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18

Liam

I’d heard the superstition about not telling people you were pregnant until after the first trimester, and I saw the wisdom in that, but what I really wanted to do was tell every single customer that came into the café. I’d been nervous about Jared’s initial reaction, but now that the hard part was over, I was so damn excited. Jared, meanwhile, was fully in the tell-nobody camp, so we’d compromised and agreed that select family members would be allowed into the secret.

Obviously, my dad already knew, since he’d been the one to connect the dots and clue me in. His foremost concern had been about my health since I couldn’t eat much, followed by fear that I’d be raising this child alone. Even after I’d convinced him that Jared was sticking around for the long haul, it’d been hard for me to convince Dad not to move here to be my extra support.

The next step had been telling Jared’s mom. He hadn’t even told her about me yet, so I was understandably worried that she wouldn’t like me or that she’d assume I was trying to trap her son. “I promise, she’ll love you,” Jared said, kissing that spot behind my ear that made me go weak in the knees. “But on the extremely off chance she doesn’t, she’ll never live here anyway, and we’ll hardly ever have to see her if we don’t want.”

Lucy was out on the west coast right now, working in sales at a cosmetics company, so Jared had set up his laptop on my dining table, and we’d had a video chat. When we gave her the news, first she’d screamed, then clapped, and finally cried a flood of happy tears. “I’m going to be a grandma!” she’d blubbered, mopping a tissue over her face.

If that hadn’t been enough, what came next was even more terrifying. While Jared hadn’t been worried about his mom’s opinion, I knew how much Hugh’s approval mattered to him. Hugh and his husband Charlie and their kids were more family to Jared now than anyone.

And they’d invited us over for dinner. Gulp . Now my stomach was queasy all over again, and it had nothing to do with morning sickness this time.

I made Jared drive us there in my car because I couldn’t focus, and I figured it probably wasn’t safe to drive in this state. So instead, I repeatedly wiped my sweaty hands on my pants.

“It’ll be fine. I promise,” Jared said, glancing over at me from the driver’s seat. “You’ve already met Hugh. Was he really that scary?”

I shook my head. “No, but that was before .” Before me and Jared were a thing, before the baby. I knew logically that nothing had really changed, but tell that to my wildly swinging hormones.

Hugh’s family lived in an apartment, which was surprising, considering their boisterous family. I wondered if the neighbors downstairs minded the kids’ stomping feet. I could hear their giggling squeals all the way down the hallway.

As soon as we knocked, I heard someone inside call, “They’re here!” and when the door swung open, I did my best not to shrink into Jared’s side. “Come in, come in,” Hugh said, waving us through the door.

Jared squeezed my hand, and I took what strength I could from him. I smiled politely. “Hi again. Oh, and you must be Charlie. I’ve heard a lot about—oof!” Charlie stepped right in and gave me a hug.

“I am so glad to finally meet you,” Charlie said. He looked a little tired, but his smile was bright. “I’ve been telling Jared for weeks to bring you by.”

I glanced at Jared. Weeks? That was before we were official, but Jared just shrugged. “He swore he knew we were a couple even before we did.”

“Oh, I knew,” Charlie avowed, nodding sagely.

A little boy shoved his way to the front and leaped. “Uncle Jared! Catch me!” he called in warning, and without blinking, Jared did, hoisting him up and hanging him over his shoulder.

I laughed, staring at this upside-down boy. I already knew his name was Huey. He looked like he was almost old enough to be in school already. He had blue eyes like his omega daddy, but that was where the similarities ended. I halfway wondered if he was adopted—not like it mattered. Family was family, and it was more than obvious that Hugh was very much a family man.

Huey smiled wide, showing off a dimple in one cheek. “Hi!” he shouted at full volume. “I’m five!” He held up a hand with all five digits extended to show me how many that was.

“Wow, that’s a lot!” I said with as much awe as I could muster.

When I caught sight of the little angel hiding behind her daddy’s legs, I crouched down to peek at her. “And how old are you?” I asked. She seemed to think about that, looking to her brother for help, and he held up two fingers, which she then copied .

“This is Bella,” Charlie said. She was clearly shy and absolutely adorable. She was the spitting image of Hugh, with dark blond curls and green eyes, and she was already dressed in her unicorn pajamas.

“I like your PJs,” I told her, and she smiled before burying her face against Charlie’s thigh.

“Saves time for later,” he explained. “Though giving her a bath before dinner probably jinxed us. She’s just as likely to need another bath before we’re through eating.”

We were just kicking off our shoes when I heard an ominous cackle, straight out of a black-and-white horror film. “What was that?” I whispered at Jared from the corner of my mouth.

Jared grinned mischievously. “Oh, that would be Dracula.” I felt my eyebrows jump, and he pointed across the living room to a brightly colored parrot sitting on his perch. “No matter what, do not try to pet him. He’s not lying when he says he wants your blood.”

“Not a concern,” I said seriously, taking in the hooked beak. Why would anyone try to pet him? What was wrong with the usual family pets, like cats or gerbils?

Regardless of Jared’s warning and to my own disbelief, I watched the parrot hop down onto the back of the couch and lean in for pets from both kids. Though it seemed my first impression of the bird was wrong, the evil glint in his eye ensured I wasn’t about to tempt fate by trying to touch him myself.

It was a little early for dinner, but when kids were involved, your schedule adapted to theirs. It would do me well to get used to it sooner rather than later. We all crowded around the dining room table, which they’d added a couple leaves in the middle to extend it to fit us all. It was cozy, not at all formal—and I loved every second of it.

This was what family was .

Huey insisted he sit next to Uncle Jared, so they moved his plastic booster seat around the table. Bella sat in a highchair with its own plastic tray, and Hugh cut up some chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs on his own plate, before dumping the pieces on her tray for her to feed herself, along with a plastic sippy cup of milk.

It was very much fend-for-yourself. It was loud and chaotic, everyone talking over each other to pass various dishes back and forth across the table. It all looked delicious, but I felt awkward just grabbing things, and I didn’t want to interrupt anyone to ask. Jared, however, made sure to put a serving of each dish on my plate. “I’m pregnant, not injured. I can do it myself,” I teased, but I had to admit, I really loved that he was taking care of me without me asking. He didn’t even need to think about it, it was just in his nature.

“I tried to be really careful with the food,” Charlie said to me. “No strong smells that might put your stomach off, and it’s all stuff that’s really healthy for the baby. And if there’s anything that doesn’t sit well, I promise I won’t be offended if you need to spit it out. Or we have extra dino nuggies if you would prefer. Baby wants what baby wants, you’ll find no judgment here,” he said.

Hugh cleared his throat and arched a brow at his husband.

Charlie’s smile turned cheeky. “And when I said me, I meant Hugh cooked everything. But I take full credit for selecting the menu.”

I smiled at them both. “Thank you, but you didn’t have to go to all that trouble for me. Honestly, I would’ve been fine with sandwiches.”

“Don’t be silly, it was no trouble,” Hugh said, and then he and Charlie exchanged a look full of meaning, then a nod. “I didn’t just do it for your sake.” His smile widened as he turned to look at Jared.

Jared gasped. “You’re pregnant again?” he asked Charlie excitedly.

“Last one, I swear,” he said, beaming .

Hugh smirked. “We’ll see.” He took his husband’s hand and kissed the back of it.

I felt like I was getting a secret peek at my own future. They were so incredibly happy and in love, and while I could’ve felt jealous about all that they had, instead, I felt excited, eager to start my own love story. Jared set his hand on my thigh under the table and gave it a squeeze.

“To growing families,” Hugh said in a toast, lifting his glass of sparkling apple juice.

I lifted my own glass. “To a bright, busy, and loud future,” I added, tapping my glass to the others’ around the table. I even leaned over to tap Huey’s plastic cup, because he insisted he was a big boy, and then Bella’s sippy cup.

Well before the adult meal was over, the kids had reached their limit. There was only so much sitting still they could do. Huey had started fidgeting. “Are we done?” he asked in a barely contained whine.

“Pardon me?” Hugh asked, hinting at his manners.

“Can we please be excused?” His little feet thunked under the table as he kicked wildly. I bit back a laugh and hid my smirk behind my napkin.

“Sure. Wash your hands and you can go watch your movie for a bit before bed.”

“As you wish!” he shouted before running down the hall toward the bathroom.

Hugh laughed. “He’s in his Princess Bride stage.”

“I hope he never leaves it,” Charlie said, grinning as he unbuckled Bella from her seat and lifted her up. “I’ll be back once I get this princess to bed.”

***

Both kids were passed out by the time we called it a night. I was exhausted, but I’d had the best time .

Hugh gave Jared a big hug, slapping him on the back. “I’m so happy for you guys. Kids are the best, and I know you’ll make great parents.”

“ We ,” Charlie corrected. “ We are happy for you guys.” This time, I was ready for it when Charlie came at me with a tight hug. “I can’t wait to be belly buddies with you, Liam. Seriously, call me with any questions or concerns that pop up. Oh, and I’ll give you the name of my doctor. My old one retired unfortunately, but his grandson took over the practice, and he’s pretty great.”

“That would be amazing,” I said earnestly. “Thank you.”

“Of course! This isn’t my first rodeo.”

We said our goodnights, and Jared and I walked down the hall hand in hand. It felt so different compared to when we first arrived. Every ounce of stress had been replaced by warm contentment.

Jared squeezed my hand as we waited for the elevator. “See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“Not at all.” I smiled up at him. “I think I just made my first friend here.”