I burst out laughing. “Wild thing. Really! You’re impossible.”
“The horizontal mamba.” Rhys raised a brow, his lips twitching.
“You’re the worst.” I rolled my eyes.
“I’m awesome. I even gave you and Gabe three whole days of honeymooning bliss. Totally kept the parents away. You owe me your peanut butter blondie brownies,” Rhys said. “Especially since you’ve ditched me and shacked up with my bro.”
I leaned forward. “I told Gabe I should speak to you about that.” I lowered my eyes. “I should have told you I was having feelings for Gabe.”
“Oh, cut it out!” Rhys snorted. “I love that you’re with Gabe. I love that we don’t have any more secrets, and I love the fact that you’re even more family than you already were.”
My heart lightened, and I stretched my hand out, and Rhys took it. “I kinda love all that too.”
He squeezed my hands before leaning back. “So what’s it like being preggers?” Rhys asked. There was a smile on his face, and I could tell he was happy for me, but it was edged with sadness and a little longing.
“So far not that different. No nausea, but I have fallen asleep twice on Gabe while we watched a movie. He’s had to carry me to bed,” I admitted. I didn’t ask Rhys about what I’d seen. I knew him well enough to know if he wanted to share, he would.
“Bet he’s not complaining about that,” Rhys said. “I saw him at the office today. He was preening like a peacock. Had a smile on his face the whole day. Everyone is weirded out.”
I snorted, but I kind of loved that I made him happier, so much so that people noticed.
“And”—I lifted my bowl—“I’ve been eating quite a lot. More than usual. It’s weird. I can’t be more than a week… Maybe I’m just using it as an excuse to eat more.”
“Lol, maybe you are, but bear cubs are a little different from humans, so I can totally see the little tyke making you hungry even now.”
“He comes out human, right?” My voice was a little panicked even to my ears.
Rhys cackled. My asshole bestie actually bent over laughing.
I grabbed a pen and threw it at him. “You suck.” I folded my arms and stuck my lips out.
Rhys finally stopped laughing and straightened. “Yes, we come out human. We don’t actually shift for, like, eighteen months. Maybe twelve months for some cubs, later for others.”
“Will our kids be able to since I’m—” I hadn’t really thought about… Okay, that was a lie. I just hadn’t wanted to focus on it. I sighed. “I know Gabe is the head of the den.” Rhys nodded. “And our kids will be the next?” He nodded again. “What if they don’t get the bear gene?”
Rhys shook his head. “It doesn’t really work like that. It would have to be like twice or three times removed for the gene to disappear and even then, not really. From what I understand, the gene can be activated, like if you mate a shifter or something. It’s hidden just in case you don’t know, and one day, you suddenly shift, and you didn’t know you could.”
“Mmmm. I guess that makes sense,” I said. “That would be so scary.”
“Yeah, and it protects us,” Rhys added.
“For sure. To be honest, I can’t imagine the world knowing. People seem to fear what they can’t control.”
“Yeah, and scared people react poorly; we all know this,” I murmured. I cradled my bump, suddenly realizing my kid would be born to this and what that meant.
“Let’s talk about less stressful topics,” he said. “You excited for the baby?”
Rubbing my belly, I nodded. “You know, for a second, I was terrified that was the only reason Gabe—” I sighed.
“Don’t even think that. Trust me, I know my brother. He’s head over heels in love with you. Besides, he didn’t know. He was just out there pining for you. Quite sad, actually. Boohoo, Kian will run if he knows. Ooohh, he’ll hate me. I’ve never seen my older brother so unsure of himself. And it’s because of you. The little one is a blessing, and he’ll love them—we all will. But now that he’s found you, Gabe couldn’t exist without you.”
“Yeah?” My voice was barely above a whisper.
“Never doubt that.” Rhys’s voice was firm.
I sniffed and cleared my throat. “I was gonna come over and ask you what to cook for when we have the whole family over. We want to tell them.” I groaned, “What if they think I’m not good enough for him, ’cause I’m…you know?”
“Human,” Rhys supplied. “It’s not a dirty word, Kee, and I would love to hear someone say that in front of Gabe or, worse, Papa.” He snorted. “Yeah, I would love to see that.”
