“I'm good here.” I giggled.
“Thank you for being so understanding. I know I haven’t been the best.”
“You've been under a lot of stress,” I said and gently ran my hand through his hair, the same way that Merrick did to me.
That turned him into a puddle of goo, and Nolan hummed appreciatively. “That's nice,” he mumbled, pressing his face into my neck. “You smell pretty. Have I told you that you smell pretty?”
“You haven't today, but thank you. You smell very nice as well.” His unusual paper scent made me feel like I waswandering through a library, something I hadn’t done in too long.
“Strawberries are the best,” he declared, eyes closing.
“Why don't you try and sleep a little bit?” I suggested.
“That sounds like a good idea,” he agreed, and with every sentence, his words began to slur a little more.
We stayed like that for a few moments, just basking in each other’s embrace. It was the first time I truly felt close to Nolan, and it was relaxing in that easy way. I was mildly surprised to realize that I felt just as comfortable near him as I did Merrick.
When a large rumbling snore escaped his chest, I burst into laughter.
It wasn't a normal snore, but a deep reverberating bear-like snore that rattled the windows. It was the kind of sound that could only escape an alpha.
Whatever this side of Nolan was, I had to admit…I liked it.
Chapter 30
Nolan
Ihad been nose-deep in my work for too long, but one thing was abundantly clear as I took a deep breath.
The heat spike wasn’t a one-off.
Hailey was trying to keep it quiet, but there was no mistaking the way her scent kept intensifying, and she had to drag Merrick off to help her.
Was I jealous?
Yes.
As much as I hated to admit it, I was insanely jealous. Hailey was stunning and smart and our omega, so naturally, I was highly attracted to her.
Simply knowing that she was going through heat-like symptoms and that I could do nothing about it stung.
She and Wilder were getting closer, thanks to them putting Preston into thousands of dollars of credit card debt together.
I, on the other hand, had been so busy trying to figure out what the hell Preston was doing and also trying to keep my business afloat, despite being states away, that I’d failed when it came to making time to connect with her.
Standing up from my desk and stretching, I grabbed my car keys. I needed to spend a little time with our omega.
“Want to go for a drive?” I asked Hailey, who had woken up from a cat nap on the couch a few minutes ago.
Unlike the lumpy, hard,oldone at her apartment, Merrick’s couches were actually really comfortable.
In fact, I knew exactly how comfortable they were because I had woken up from the best nap of my life in her arms a few days earlier.
Hailey certainly seemed to enjoy them because I kept finding her fast asleep, wrapped up in a little miniature nest of blankets on them.
Pregnancy was exhausting, though. And Hailey was only four months along.
“A drive where?” she asked suspiciously.
