lounge around on the couch for the rest of the day,” Cullen offered.

I shook my head. “No way. You really want to end Joey’s fun? I think she’s going to buy out the whole store!”

“I’m sure you’re keeping pace with her,” he said, taking the cart from me and resuming pushing as I puttered around the store, touching any fabrics that appealed to me.

“Well, you did insist I take the nest room. The nest there is so big, and I don’t have anywhere near enough nesting supplies to fill the space.”

A smirk slowly spread over Cullen’s face. “In that case, I suppose we’d best get shopping!” He turned in the general direction of Joey. “Hey, kiddo! I think we need to get some new rugs for the nest room!”

“A fluffy one?” Joey asked excitedly.

“Of course!” Cullen agreed enthusiastically.

When we reached the checkout, Cullen went to pull out his bank card. When I opened my mouth to protest, he simply handed me the card with a smirk.

“I already have access to the pack accounts. Why are you giving me this?” I asked.

Cullen shrugged. “I want to get this for you. Please let me.”

“I know my finances are a mess, but?—”

He shook his head. “It’s not because of that. I am an alpha, and I want to buy the nesting supplies for my omega and our adorable, bonkers daughter.” His face was so open and honest, I melted a little bit inside.

“Fine,” I huffed. “Just this once.”

A smooth chuckle slipped past Cullen’s lips. “Whatever you say, omega.”

“Do you think the daddies will let us have chicken nuggets for dinner?” Joey asked as we lounged on the couch, watching the guys carry all the various nesting supplies we had acquired into the house.

I might have gone a tiny bit overboard.

Then again, it’s not every day you have a tiny human egging you on.

And I only felt a bit guilty for letting Cullen pay for everything.

I turned to her with a grin. “I could probably convince them.” Turning my face back to the doorway where the guys were, I shouted, “I’m craving chicken nuggets!”

It only took a moment for Jensen to pop his head into the room. “I’ll pick some up once we’ve finished bringing all this stuff in. I’m assuming both of you want chicken nuggets?”

“Duh!” Joey giggled, beaming at him as she cuddled into my side.

“Well, if our girls want chicken nuggets, they’ll get chicken nuggets!” he declared, grabbing a bag of nesting supplies and heading upstairs.

“I like having you here,” Joey admitted, her childish bubble gum scent soothing me to the core.

“I like being here,” I replied.