“I don’t know if this thing with Atticus will go anywhere,” I admitted. “But he understands me in a way no one else does. That’s rare, and I guess I want to explore these feelings. He’s funny and genuine. When I’m near him, I get nervous.”
“Nervous?” Cecilia asked.
I smiled at her. “Not like that, honey. He gives me those butterflies you always hear about. But I have to be careful. My life is changing so quickly, and if I raise this baby, it’s important that I make the best decisions.”
The room grew quiet.
Hope returned while looking at her phone. “Salem’s on his way.”
As the words left her mouth, the gate bell rang. I offered to share my cake with the girls, but they refused to eat my gift.
When Salem finally waltzed in, he carried a concerned look in his eyes that made my belly tighten. A gust of wind blew his semi-long hair forward when he shut the door. After setting his medical bag down, he approached the couch and rested his hands on the back.
“I need to speak to Joy. Alone.”
To make themselves scarce,the girls collected the luggage on the front porch and went to work converting the heat house into a guest house for Atticus.
I gazed at the lush roses on the table while Salem paced.
“Gee whiz. You’re making me nervous, Salem. Have a seat.”
“I’d rather stand.” Salem rubbed his eyebrow as he often did when frustrated.
His brown eyes, short beard, and pensive countenance reminded me of a Rembrandt painting, and like a painting, he could be difficult to interpret. His cardigan jacket had a long thread hanging that I was tempted to snip off.
“How are you?” I began. “We haven’t spoken since this morning.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“You’ve been avoiding me. I know how you are, Salem. You don’t like anyone confronting your emotions. I’m sure you don’t agree that I told the pack everything, but I’m so tired of worrying who might find out my secrets. They need to know who I am. It’s exhausting always being afraid that someone won’t accept me, and we already know the baby is different. I can’t take the chance?—”
“It’s not that.” After a calming breath, Salem folded his arms and faced me. “You and I should be mated.”
I blinked at him in surprise.
“You know me. I’m a safe choice, and your child needs a father.”
“My child needs someone who will love them, and this pack seems willing to offer that. I’m not going to mate just so the baby has a father. There are plenty of father figures in the pack.”
“Who are busy with their own families and lives.” He sat on the chaise. “I can offer you companionship and security.”
“And the pack can’t?”
“You don’t work, and you have no position in the pack. Shelving a few books in the library isn’t the same as pack accountant or chef. What skills do you have to find work in a small town like this? Are you going to live off family funds forever?”
That truth had been plaguing my thoughts for some time.
Salem put his hand on my knee. “Now that you’re keeping the child, you need protection.”
“What makes you think I want protection?”
He leveled me with his gaze. “Isn’t that why you’re dating Atticus? A backup plan in case the pack doesn’t accept the baby? He’s obscenely wealthy, so it doesn’t take a genius to put the pieces together. That doesn’t have to be your only option. If the pack throws you out or you decide to leave, you’ll have me to depend on. We already know the fetus shifts, but we don’t know what other differences it might have. How do you know it’s not part Mage or completely defective?”
“Don’t call my baby defective! Atticus isn’t a backup plan. Howdareyou insinuate such a thing.”
“You’re a smart woman. A businesswoman. Maybe a little naive at times, but you’ve always been practical. You’re obviously planning for the day these people want nothing to do with a baby who might be a crossbreed or have… undesirable abilities. I don’t see you mating with a Vampire on a whim—that’s not you. Not unless he offered you something. Money? Security? You can have all that with me. Whether you stay or leave, I can take care of you.”
“But do you love me?”
