That was when my better judgment kicked in. “What? I want this baby. I want your baby more than anything.”
“Then what is it?” He held my biceps. “Please, tell me.”
“I thought…I thought you didn’t want it. That this would change everything. That you would leave me because it was too soon or we hadn’t talked about kids. My thoughts went all kind of yucky places.”
He nodded and, when he offered his embrace, I sank into it. “It’s okay to think those things. You’re still learning to trust me. But I would rather you verbalize those things instead of keeping them from me. We can tackle them head-on if you tell me.”
“Do you trust me?”
“I do. With my life.”
That shocked me. “It must be nice to trust so easily.”
He kissed the top of my head and held me tighter. “It is, but we all have different paths. Now, if you discard all of those negative thoughts, how do you feel about having our baby?”
It only took a second to reply. “I’m happy. I want this life with you. I want a family and children and all of that.”
“Good,” he said, “because I want all of that with you too.”
Chapter Seventeen
Evander
I’d asked for a little more time, the pregnancy changing everything, but after a few more days, it was time to solidify what lay between us in so many ways. I hadn’t pushed, hadn’t rushed him, but our family was growing and even if Hudson almost never went home, he didn’t officially live here. And now that I’d thought about it…it wasn’t even my own home. My wolf wanted our omega to live in our den. Our den. Not something rented by the company for me to live in temporarily.
We were on the way to becoming a family. And there were so many loose ends to tie up. So, I called Hudson at work and told him I’d pick him up. I’d passed a home for sale every afternoon on the way to the club and really liked it, but with the rent covered at the townhouse for a bit longer, it had seemed foolish to spend unnecessary money.
Hudson came out to the car, where I waited to close the door after him. He tipped his face up for my kiss then asked, “What brought all this on? I thought you were working tonight.”
“I took it off because I want to show you something. Interested in a surprise?”
“Always.” He settled in the seat, and I fastened his belt before going around to my side. We were on the road for a few minutes before he said, “No hints?”
“Only that it’s a surprise for you even if it’s not for both of us.”
“Wow. I can’t imagine what that could be.” He shifted in the seat and covered a burp with his hand.
“Tummy still off?”
“The healer says it should ease up before too long. Until then, crackers and ginger ale are my friends. Really, it’s not too bad. Do we have far to go?”
“Not at all.” I pulled up in front of the house with the for-sale sign on the lawn. A white BMW parked in the driveway told me the Realtor had beaten us there. “Here we are.”
“What does this mean?”
I wasn’t sure what response I expected, but this might not be it. “I thought you might like to look at this home. My townhouse is a company rental and you have an apartment, so neither is ideal for you and our baby.”
“Alpha…we haven’t even…that is, are you telling me you’re buying a house and expect me to live in it?”
“No, I am bringing you here to look at a home I thought you might like. If you don’t, we can look at others.”
“I know I’m over a lot and maybe that made you think I was asking you to let me move in, but I wasn’t. I just like being with you.” He reached for my hand. “At the start, I was so afraid of getting hurt that I didn’t let you close to me. But you aren’t anything like the harem I was with. You’re kind and considerate, and I don’t mind living in my apartment. You don’t need to buy me something bigger so I won’t be underfoot all the time.”
“Omega, don’t break my heart. Every minute we are apart is too many for me. Every night you stay over, I sleep better, and while of course there are things we need to do and places to go, the more we’re together, the happier I am. I never thought you were trying to get me to let you move in.” I lifted his hand to my lips and kissed his warm skin. “I was just grateful that you were coming over.”
“Really?”
“Hudson, if you like this house, we will buy it, and if the time comes when you would like me to live with you, I will say yes toyour invitation. If you prefer to see more before deciding, we will let the Realtor know.”
