by Aria Grace
As if on cue, my stomach responded for me with a gurgle.
“You cook?” Because cooking was sexy. Not that I’d admit that before knowing if he did.
“I was thinking the diner around the corner, but yes, I can cook.” He might as well have ended that sentence with a duh given his tone.
So he could cook. Super double bonus points from the professor.
“Impressive. I vote we eat here so we can hash some things out and then go from there.” And by some things, I meant all things.
“Sounds like a plan.” He leaned in, kissing my cheek before whispering in my ear, “Be warned, I’m going to woo you with my cooking until you have no choice but to move in.”
“Consider me warned.”
10
Coop
“Game point, asshole.” I grabbed the ball before it bounced off the court and tossed it hard into Jax’s chest. “Pizza’s on you, as usual.”
He tried to glare at me, but he couldn’t keep a straight face. He knew I was right. We grabbed our bags and headed to the pizza parlor just off campus. “Fine, I’ll buy. But I want to hear more about this family that you’ve acquired over the past three days.”
A huge grin covered my face, and Jax just rolled his eyes. “Oh, shit. You’re not gonna be one of those, are you?”
“One of what?” But I knew exactly what he was talking about. We’ve had this conversation a hundred times about those obnoxious alphas who find their mates and go gaga in love and are completely useless to anything else. “And no, Jax. I’m not going to be one of those. In fact, we decided that Ash is gonna stay at his place until the end of the semester while I look for a job.”
He stopped walking and grabbed my arm. “You’re leaving the program?”
I shrugged him off and kept walking. “Not permanently, but I think I only stayed in school to buy time until I knew what the hell I wanted to do with my life. And now I know exactly what I want to do with it. I dunno. I guess staying in school seems like a waste of time now.”
“I guess,” Jax said, falling in step beside me again.
“Besides, how much education does one person need before they get out in the world and start living their lives?”
Jax was quiet for a few minutes, which was not like him at all. It was still light out but the evenings were getting cool so I stuck my hands in my pockets to warm them up. “I’m gonna miss you.”
“I know. But with Ash being a professor, it’s not really worth the risk of him losing his career when we can just chill for a few months.”
Jax raised an eyebrow with a disbelieving look on his face. “Really? You’re going to just chill while your baby and omega live someplace else? ‘Cuz if that’s the case, then you’re definitely not like any of those other alphas who can’t stand to be separated from their family for more than five minutes without getting anxious.”
Fuck, he was right. Even as I said the words, I knew how miserable I was going to feel every night that Sylvia and Ash weren’t with me. But it was the smart thing to do. The responsible thing to do. And now that I had a family to take care of, I needed to be smart and responsible, which meant I needed to focus on getting a fucking job that paid real money. “I’ve got an interview set up with StarX next week. They promised me a job after my internships.” I should have just stayed. I wouldn’t have missed any time with Ash or Sylvia. “I wasn’t ready then, but I’m ready now.”
“So, you’re moving?”
I glanced at my friend and hoped he understood why I needed to do this. “If that’s where the job is, then that’s where we’re going. But Ash is really happy here, so I’m gonna see if I can work remotely. They have a lot of employees who work off-site, so if they really want me, which they’ve said they do, I’m hoping they’ll let me just travel in a few times per month for meetings. But we’ll see.”
Jax placed his big hand on my shoulder and gave me a little shake. “It’s a good plan, man. I’m proud of you. Sure, it makes me a little jealous.”
I chuckled at his honesty because I knew he was more than just a little jealous. Jax wanted a family desperately, and I knew he’d give anything to trade places with me. “You’ll find yours, Jax. And then we can buy houses next door to each other with white picket fences, and our kids and dogs will play together forever,” I said teasingly.
His gentle shake of my shoulder turned into a squeeze. “Yeah, make fun of me now, but I hope it happens soon.”
He slipped both of his hands in his pockets as we reached the front door at the pizzeria. I opened it so he could pass through, completely unapologetic about making me hold it for him.
Living apart from my new family was harder than I expected. On the nights Ash and Sylvia didn’t show up at my door, I found myself at theirs, begging to come in so I could hold them throughout the night. I never understood what Killian was talking about when he’d go on and on about not being able to function well when he wasn’t with Marcus. But now it made perfect sense. Ash was like my other half. And even though I didn’t even realize I had a family just a week earlier, I already felt like my entire world revolved around them. And that’s why I’d been avoiding the conversation I needed to have with Ash.
“Why can’t you stay inside me forever?” Ash curled into a ball against my chest so I could wrap my body around his, cocooning him in my arms and legs. “I hate when you eventually slide out.”
My balls liked the sound of that, but my dick couldn’t even twitch after the night we’d already had. “I hate it too...but my cock would fall off if I didn’t give it a break now and then. You feel too fucking good. It’d explode right off me.”
Ash chuckled softly. “Well, it felt like it did that a few times tonight. But I guess we can let the little guy get some rest.”
“Little guy?” I slid over Ash’s hip and side so I was on top of him, pressing my weight against him. “Are you saying you want more?”
Ash’s smirk grew as he shrugged one shoulder. “He’s perfect as he is but…”
Now I was intrigued...and just a little concerned that I wasn’t fully pleasing my omega. “But what?”
“I heard about a knot enhancer that will make it stay full for like...an hour.”
“Seriously?” I dropped my forehead to his temple and blew out a relieved and slightly amused sigh. “You’re such a knot whore. Doesn’t it start to hurt after a while?”
“It does...but I like when you move and it tugs against me. It’s like… I don’t know. I guess I Iike knowing you’re literally stuck to me.” His voice dropped to a whisper, and he turned away so I had to pull back. “I like knowing you can’t leave me again.”
Fuck. I would never forgive myself for what I put Ash through over the past year. “I’m so sorry, baby.” I dropped to the mattress beside him and pulled him into my arms again. “I will never leave. Ever. And I hate myself for not being there for you when you needed me. But, we have to look forward and plan for the future. We can’t keep looking back.”
Ash nodded and pressed his lips to mine for a soft kiss. “I know. And I believe you. I won’t always feel this way...but for now, I just love having you knotted to me.”
“Me too.” I kissed him back more intensely, trying to soften what I had to say next. “And speaking of looking ahead to our future…”
“What?” Ash looked worried, and I hated that I put that insecurity in him. “Is it good news or bad news.”
I smiled and kissed him again, hoping to reassure him. “It’s good news. But it’ll be a bad few days.”
“Why?”
“I have an interview back in the city. I have to go there on Thursday morning and I’ll be there until Friday afternoon. If everything goes well, I should be able to telecommute most of the time so I won’t be a student and you won’t have to leave the university. We can stay here and I’ll be able to take care of you and Sylvia.”
“Really? You think they’ll let you telecommute full-time?” A glimmer of excitement was in Ash’s ey
es and my anxiety melted away. We both knew this was the best-case scenario for our family. We just had to suffer a little bit longer before it could be a reality.
“I hope so. They’ve been bugging me to go back since last summer so we’ll see if they put their money where their mouth is. And if not, I’ll keep looking until I find a company that will be flexible. I don’t care where it is. I’m just ready to start taking care of my family the way I should.”
Ash shook his head with a frown. “Babe, you know you don’t have to quit school to take care of us. We’re fine. I can take care of us for as long as needed. Even if I do have to leave the university, there are plenty of companies looking for Omega Resources managers. I’m sure I can do that if the university has a problem with us.”
“I know you can. And I love you for being willing to change your entire career for me.” I nuzzled into his neck and took a deep breath, needing his scent to keep me grounded. “But this is something I want to do. I haven’t been happy for the past year and school is just a distraction at this point. I don’t want a distraction. I want a way to provide for you and our baby. I hope you can understand that.”
“Of course, I can.” His smile was sincere, and I knew he would support anything I want to do with my life. “And even though we’ll be miserable while you’re gone, I’m proud of you for taking this step. No matter what happens, we’ll be waiting for you when you get home.”
Home.
I’d always had a strong and loving home, but the word took on a whole new meaning now that I had Ash and Sylvia in my life. But that reminded me about my mom and brother. They would be heartbroken if I didn’t introduce them to my family soon.
“Speaking of home, I usually have dinner at my brother’s place on Sunday nights. Can you and Sylvia join us? My mom is going to flip when she meets you both.”
11
Ash
Dinner with the parents, or in this case, the parent and brother. I was officially too old for this kind of stress. All the questions and insecurities I had bombarded me as I got Sylvia ready. The most important concern I had was what they would think of her. There was no part of his family not liking me that would end up good, but having them not love Sylvia the way she deserved was an entirely different matter. How they treated her would make or break us. And as much as Coop loved her and loved his family, if they did not fall completely head over heels for our little baby, it would crush him—and me.
“You’re worrying too much.” Coop came up behind me, kissing my neck in a way that I feared would leave a mark. Not that I didn’t love it when he let the world know I was taken, but because no mother wants to see her baby boy’s love marks.
“How did you know?”
He reached around me, snapping Sylvia’s diaper cover on. “Because, love, you’d been trying to snap her cover in place for the past five minutes.” His deep chuckle at my folly comforted me. It was going to be alright.
I finished dressing her before scooping Sylvia up, bringing her to her car seat and securing her inside. “It was a tricky diaper. You tell him, baby girl. Tell your papa how it takes work to look this cute.”
“She could be wearing a onesie with a huge stain on it and still be adorable. What she wears has nothing to do with it.” Coop pulled me close, wrapping me tightly in his arms which was exactly where I needed to be.
“Do you think your mom wants to meet her new grandbaby dressed like that?” I teased as I snuggled into his chest, relishing his scent and finding comfort in his warmth.
“I know she will love her any which way.” Coop kissed the top of my head. “But point taken. Not that she is going to see her diapers.”
Coop just plain didn’t get the diaper thing. The first time he saw me change one of her cloth diapers, he looked at me like I was an alien. That first night when I brought him over, she was in disposable because the laundry was done a bit too late and they were still drying, which probably added to his initial confusion. He’d learned how to handle them quickly enough, but the need for cute covers still made no sense to him. Not that my desire for cute fluff was logical.
“True enough.” Or maybe they would. It all depended on how well the evening went, and consequently, how long we stayed. “But with her meeting the entire family, it makes me feel better.”
“About that. I forgot to tell you Marcus won’t be there tonight.”
That was disappointing. I was counting on Marcus to be the buffer, which was insane since I’d yet to meet him. But from what Coop said, Marcus understood better than most what omegas still go through as far as family pressure and societal expectations were concerned, so having him there along with the kids felt like a plus.
“Because of me?” I asked, wondering if I’d completely misjudged the situation. From what I understood, family night was just that. No excuses. You went. Period.
“No, because he’s doing something with his twin. I was only half listening when Killian told me.”
“Why was that?” The way Coop talked about Killian, he was almost like the dad Coop didn’t have as well as his big brother. If Coop was ignoring him, there was a reason.
He took a slight step back, meeting my eyes.
“Because I was trying… You see… Well, I maybe didn’t tell them about you.” His face dropped as well it should. That was a shitty thing to do, especially without telling me. In many ways, Coop was mature well beyond his years. But this was not one of those ways. “Just that I was bringing a date for dinner.”
I took a deep breath, trying to not show the intense anger and disappointment I was feeling. His family didn’t know about me. Sure, he was remedying that, but still. It sucked.
“So, they don’t know anything about me?” I confirmed, willing myself not to freak out.
Coop blew out a deep breath and dropped his chin to his sternum. “No.”
I tipped his chin, emotion flooding through me as the unshed tears in his eyes glistened in the light. He might have fucked up, but he was truly remorseful about it.
“Nor about Sylvia.”
“No. But before you get as mad at me as I am at myself...I had reasons.” His voice cracked twice as he spoke. I couldn’t fathom reasons good enough to deny your daughter or more accurately, hide her, but I was willing to listen.
I raised an eyebrow. “Reasons?”
“Fine. I had one reason.” He took my hand, and I let him. What he did felt awful, but it was something we would work through. “I was a chicken shit. I was afraid that hearing about you, instead of meeting you first, was going to set them up to not love you the way you deserve.”
It hurt. It did, but I could see his warped logic. Hearing your son had a baby that he didn’t even know about was not the best way to introduce a new beau.
“And you don’t think that showing up with an old guy and a baby might be setting me up for the same fall?” I was only half joking. The age thing might not matter to Coop or me, but if Sylvia ever came home with a man over twice her age, I would be less than thrilled. Not that age mattered, but because you want only the best for your little ones, no matter how not little they might be.
“First of all, you are not old. Second, who would not fall in love with Sylvia at first sight?” He was wrong on the age thing, but I had to give him the second point. She was the most charming baby in the history of all babies. I might have a little bias in me, but she was far from the screaming, snotty, fussy babies who seemed to live at the grocery store, so I was at least kind of right.
“A mama trying to protect her baby from a predatory professor.” I squeezed his hand. I was not even his professor at the time, but from a parental perspective, things like that are irrelevant.
“You don’t know Mama.”
He was right, I didn’t. That didn’t ease my worry any.
“Yet you hid me from her.” Or not so much hid as didn’t share completely, but my stomach wasn’t any less filled with rocks over that miniscule detail. I knew we couldn’t be completely out in the
open with our relationship until things were settled, but I had hoped he wanted to at least shout it from the mountains to his family.
“It was wrong. I was wrong.” Coop leaned in to me, peppering my cheek with kisses, his disappointment in himself palpable. “Want me to call and cancel?”
Did I? Uh, yeah. I kinda did. But it would only delay things in the long run. I could do this. I could meet my alpha’s family and take whatever grief they gave because he was worth it.
We were worth it.
“Because that wouldn’t add more trouble to the brew? No. Let’s go. What will be will be... Although, I truly do want her to like me. I know how important your mama is to you and that makes her important to me. Please tell me Killian knows about me.” I was rambling, but my nerves were on steroids and it was the only way I could get all my thoughts out.
“He knows you from class.”
Fuck. That was not at all what I wanted to hear.
“We better leave now before I start sweating profusely thanks to my nerves which are growing exponentially.” I reached down to grab the car seat, and Coop batted my hand away, picking it up himself. “You owe me.”
“Everything,” he agreed readily. “I owe you everything.”
I smirked, appreciating the ass kissing. Though I expected the real kind later.
“Come on.” Coop indicated the door with his head before turning that way. “It’ll be great.” He was exaggerating, obviously. Best case scenario was that it wasn’t awful. But thinking positive never hurt anyone.
“If you say so.” I scooped up the diaper bag and walked past him through the door he held for me. He was always the gentlemen. Fine, not in bed, but that worked for me.
“I love you,” he whispered as I walked past him.
At least, that was what I thought I heard. It was the first time he’d spoken the words to me and I wasn’t sure if it was my hopeful imagination getting away from me. He said it to Sylvia often, as he should. But to me, this was a first or maybe a first. There was no time to dissect the possibilities before dinner, so I shoved them down deep inside myself.