“Proud of you, son. I would have punched him,” Stefan simply said.
This was my family. I should have trusted them. And I would from now on because all of Gabe’s family looked like they were out for blood.
I really hoped my parents could see that I was okay. Even though I wished they could have met their grandbabies, I knew my kids would be so loved.
20
Gabe
“Get it away from me now.”My mate covered his mouth and ran towards the guest bathroom.
I sighed and cleaned the eggs and steak out. My mate had looked green, but even though I wanted to follow after him, I knew better. If he came back and all of this was still here, we would be doing a replay of this scene. So I got everything in the bin and loaded the dishwasher. I also emptied the trash bag and took it out. Kian’s sense of smell had become almost as good as mine.
When I walked back into the kitchen, I found my mate munching on the only thing that he could stomach at the moment. It was an apple cinnamon muffin that Graham had made for him. He’d been dropping it off almost daily for Kian, and my mate loved it. Apparently, it was made with oat flour, which Kian could stand, but even the sight of oatmeal had him gagging.
“Do I need to ask Graham to drop off more muffins?” I asked.
Kian stopped with the muffin halfway to his mouth, “Are you saying I’m eating too much? Are you calling me greedy?”
I backed away with my hands in the air. Ooh, no, I knew a minefield when I saw one. “Of course not, baby. I’m just happy you can keep anything down.”
Kian sighed. “Oh. Okay.” He took another bite of his treat and chewed slowly, then swallowed before speaking. “I thought morning sickness was supposed to be in the first trimester, not over halfway through. Kneeling down right now feels like a gymnastic move.”
I closed the space between us, walking over to him. “You’re beautiful, baby,” I reassured him. And he was. Even with carrying twins, my mate’s belly was surprisingly small. Not that I’d have minded if it weren’t. Kian would always be stunning to me. Hell, I’d even been worried. I still was. Over the last month, he could barely keep anything down. Ian had checked him out and said he was okay, but he couldn’t lose any more weight. Which was why the muffins from Graham were a blessing. My mate’s diet consisted of very bland chicken or tomato soup or a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich. “I’ll stay home. It’s Friday. Rhys can deal with anything that comes up in the office.”
“No, it’s fine.” Kian rested his forehead on my chest. “I’ll get back in bed and flip through all our TV streaming sites. There must be something to watch.”
“You sure? I won’t mind being your TV-show buddy.” I rubbed up and down his back. “And I can help if you need to hurry to the bathroom.”
“I’m fine,” Kian said. “Besides, I’m only twelve weeks. I can’t have you waiting on me every day for the next fourteen.”
“Why not, baby?” I pulled back so I could see his face. Kian looked wiped. “It’s not only my job but my honor and pleasure to look after you.”
“I know, but I’m fine,” Kian said, brushing my brow until I had no choice but to stop frowning. “My stomach’s settled. At least the one thing this morning sickness is doing correctly is sticking to morning.”
“Are you sure?” My bear and I were really in protection mode.
“I am. Besides, Jonathan is coming to keep me company today,” Kian informed me. “We’re going to do some shopping online.”
“I could work from the home office,” I said. “I’ll be close by…”
Kian sighed and pushed out of my arms. “I’m pregnant, not sick, Gabe. I can take care of myself,” he snapped. On the heels of that, Kian sniffed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be short with you.”
“I know, love.” I kissed him quickly and backed away before I said or did something else to annoy him. “Do you need me to help you upstairs?” I checked. Kian shot me a narrow-eyed look. “Got it. Pregnant, not sick.”
I grabbed my laptop bag and was out of the door before my mate found something else I said annoying. According to my dad and Bailey, I should get used to it, especially with twins. It had to be double the hormones.
* * *
My papa had stopped replyingto my messages. But I was just checking on my mate. I’d spoken to him twice already today, but I couldn’t help worrying. My bear and I wanted to protect our mate and cubs.
Gabe:Did he have lunch? Did he like the flowers?
Papa:Your mate is fine, son. And he loved the flowers. He’s also had lunch. Grilled cheese. And now he’s working.
My papa knew me well and what questions I’d ask, so he’d answered all of them. And I was happy to see we’d added one more option to his food choices.
Gabe:How did you manage that?
