“No promises.”
“Isaaaaac.” Charlie smacked my arm, whining at my teasing. “You’re being so mean to your pregnant bestie.”
“Fine.” I swatted his flailing arms away from me and scooted farther away. “I promise that I will not bestow any cutesy nicknames unto your children until you approve of them. That’s the best you will get out of me. It’s my duty as an honorary uncle to save them from being called something ridiculous. So, if I need to, I will pull out my book of adorableness and help you pick one that fits.”
“I have faith in me and Jamie to pick solid names for our offspring. Don’t worry.” Charlie’s stomach emitted a loud grumble as he looked at his phone for the time. “Wow. It’s been a few hours since breakfast. I better feed these two before they decide I should start feeling sick again.”
“Wanna eat something here?” I stood and reached down, helping my bestie off the floor. “Or did you still have a craving for the sushi place the next town over? I read that as long as you don’t eat the raw kind, you should be able to enjoy a roll or two. And I heard they serve some delicious mocktails.”
“Please.” Charlie rubbed his rounded belly, something I saw him do frequently lately. “I would kill for one of those today.”
“No crimes necessary. Let’s just go indulge ourselves with goodies.”
The drive to Ryuu, the new sushi and teppanyaki restaurant, was spent filled with Charlie going over the newest gossip from the pregnancy support group he had recently joined. I swear, even though I knew no one else in the group personally, hearing about their escapades did make my day more entertaining.
“So, then Jody heard from his ex-fiancé and the jerk thought that he could just say a few sweet words and get back into his bed.” Charlie flashed the screen of his phone to me; the omega had posted the latest update on his baby-daddy drama. “But Jody stuck to his plans and had security escort him off the property.”
“That’s good. Even if the ex says he’s sorry now, it doesn’t erase the mess he made in the past.” I never understood the types of alphas that cheated on their omegas. Even if they weren’t fated mates, they had made a promise to one another. If he had really wanted someone else, why not just break up. That way, at least he was being truthful and not a deceitful snake. Besides, if he didn’t love Jody enough then to stay faithful, why would anyone think he would be a better man given a second chance. “So did the guy bother Jody again after that, or was that enough for him to realize he needed to stop bothering him?”
“So far, he hasn’t gone back to Jody’s place of work, nor his parents’ house where Jody is staying until the baby is born.” Charlie shook his head and took a sip from the water bottle he brought along for the car ride. “He has been reaching out via text messages though. Luckily he keeps the topic to discussing pregnancy and what they should do as far as shared custody once the baby is born. Jody is hopeful that Dean can still be a good dad, even if he was a horrible boyfriend.”
“I hope so too. For the baby’s sake and for Jody.” I pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and shut off the car. “It would be hard if the alpha parent was a flake for their child as well. Although I have a feeling, based on what you have told me, that this Jody has a solid plan for the future. He probably would make sure he and the child succeed in life no matter if Dean stepped up or fell off the face of the planet.”
“True.” Charlie unbuckled his seat belt and opened his door, ready to exit the car. “I’m glad that all the alphas in my life are amazing men. I’d hate to have to beat one of you over how you treat an omega.”
“Same here.” I exited my side and came around to help Charlie out of my sedan. “If you ever see me treating my omega like shit, feel free to kick my ass, alright?”
“Your omega?” Charlie’s face brightened, a smile growing and his eyes wide. “Care to share something with your bestie?”
“Nope.” I needed to quickly change the subject again to less dangerous topics. Thank the goddess, one of his favorite bands just released a new song. “Have you heard the latest release from Omega Dreams?”
As Charlie started excitedly chatting away about how the newest album was destined to reach number one on the charts, I thought about what Thomas was doing at that moment and hoped that I could show him that I was indeed an alpha worth mating with.
I really didn’t want to give him and Charlie a reason to beat me up.
Chapter Seven
Thomas
“You are looking pretty happy today.” Jamie joined me at the dining table at the fire station. We had just returned from a call, and I needed a cup of coffee while the other guys finished up the reports. “You didn’t even get annoyed over having to deal with that irritating alpha who kept trying to ask for your number even as his house was burning down.”
“Yeah, he was actually getting close to my limit but you’re right, I have been feeling pretty good lately.” I poured a bit of cream into my mug and two scoops of sugar. “Maybe it’s the fact that the weather has been so nice.”
“Or is it a certain alpha that keeps staring at you every time him and my mate are around.” Jamie nodded at my phone which had just lit up with a text message from Isaac.
“Stop. We aren’t talking about him. Okay?” I wasn’t ready to admit what everyone was probably already figuring out.
He’s our mate. Bond with him.My dragon was still trying to rush the process.
Honestly he might get his way if things continued the way they had been. Just not yet. I felt I needed to give myself more time to get to know him first.
“Alright, I won’t push.” Jamie nodded and grabbed his own cup of coffee from the table. “Just know I’m here to listen when you are ready.”
“I know.” I had to change the subject. We’d see how my bestie felt when I brought up a subject he didn’t want to discuss. “Have you heard anymore from that psycho ex of yours? Zane?”
“Not since the other day.” Jamie rolled his eyes. “I don’t know why he won’t just give up. I’ve unfollowed him on all socialmedia accounts, blocked him, told him I’m mated. And he still tries to change my mind.”
“Perhaps you need to be franker with him. Just tell him there is absolutely no chance between you two. And remind him that stalking is not looked kindly upon and he could end up in real trouble if he continues being an annoyance.” I really wasn’t sure why Jamie was still trying to be kind to the omega. I personally was about to slap a bit of sense into the guy, but I would allow Charlie to do it. My best friend’s mate was at that point considering the last time he saw Zane bothering Jamie. “You shouldn’t rely on Charlie to handle your mess.”
