Page 30 of With A Little Luck

Chapter Twenty-Five

Quincy

I examine the rest of the goodies while Ridge watches with a soft smile.

The dresses will fit once I have the baby, so I make the choice to keep them.

There are two circular LED lamps that are small and can be voice activated to give a little lighting in the nest if you’re busy or don’t want to get up.

It also came with two candles, a white-noise machine, and pillowcase ice packs.

Most of the space was taken up by a vacuum-sealed pillow, two throw blankets, and a big comforter.

It’s a lavish gift, but I do my best not to make a big deal about it.

Once we’re done examining everything in the bin, Ridge asks me to accompany him upstairs. Watching King follow him up the stairs makes me snort. He’s like a little tank on a mission, and his grunts and chuffs are cute as hell.

With the massive container in his arms, I can’t get too close to Ridge, but I follow him down past the pack bedroom. At the very next door, he drops the bin near the wall.

“This room is the smallest, but it’s the closest to the pack bedroom.” He clears his throat and reaches for the door handle, pushing into the room.

He steps inside and stands against the door, waiting for me to follow him.

King has no reservations. He bounds inside, and I follow him in.

It’s not small compared to what I’m used to, but compared to the house, I understand what Ridge meant. It’s empty, other than a brown dresser on the wall to the left.

Ridge steps up behind me, snaking a hand around my middle. “What do you think?” he murmurs, resting his chin on my shoulder.

“It’s a very nice room.”

Does he want me to move out of the pack bedroom and into this room? I wouldn’t mind. It’s smaller and will likely help to soothe my instincts.

“It’s right across the hall from me and right next door to you and Hart.

” He soothes his hand over my stomach. “The hallway that leads to the nest and the bathroom in the pack bedroom actually ends on that wall where the dresser is. We could probably have a company come in and make a doorway if you’d like.

That way, you won’t even have to walk out into the hall to get over here. ”

“W-Wait…” My jaw falls as what he’s saying clicks. “You want to turn this room into a nursery?”

“That’s the plan.” There’s a hopeful lilt to his tone, and my eyes ache as I blink back tears.

He might have made me nervous last night, but he’s more than made up for it since. Beyond that, I firmly believe that he was owed a couple of hours to freak out and decide what he wanted to do moving forward.

I took weeks to come to terms with things.

No matter how hard I try, I can’t force away the tears, and they fall down my cheeks. Spinning around, I bury my face in his side and stretch up on my tiptoes to get closer to his neck. It’s useless, but I end up with my forehead resting against his shoulder and my nose in his armpit.

Ridge freezes.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, sniffling and trying to force myself to relax.

I’m happy.

A little overwhelmed, but I’m grateful he’s making an effort to set up a room for the baby.

“You’re okay,” he murmurs, nuzzling his cheek to the top of my head. His strong arms wrap around my back, and I whine. It comes out sounding muffled, and even I don’t know what I’m asking for.

Comfort, maybe?

Reassurance that he forgives me for leaving that morning with no way to contact him?

Why am I suddenly losing my shit?

“All right,” Ridge says softly. “You need a minute. I didn’t mean to spring too much on you at one time.

” He kinda squats and wraps a forearm under my bottom.

He lifts me, and the baby belly pushes against his stomach.

I try to suck in a little, but it doesn’t help, and he chuckles.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I’m going to need to lay off the pizza and beer. ”

I snort.

We both know he’s not the reason this is awkward. He strides out of the room and across the hall into his bedroom.

My eyes adjust slowly since it’s darker in here, likely because this room has the blinds closed and curtains covering the sides of the windows. If they were all the way closed, it would be dark as hell with only the light from the hallway to give illumination.

Ridge takes a seat on the edge of his bed, and King’s collar jingles as he follows us into the room, heaving like he just ran a marathon.

Not that I should judge.

I’d sound like him if I tried to jog anywhere these days.

Ridge palms the back of my head as I stretch up onto my knees, burying my face in his throat. “Well, if you didn’t like the last surprise, you’re going to hate what’s in the garage.”

My head shakes and more tears well in my eyes. “I loved it… I’m sorry.”

“You’re killing me here, sweetheart,” he says, soothing his other hand up and down my spine. “No more apologies. Please, for the love of God. I can’t do it. I feel like I’m about to crawl out of my skin every time you apologize.”

The overwhelming urge to apologize again—this time for making him uncomfortable—washes over me from nowhere. Instead of doing the exact thing he asked me not to, I cry harder, because apparently pregnancy hormones have turned me into someone I don’t recognize.

“The room didn’t upset you?”

I shake my head, sniffling.

“Got it,” Ridge says. “Then, you gotta let go of whatever it is you’re carrying around.

No more apologizing. No more beating yourself up.

Bad shit happens every day, and in the grand scheme of things, I’d say we got off pretty lucky.

” He runs his fingers through my hair, holding me to his chest. “Yeah, it sucks. I’m dealing with my own anger and guilt, too, but at some point, we’ve both gotta leave that shit where it belongs—in the past. You get what I’m saying? ”

I nod, clutching his back. “I just didn’t mean to hurt you or to make this giant mess…”

“We’ve already been over this, sweetheart,” he says in a tender tone. “It’s not all that messy. Truthfully, I’m grateful for Trigg’s psychopathic tendencies. Otherwise, things might have gone a lot differently.”

“So you would be open to being in a pack with Trigg and Hart?”

Ridge snorts. “I can understand Hartley. Trigg still baffles me, but I’m not judging.

” He shrugs. “Then there’s that whole no one in their right mind is going to separate a psychopath from their obsession thing.

That would be like me offering to help Briar escape…

Easton would rain down hell.” He briefly mentioned Briar last night when he joked about how his boss kidnapped her, but it’s hard to conceptualize who they are since we’ve never met.

“I’m starting to understand how Keir and Calder must feel dealing with East on a daily basis.

” He chuckles, massaging my scalp. “But in all seriousness, I’m happy Hartley was around when I couldn’t be.

As for Trigg… That’s your call. The omega chooses who they think will be a good fit for their pack. ”

I snuggle even closer, kinda wishing we were cuddled up under a blanket, or even better, in the nest.

My instincts are still frazzled, but it’s a huge relief to hear him say the words. I hoped that’s what the courting gifts meant, but having verbal confirmation helps offset a lot of my stress.

“I thought about names last night,” he says out of the blue. “How about you? What’s on the top of your list?”

“Way to put me on the spot,” I mumble against his skin. “What if you hate them all?”

A booming laugh fills the air, and his chest vibrates against mine. “Then we’ll negotiate. If we still can’t find some common ground, we can each toss a couple into a hat and let fate decide.”

My nose wrinkles.

That’s very levelheaded, but my heart doesn’t like the idea of leaving it up to chance. It needs to feel right, and I’m afraid something might not click until I meet her.

“Throughout my pregnancy, I’ve tried a few,” I admit.

“Oh yeah? Lay ’em on me.”

“Hadley, Lainey, and Journey, but none felt quite right.” I sniffle, wiggling my nose around to a place I haven’t corrupted with my scent.

“Those are all nice. It sounds like you’re gravitating toward something with a few syllables.”

“I also tried out Lake, Nova, Opal, and Dove,” I admit, smiling.

“And nothing fit?” He shrugs. “We’ve got time. I’ll order a baby name book, and we can scour it together.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you feeling any better?”

“Yeah, I don’t know why my hormones went crazy for a minute.” My face feels hot, but I can’t tell if it’s from the actual crying or the embarrassment of crying all over him.

“That happens sometimes.” He laughs. “Remember, four little sisters. They all have kids. But I think I might know what will help you feel better. How do you feel about setting up the nest?”

My insides light up.

Every omega wants their very own nest, and I’m not too proud to admit that sounds like just the thing to get me out of this momentary funk.