“Thanks for coming with me on such short notice.” Hunny stepped into the department store ahead of Nessa, glancing up at the signs hanging from the ceiling, each displaying various sections of goods. “I know it’s your day off, and you probably had other plans.”
Nessa watched Hunny grab a small cart before steering it toward the sign that read ‘infants’ in bubble letters with a picture of a smiling baby beside it. “I had nothing going on, and I’m more than happy to spend the day with you.”
In fact, she’d been ecstatic when Hunny had called this morning and asked her out, eager to spend some quality time with her friend. Bonding over puzzles was great, but a day of shopping, mixed in with lunch and gossiping?
That sounded like a fantastic way to spend her Sunday. Especially as she’d started the day on an incredible high; waking up in Murphy’s arms, snuggled up against him, her face buried in the crook of his neck as he’d held her to him. Even while sleeping, he’d curled himself protectively around her.
That alone had been perfect.
Then he’d woken up, leisurely explored her body with his mouth and hands, and then—after she’d orgasmed twice—made her pancakes. He hadn’t expected her to reciprocate or attempted to go further than touching her.
After divulging the darkness from her past, it was nice to just feel cared for. To feel like her past didn’t define her or make her any less of a woman in his eyes.
Logically, she knew being a victim of domestic violence, and surviving it, made her strong. But for Murphy to see her flaws, to hear about the moments of her life that she often recoiled from, and still find her beautiful? To still see a desirable woman?
The feeling was indescribable.
Hunny rubbed a hand protectively over her swollen belly, pushing the cart toward the clothing section. “I’m glad to hear that because I’ll need to shop for a few other things next week, and Icannotbring Henry.”
“Come on,” Nessa replied with a laugh, the fond memories of this morning causing giddiness to rush through her. “Tank can’t be that bad to shop with.”
Even as she said it, all she could picture was him snarling at anyone who got too close to his pregnant rabbit shifter. The borderline feral expression Nessa conjured up was enough to cause a smile to stretch across her face.
“He’s worse than bad,” Hunny answered with a shake of her head, her lilac-colored hair bouncing over her shoulder. “The first time we came here, he scared one of the workers so much, I thought he’d pee himself.”
“Who? Tank or the worker?”
“Ha ha,” Hunny replied dryly, her lips twitching with amusement. “Seriously. I’m surprised we’re still allowed in here. Henry’s the worst customer.”
“I don’t blame him. The man likes his solitude; bringing him here and expecting him to acknowledge people is a tedious task,” Nessa half-joked.
Stopping in front of a rack displaying various infant onesies, Hunny selected one, studying the cartoon cats and dogs printed all over the material. Wrinkling her nose, she set it back on the rack before reaching for another. This one had open umbrellas and rubber ducks with cute little drops of rain scattered over it.
“I don’t get kids’ clothes.” Hunny narrowed her eyes at the outfit. “Why is there an umbrella and a rubber duck? That doesn’t make sense.”
“They both deal with water, I guess.”
“Yeah, but a rubber ducky is for a bath. An umbrella is for when it’s raining outside. Maybe if the duck was wearing rain boots or actually holding the umbrella, this would work, but it doesn’t.” Hunny sighed. “It just looks stupid.”
Nessa cocked her head to the side, sending Hunny an odd look. “I think baby clothes are just supposed to be cute, right? The graphic designs rarely need to make sense.”
Hunny pursed her lips. “You’re right, but I just want everything to be perfect for my kits, and this”—she held up the onesie and shook it dramatically—“this isnotperfect.”
“Got it. No adorable ducks or those damned umbrellas,” Nessa deadpanned.
Cracking a small smile, Hunny asked, “You think I’m being ridiculous, don’t you?”
Nessa held up her hand, dramatically measuring out the distance between the pad of her index finger and her thumb. “Maybe just a little.” She dropped her hand back to her side.“But I don’t fault you for wanting things a certain way. You’re already going through so much physically with carrying three kits,” she stressed the final word, making sure she used the proper terminology for her friend. “If finding the right clothes is important to you, and it takes some of the stress of pregnancy away, then let’s do it.”
Hunny sent her a grateful look before plucking another outfit from the rack. This one had various cartoon jungle animals all over it, their heads comically larger than their bodies.
“So … you and Murphy snuck out from the meeting pretty quick yesterday,” Hunny mused, eyeing the new onesie with even more distaste than the first. “Did Jasper frighten you away with the impromptu wedding conversation?”
“Was it that obvious?”Great.Nessa shrugged nonchalantly, snagging a plain onesie that matched the color of Hunny’s hair and giving it a look-over. This one was nice. Simple. “Murphy took me on a date to make up for it.”
“A date, huh?” Hunny waggled her brows suggestively. “Did you have fun?”
“Of course, I did.” Nessa smirked. “I also had a lot of funafterour date.”
