Page 71 of The Omega's Fake Mate

“I don't know,” Nick said, but I felt him relax just a bit. “What if they're going to be a book nerd like you and just read all day?”

Something about those words hit me hard. This kid could be like me. It wasmykid. Mine and Nick's.

In my mind's eye, I saw a little kid with Nick's eyes and my nose, a book in one hand and aGodzillaaction figure in the other. A little kid who would call usDadandDaddy.It was almost too much to comprehend.

My mother was going to be ecstatic, though.

“Zander?” Nick nudged my shoulder, making me realize that I'd spaced out.

“Sorry. Still trying to process everything. How long have you known?”

“I took a test on New Year's Day, but I didn't want to tell you over the phone or the webcam. It didn't feel right.”

New Year's Day... He'd been carrying this around with him for a long time. I ran a hand through my hair, trying to sort my thoughts. Involuntarily, my eyes strayed to Nick’s belly. I remembered what Conner had asked me. Whether all alphas wanted their omegas to have their babies. I'd never thought of myself like that, but I couldn't deny that part of me wanted to see Nick with a baby bump. Perhaps I was a slave to my genes after all. He wasn’t showing yet, though.

“What are you thinking?” he asked.

“Nothing,” I lied.

“Oh, c’mon.” He boxed my arm. “You were thinking about how I’m gonna get fat and all.”

That was only partly accurate. “I wouldn’t call it getting fat. You’re growing a baby. Our baby. That’s different.”

“Uh-huh. I’m still not gonna keep my figure, though.”

“You’ll always be beautiful to me,” I said without even having to think about it. “Actually, I’m kind of looking forward to seeing you more pregnant.” I could admit that if it might make him feel better.

“Really?” Nick seemed to have his doubts.

“Really.” I kissed his forehead. “I guess it’s an alpha thing.”

“Okay.” Nick rested his head on my shoulder and for a moment, we stood in silence, holding each other. We could get through this, right? If we were together.

I decided then and there that I was going to be Nick’s rock. I would be there for him—and our child—no matter what happened.

We slowly broke apart when the bells above the door jingled, indicating that someone had entered the store. When I looked up, I saw Conner. “Didn't you see that we're closed?” Seriously, people were treating that door sign as if it was nothing more than a decorative element.

“Oh, yeah, I did, but I saw you in and I'm not here to buy anything. I only wanted to ask if the book came.”

What book? Oh, right. He'd come in the day before looking for a title I didn't have in stock, so I placed an order for him. “Not yet.”

“There's a lot of snow on the roads,” Nick joined the conversation. “I wouldn't expect anything to be delivered quickly.”

“Oh, hey Nick,” Conner said as if noticing him only now. “What are you doing here?”

“Just dropping by,” Nick replied, putting on a smile. I noticed that he took a step away from me, though I couldn't think why. Did he not want Conner to know that we were an item? That would be difficult once he started showing. Still, I left him to it. There would be time to talk later, when Conner was gone and the store was closed for the day and we could head up to my apartment...

“That's cool,” Conner said. “Are you coming by later? I'm sure Dad and Kade would love to see you. Oh, and Mary. She's been asking if you were coming back.” Still talking, Conner wandered over to the book shelves. He'd said he wasn't here to buy anything, but it seemed he couldn't resist browsing. I knew that feeling. Book shelves had a magnetic pull on me too.

Conner wasn't looking at the shelf, though. No, he was looking at something on the floor in front of it.

The book that had fallen from the shelf when I was sucking Nick off.

“Why's that book lying there?” Conner asked. “And what are those stains?”

Stains?

I looked at Nick, who, thank God, was reacting way faster than me. When Conner reached for the book, Nick's hand swooped down like a hawk and grabbed it before Conner could even touch it. “Sorry, I dropped that,” he said, holding it close to himself. “I'm gonna buy this.”