“And another copy, so the proud papas don’t have to fight over who gets what,” the technician said, handing me my own copy of the pictures.
My hands trembled as I took the pictures. She’s not mine, I reminded myself. But I wanted her to be.
“Now, we’ll send these over to your doctor, and she’ll go over any questions you have.”
I could feel Chris tense beside me. “Is there something wrong with her you can’t tell me?”
The technician patted Chris’s arm. “Don’t you start worrying, sweetie. It’s just routine. You have a beautiful baby girl, there. Best of luck in the rest of your pregnancy!”
We thanked her, and soon enough the nurse who had brought us to the room originally came to escort us out.
22
Chris
A girl. I was having a girl. I mean, yeah a felt that all alone, but to see her almost kind of face on the ultrasound made it so real. I almost wanted to pick up an extra few shifts to get one of those three d ultrasounds do I could actually see her and not the weird ink blot test looking paper in my hand, but I didn’t need that to know she was the most beautiful baby in the world. My baby.
Watching Aiden’s face during the ultrasound and hearing the awe in his voice had me fall even more infatuated with him. Which was bad. Or so I tried to keep convincing myself. He was going to be an amazing father and mate one day. If only our timing as worked out better.
Speaking of bad timing, I was barely out of the bathroom relieving the “little pressure” they told me I felt after drinking the butt-ton of water before my ultrasound when Aiden’s phone blew up. He was texting away and finally answered with a “What?” before walking out of the waiting area. Whatever it was, it wasn’t good.
I quickly made my follow up appointment with my doctor and joined him outside. He was already in the car, the engine running, and his hand raking through his hair. I practically ran to the car and jumped in only to get the scolding look Aiden reserved for when he thought I was being “dangerous,” which apparently when an omega is pregnant, is all things.
“I need to get to work,” he started speaking before I’d even shut the door. “There was kind of a disaster, but I can’t figure out just what yet.”
“Ethan won’t tell you?” From what Aiden had told me of Ethan, he was a longtime friend and until recently they held no secrets, the secret being me. I hoped that secret hadn’t formed the wedge that kept him from being open with Aiden regarding work. Of course I was probably over thinking things, as seemed to be my way as of late.
“He texted and won’t answer my return text. His text said, ‘Get your ass to work.’” Maybe he was just made Aiden was late, which was my fault, but Ethan probably didn’t know that yet and thought Aiden was just being lazy. No, that made no sense. No one could ever think of Aiden as lazy. He was the hardest working alpha I ever met. “I called the main line and they said to get my, quote, ass in the office.”
Fuck. This was bad. More than Ethan being mad at Aiden bad.
“I can take the bus,” I offered as I reached to unclasp my seatbelt. I was immediately stopped by his hand on mine.
“Absolutely not.” His voice was soft and pleading, not the demanding he usually was when we fought about me and my relationship with public transportation. “So I can worry about you and the baby as well as the situation at work? No, I’ll go to work and you can rest in my office. Chances are they are over reacting. Ethan has a tendency to do that. He’s a perfectionist. Last time there was an emergency, our organic cocoa wasn’t organic. That’s bad, to be sure, but no one was going to die over it and you’d never be able to tell that was the case the way he was barking out my need to be at work over the phone.”
He was practically babbling in his plea for me to stay in the car and I withdrew my hand from the latch, settling it loosely on my belly, which was now a habit. The very last thing I wanted to do was add stress to Aiden’s life, especially when it sounded like was about to do that for me.
“So it’s probably nothing,” I tried to reassure even though the evidence said otherwise.
“No. It’s probably something but just not that huge of a something.” He was lying.
“Okay.” I gestured for him to just drive as I spoke.
“Okay you’ll go to my work, no fuss?”
“Yeah. Is that shocking?” It probably was. I was kind of a hard-ass when it came to the fights over rides. He usually won, but I never rolled onto my back and offered him my belly first round like this.
He put the car in gear and made his way out of the parking lot, not giving me a chance to change my mind. As much as I loved the lines and the speed of his car, I despised it. He had to engage every stupid gear as he drove, leaving me with no hand to hold. Not that I should get used to holding his hand, but it always felt right, my hand in his, and at this moment I needed that. I was such a selfish omega. He needed comfort now, not me. I placed my hand gently on his knee hoping it gave him a tad bit of relief.
“A bit.” He was so lying. He was quite shocked, but he should know by now that I was going to help him just as much as he helped me. In that way we were a team. “You usually fight me on the transportation thing.”
“And usually it’s because you’re a fool.” Ass. Whatever. “This time it is so you drive safely and I like you safe, so let’s go.” He sped up at my words.
“Aren’t you my bossy omega,” he fussed and I tried not to focus on the use of the term my.
My omega. My. It didn’t mean anything. It couldn’t. But then, why did it feel so right?
23
Aiden
I both hated and loved that Chris was dependent on me for transportation at the moment. I definitely hit some primal alpha-provider buttons I wasn't aware I had, but beyond that, I wanted him to feel free to come and go as he pleased. The last thing I wanted was for him to feel trapped. But he seemed content to nap on my couch for the moment, so I had a little while to figure that out. And by figure it out, I really meant, figure out what car I was going to buy him.
I found Ethan in the lab. "Okay, show me the problem."
He opened a container of one of our experimental recipes. The label said it was from about three weeks ago. I peered in. "Blegh! What happened there?" The entire mixture was spotted black and there was a light, rank odor emanating from it.
Ethan popped the lid back on as I snorted to clear my nose. "I was hoping it was just a storage issue. Or a batch issue. But it looks like that whole order of wheat protein is contaminated," he said.
"And let me guess, that's the same provider who has the really cheap wheat protein?"
"You guessed it." Ethan shrugged helplessly.
"Damn it. So not only are we out however many batches we've made with that protein since we got it—how much, exactly, are we out?"
"An entire month."
I winced. An entire month of experiments wasted. I took a deep breath. "Okay, an entire month of experiments... but we don't dare buy the cheap stuff as a replacement?"
"Basically."
"I guess now would not be a good time to ask your advice on what kind of car to buy Chris...?"
Ethan's face was stone as he responded, "No, no, probably not the best time."
I was afraid of that. My personal costs were fairly minimal, and I had been throwing every last dime into the company. Now, I would need to throw a bit more. My stipend was strictly budgeted, by Ethan, of course. He had always been more frugal than me. I never would have gotten the company as far as it had already gone without him. But we didn't have any room for bumps like this. And maybe my dads would be more lenient with money now that they thought I was getting mated and having a kid, but... I'd rather not depend on that more than I had to. Or save it for a different crunch. Though hopefully there weren't any more situations like this.
"We need a new batch, like, yesterday, and my dads won't drop money into my account for another week. So what do you think about this, I sell the Maserati, and with
half of the money we buy two basic, but safe, cars, and with the other half, you buy the new protein."
"You're going to sell the Maserati... that your dads bought for you..." Ethan's face was incredulous.
My gut twinged. I'd never sold one of my dads' gifts before. But desperate times... "It'll be fine. And Chris needs something safe for him and the baby. He can’t be taking the bus all the time. Besides, they go through cars like candy. Do you really think they're going to notice if I'm driving something new?"
"Do you really think they won't?" Ethan muttered.
And really, fair enough. My dad could probably name every single car he'd ever owned since he bought his first used Miata at seventeen. He was obsessed with cars the way my father was with horses. "I'll deal with it if it comes up."
We stood silently for a moment, staring at the offending container.
"Okay, we're doing this?"
Ethan's shoulders dropped. "We're doing this."
"Okay, you find a new source for the protein, and I'll go sell the car."
By the time I'd sold the Maserati and bought a couple of Nissans, one of which I arranged to have delivered to my apartment, I wished I had taken the time to bring Ethan with me. It would have been nice to have someone to crunch numbers on the fly and validate my gut instincts. I needed him researching the protein, though. I researched safety ratings on my phone and went with the best choice I could make given the time and information I had. All in all, the whole ordeal took much longer than I had expected. Over three hours.
I practically raced back to the office, hoping Chris wasn't too mad at me. I could see Ethan and Chris through the glass walls of my office as I entered the building and a smile stretched across my face. I knew I could trust Ethan to have my back.
The smile disappeared as I approached my office and could hear raised voices. I quickened my pace and threw open the door, just in time to hear Ethan say, "—go back to your alpha, the father of your baby.”
"What's going on here?" I demanded.
Both men turned to face me, Ethan's face red with anger and Chris's white with, what, fear? Before I had the chance to grab Ethan and demand he explain why he was scaring my mate, he brushed past me. "I'll let your mate explain."
I turned to Chris, bewildered, and he collapsed to the couch, shaking in silent tears.
24
Chris
Stretching leisurely as the sleep faded, I luxuriated in Aiden’s scent. I was already addicted to it and how it made me feel. Safe. Home. Loved. Which of course was ridiculous. He didn’t love me. He didn’t even know me. Those facts didn’t stop my instincts from grabbing onto his alpha scent and rolling in it for comfort. Nor did it stop my overly active imagination while I slept.
I woke up so incredibly hard that it was all I could do not to relieve the pressure with the few strokes I knew it would take. If I’d been home, there would’ve been no stopping me, but this was his place of work, his life aspirations, his path. Cheapening that by my own inability to control my hormones was just plain wrong.
The dream had been so unlike my usual night time wanderings. The fantasy was simple. Aiden leaned in and took control of my lips as his hands explored my body, and I, his. Usually, my fantasies were all about getting taken hard and fast. This was so different. So loving… and so very much something I needed to forget about. The last thing either of us needed was me longingly looking at his lips, begging with my eyes to take what I had to offer because frankly, aside from a quickie, I had nothing to give. But maybe he would be okay with that.
A knock at the door saved me from my own downward spiral into wishful thinking.
“Come in,” I called, not bothering to open my eyes until the scent hit me. It was all balsam and musk, nice enough, but not my alpha. I shot up, quickly bunching my blanket over my quickly deflating erection, relaxing slightly as I recognized Ethan.
“Umm, Aiden went to find you.” Worry tickled my consciousness. I was far too refreshed to have been asleep less than a good two hours. How had Aiden not made it across the hall to his friend?
“He did, three hours ago.” This wasn’t the competent but reserved man I had met in the hallway. His scent turned deeper by the moment, anger rolling off him in waves even as his face held a tight smile.
“Oh.” My body wanted to go straight into fight or flight mode, neither of which would be helpful. I needed to hear him out. Ethan didn’t look like a lover scorned, but I couldn’t fathom any other reason for him to be so livid. I curled my legs under me to avoid the temptation to flee.
“Yeah, he decided that he needed to go buy you a car.” Acid dripped from his words. A car? What the heck had Aiden been thinking? This was where his money should be going… to his dream, not his pretend mate. “I wonder why that is.” Hostility slammed into me.
“I don’t need a car. I don’t want a car.” What on this green earth had Aiden been thinking, buying me a car? No wonder Ethan was mad. I kinda was too.
“Says the gold digger.” His posture changed. He was no longer playing at being nice, not that had been since the moment he walked in. I curled my body as small as I could as I looked for an exit. I could probably hold my own if he attacked, but it wasn’t just me now. I needed to keep her safe from his wrath.
“I’m not digging for gold, either.” It came out between sobs. Brilliant. I was now crying like the weak omega stereotypes I tried to prove wrong with my daily actions. “I have a job.”
“Slinging coffee.” His arms crossed in front of him, his face red with anger as he took two steps forward. Two too many for my comfort.
“Running the middle shift at Café Om, yes.” My proclamation of accomplishments sounded so much better in my head than they did coming out between sobs. Where was Aiden? I needed him. Not to fix the issue, but to let me scent him and feel safe, because safe was the opposite of what I was currently feeling and fear led to bad decision making, in my experience.
“Aiden is my best and longest friend.”
I looked for signs that his hostility was dissipating, his words at least sounding a bit softer. I found none. Why did Aiden have to have an alpha as a best friend? At least with a beta, the anger wouldn’t be suffused with alpha-strength hormones, it wouldn’t be pouring over me like this. Darn biology.
“I know. I was hoping we could be friends, but you seem to have already decided I’m not good enough to be friends with Aiden.” I buried my head in my hands. It wasn’t the best tactical move, but I just wanted to shrivel up and disappear.
“Is that what you call what you’re doing? Being friends? I call it trying to scam him into being your sugar daddy.” Two more steps. At this rate, he would be in front of me far too quickly. My heart pounded in my chest. How did things escalate at such speed?
“I… no… it’s not like that.”
“Really? Your scent says otherwise. Do you expect him to believe this is his baby?”
Fuck me. Aiden hadn’t told him anything about the baby. No wonder he was so hostile. I opened my mouth to explain, but it wasn’t my place. I had no idea what Aiden had decided to tell Ethan. Feigning stupid while sticking to the story we’d agreed to was all I could think of right now. After all, omegas had a reputation for it, and Ethan seemed to buy into all the omega bullshit.
“He knows it’s not, and I’m sure he told you that.” Lies. He clearly told him nothing.
“All he knows is you smell good and put out. I can’t believe he fell for the first guy to open his legs and beg after his dads’…”
Great. Now I was a slut too. I racked my brain for ways to de-escalate this without breaking Aiden’s trust or getting me hurt, all while trying to stop my tears and reign in my fear. I was a hot mess of an omega.
“His dads’ what?” Ultimatum. But admitting to knowing all things felt wrong with Ethan being such an important part of his life.
“That’s so very much not your concern.” Another step.
“What is my concern is how you are judging me
.” Maybe guilt would work. Probably not, but I was willing to try just about anything by this point. “It’s not at all like you think. I care about him, you know.” It hurt to admit it out loud for the first time in such a hostile situation.
“I call bullshit.” One more step. He was almost close enough to touch me. I scootched back into the couch as far as my body allowed. “Does your baby daddy know you’re knocked up? Was he not rich enough for you? There is no way on this planet I’m letting you take Aiden for a ride. If that means hunting down the scum who did that to you and helping him claim what is his… so be it.”
I gulped as he reached his hand into his pocket, thrusting it out, dropping a few bills on the coffee table, not coming closer. At least there was that. “Here’s some bus fare. Go get your things and get out of his life like a respectable omega.”
Betray Aiden or wait for Ethan to bring Will to my doorstep in what he threatened to be a forced mating? Was he all talk or would he really it? Neither was any good. How could Aiden be friends with someone who was willing to even threaten such a thing?
“It’s not like that. It’s not like that. It’s not like that,” I mumbled over and over to myself, rocking in my seat, my arms wrapped around my stomach, protecting my little girl. I always believed myself to be a strong independent omega, but right now I was a grumbling mess. I needed to snap out of it and fast.
“It’s exactly like that, so pack up and get out. I’ll make an excuse as to why you are leaving. I’m thinking you had a change of heart and want to go back to your alpha, the father of your baby.”
"What's going on here?" Aiden demanded and he pushed his way into the office. He was as livid as Ethan. The last place a single pregnant omega should be was between two raging alphas, but I couldn’t move, the sobs still coming in full force.
"I'll let your mate explain." Ethan stormed out of the room.
His Pretend Omega: M/M Non-Shifter Alpha/Omega MPREG (Cafe Om Book 2) Page 9