“I ordered those extra trays for the girls. These True Mate pregnancies will destroy your food budget.” She winked at Olivia. “Eli, I hope you’re ready.”
“Er, yes, ma’am.”
“And you take care of her, okay?”
“Of course, ma’am.”
Olivia sent a pleading look to her cousin.
“Well, we should get on road,” Jacob said. “Nice to see you, Aunt Luna.”
“Same, Jacob. Don’t forget to call your mother.”
Olivia grabbed her mother’s shoulders and kissed her on the cheek. “All right, well, we gotta go. Thanks for coming to see us off, Mom.” When she bent down to pick up her weekender bag, to her surprise it was not on the ground where she left it. Eli had picked it up. “You don’t have to do that.”
He said nothing, and instead opened the door to the passenger side door, which earned him a smile of approval from her mother.
“It was nice meeting you, Eli,” her mom said.
“Likewise, ma’am.” Giving her a nod, he rounded the car to put the bags in the back.
She climbed into the SUV, waving to her mother as she gave Olivia one last knowing smile before heading toward the elevators.
“Here, catch!” Sloane said as she tossed a large object at Olivia.
“What—oof!” Olivia raised her hands just in time to catch the brown paper bag. “What the—ooooh.” The familiar smell of bread, eggs, cheese, and bacon hit her nose. Ripping into the bag, she saw it was stuffed with at least a dozen foil-wrapped sandwiches. “Oh my God, are these all for me?” Truth be told, the emotional turmoil from yesterday had made her forget her hunger. But now, from the way her stomach growled, it was coming back, and with a vengeance.
“Yep.” Sloane held up a similar sized paper bag. “Got my own too.” She reached in and unwrapped a sandwich. “We can stop somewhere when we’ve finished.”
“You really gonna eat me out of house and home,” Jacob said with a snarky smile.
“Yeah, well you love me anyway,” she said through a mouthful of food.
He grinned at her, then reached over to wipe a spot of ketchup on her cheek. “You bet I do.”
Olivia couldn’t help but grin as she took a bite of her own sandwich. Over the years, Jacob had never shown interest in wanting to settle down. As far as she knew, he never even had a serious relationship before, but now here he was, committing toone woman for the rest of his life. This whole True Mate thing really was a wonder.
The door opposite hers opened, revealing Eli.
Speaking of True Mates …
Even in the roomy backseat of the SUV, his frame crowded the space with his bulk and his presence. Yes, he was definitely intense, though Olivia felt no fear around him, just the opposite. Her she-wolf rolled on its back, belly-up.
As he got settled, Eli glanced down at her half-eaten sandwich then frowned. She had been midway to taking another bite, but lowered her hands to her lap. “Sorry, does this bother you?” Maybe he didn’t like the smell of food inside such an enclosed space.
“Yes, but only because I should have brought you breakfast.”
“You don’t have to do that. And you didn’t know about True Mates having a voracious appetite.”
“I did. It was something your uncles warned me about last night when you and your father left to go back to the party.”
“I barely even thought about it. I don’t think I’ve had anything to eat until now.”
Concern marred his face. “Is anything wrong? With the baby? Shouldn’t you go to a doctor?”
“I’m fine, really.” She took another, bigger bite of the sandwich, finishing it off in seconds. “And I’ll visit the medical wing of The Enclave when I get back, though I think it’s really mostly a formality at this point.”
“Along with invulnerability, women who are pregnant with their True Mate’s baby can’t get any kind of medical scan,” Sloane interjected. “You don’t have to take any vitamins or any tests either. The Lycan doctors just measure your stomach and send you on your way.”
