“Are you sure it was him?” Elijah asked.
“I don’t know. I’m pretty sure. It happened while I was running to the bathroom. He was sitting in a booth and made eye contact with me.” I sighed. “That’s part of the reason I felt so sick and scared. Why I didn’t want to come out.”
Elijah’s gaze was full of sympathy. “I’m so sorry. I would’ve never taken you there if I knew he would be there tonight.”
“I know,” I said. “It’s okay. Please don’t apologize. I should be the one who’s sorry for messing up the night.”
“Hey,” Elijah muttered. “I told you not to talk like that already.”
“Sorry.”
He stroked my hair until my breathing levelled out.
“He can’t do anything to you. Understand?” Elijah growled. “You’re safe with me. I can still fight a loser like Larry even without my vision.”
Despite everything, I chuckled against Elijah’s chest. “I believe you.”
“Good.” He kissed my hair.
I allowed myself to go limp in his grasp. Knowing Elijah would protect me no matter what filled me with confidence and a feeling of safety I never experienced before. I scolded myself for being so foolish back at the restaurant, trying to send him away when he was only trying to help. He always had my best interests at heart. Why did I have such a hard time believing it?
I wouldn’t anymore. I put my trust in my mate, one hundred percent.
“Now that that’s settled,” Elijah said, “let’s talk about something better. The fact that you could be pregnant.”
Hope flared inside me--hope I’d been afraid to give freedom.
“We still don’t know for sure,” I argued. “I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. I don’t even have a baby bump or anything.”
With a smile, Elijah’s hand drifted down to my belly. He stroked it gently.
“Many first time pregnancies don’t show until later,” he pointed out. “And you’re a small omega to begin with. Don’t discount it yet.”
“I guess,” I admitted.
“Would you be happy, Felix?” Elijah asked softly, a wistfulness in his voice. “If you were pregnant?”
“Yes!” I cried without hesitation. “Of course I would be. I just . . .”
“Don’t want to get your hopes up?” Elijah suggested.
I sighed. “Right.”
He cupped my face and brought it to his in a kiss that was passionate yet chaste. Our flushed cheeks pressed together.
“I love you, Felix,” Elijah murmured. “I want you to be happy more than anything in the world.”
When he pressed his palm to my cheek, my blush intensified. My face felt like a furnace.
“I love you, too,” I replied and took his hand in mine.
“How about this. You’re working tomorrow morning, aren’t you?”
“I am.”
“When you come home, I’ll have a pregnancy test ready on the counter. No pressure to use it or not. You can do whatever you want with it.”
I smiled. “Has anyone ever told you how sweet you are?”
