“Spanish and French. A bit of Italian, but nowhere near fluent.” He pulled out his own phone, staring at me. “I guess I should tell my family, too. They’ll be happy, I’m pretty sure, but they’re similar to you with the overwhelm. I don’t want to stress them out.”
My phone was already buzzing, but Leo took it out of my hand and turned on the Do Not Disturb feature.
“Do you need me to hold your hand, too, while you let them know?” I wasn’t being facetious with the question. He’d offeredcomfort to me, and I wanted to be able to provide the same in return.
“I’ll call them later tonight. We should plan something so Madison can meet our families. Nathan’s could use a calmer reintroduction, too.”
“Where on earth would we fit everyone? Should we rent out a convention hall?”
Leo laughed. “We could do the arena. That’s how my bosses did it for Charlotte to meet everyone’s family. We’d certainly have enough seating.”
“I quite like that idea. Speaking of needing space, we should look into a house. We don’t have room for a nursery.”
“I don’t have much to contribute to a house, but I’ve been saving, so I can help with a down payment,” Leo said, his gaze darting to the ground.
“You don’t have to contribute anything. Whatever we need, I can get us into, or we can build something if that’s required.”
“Where exactly does all of your money come from?”
“Family, mostly. My grandparents had extremely successful businesses in Japan and Sweden. My parents had already been settled in the States when the companies exploded in profitability. They took on the North American expansions, while my various aunts and uncles spread it through Europe and Asia. I was already an adult by that time, so I didn’t grow up with wealth, but I’m determined to make use of it now that I have it. My sisters and I were given substantial trust funds, as well as any financial support we wanted or needed for our own business ventures.”
Leo whistled low. “Damn. You’ve got a whole legacy going on. What got you into omega housing?”
“That was something I considered even before we had money. My eldest sister moved out to a rather unsafe area, mostly due to budget constraints at the time, and someonebroke into her home, as well as several others in the building. Thankfully, none of them were home when it happened. At that point, I decided I would do anything I could to ensure omegas would have somewhere safe to live regardless of their income. It took a while to get rolling, but my family became very business oriented. They wanted us to succeed in that avenue, so they supported whatever path we wanted to follow.”
“Will your family want our kid to go into business, too?”
The question stymied me, both because it wasn’t a discussion I’d had with my parents, but also because it rocketed me decades into the future, where such a thing would have a bearing on reality. “I…I’m not really sure, to be honest. I have no specific expectations. Whatever path our children choose will be up to them.”
Leo stared over at Madison surrounded by Jude’s family and our other packmates. “I hate that she spent so many years with Tyler. I can’t help but wonder if maybe fate had it right with waiting. I’d have still wanted her if this had happened five or ten years ago, but I wouldn’t have been ready for her the way I am now.”
“I have a few more years under my belt than you do, so I’d have been ready in some ways. I can’t ever know if I’d have been the person sheneeded, though.”
“Anything would’ve been better than Tyler,” Leo said softly.
“You’ll hear no argument from me.” I chanced a look at my phone, seeing dozens of messages awaiting me. I bypassed it for the moment, first finding a pregnancy subscription box service and inputting what information I had available so Madison could receive useful items for each month, then opening my email to send a message to my real estate agent. “How many bedrooms do you think we need? I’ve seen unique concepts for housing a lot of people that involve queen-sized bunk beds.”
“Why would we need bunk beds?” Leo tilted his head, his curls catching the light.
“Visiting family. I was considering a property with a guest house as well, if we’d prefer privacy when people are staying with us.” My family was scattered across the continent, and we always stayed with one another when we traveled, where possible. It was simply how things went with my family, since we were together so infrequently as adults that we made the most of what time we did have. My parents had drilled that into us. We had enough alone time in our daily lives and when family was around, you spent time with them.
“I’m fine with whatever you want, but I would definitely say focus on the needs ofourfamily first. Consider your siblings and parents, of course, but don’t make decisions for them before you make them for your pack and your children.”
I pressed my lips together. He was right. Whatever choices I made going forward had to reflect the life I was growing into, not the one from before my pack. “I’ll have the real estate agent send us options that fit our new family.”
“Didn’t it ever feel weird living in a place big enough for guests when you were all alone?” Leo asked it so gently, but when he did, I saw the absurdity of having a regular home fit for a crowd, while taking up so little of it myself. How many times had I walked down that hallway of empty rooms and felt the weight of them? My sisters were older—they had packs and children, so the size of their homes suited them, but me? I’d been waiting my whole life for Madison and the pack that accompanied her, holding space for guests, but maybe this whole time, I’d been holding it with the hope of a pack.
“Often, yes. I kept the doors closed and only really used my bedroom, the kitchen, and living room.” I typed up an email, including everything I could think of that we’d need. “It worked out, though. Made sure I had enough rooms for our pack.”
“True enough,” Leo conceded. “I can’t believe how much has changed so fast.”
“For all of us. I used to think I’d never survive drastic changes, that I was too set in my ways, but I’m glad to see that isn’t the case.” With the email sent, I braved my family’s messages. Blessedly, they were positive, if shocked, and they were already planning a time to visit and meet everyone. I blew out a relieved breath.
“Good news?” Leo asked, peering over my shoulder.
“No one is outwardly mad at me.”
“They shouldn’t be anyway. If anyone kicks up a fuss, I’ll personally let them know how fast everything unraveled and pushed us together. You had important things to focus on, and better to update when you have something to say instead of a dozen little updates along the way. It’s not like your entire family would be able to take time off and come here to do anything to assist, anyway, right?”
