Page 58 of From the Edge

He chuckled. “Am I invited?”

“Sure. Why not? Do you and the other have a mate yet?”

He paused. “How did you know that?”

“Busy couple of days, and now I know what to look for. So when will you know what you have?”

“I am missing about ten pounds.”

“Sub it in with chickens?”

“I can do that. This is going to be quite the event.”

“My aunt is back from out of town, and a friend who lives here has a new baby. Big party.”

“I would be honoured to attend.”

“Excellent. When can I get a delivery? I need to start brining and rubbing things.”

He laughed. “Tomorrow morning okay?”

“Sure. This is going to be buffet-style. I don’t have time for anything else.”

He laughed again. “Are there any higher-ups that are going to be there?”

“Ark from my company, and the king and queen, possibly with the princess. A bunch of djinn and mages.”

“Oh, shit.”

“Yeah, so don’t drop any of the meat.”

He laughed weakly. “Got it. Tomorrow at eight?”

“Sure.”

She smiled then did the same thing with her greengrocer and the standard grocer. She had gasped at the amount of butter she needed, but she spared no expense.

She got a call from the butcher, and he asked if he could send everything that day. She agreed and smiled. Two hundred pounds of meat would be there by six.

She grinned and got her mixer out, getting to work on the puff pastry she needed for some of the desserts. Three pounds of butter emerged from the fridge, and she focused on what she wanted and then worked to make it happen.

She was humming when Mell came in with little Rowan. “Oh, I didn’t know you were working in here.”

“Just finishing up some puff pastry. If you and the ladies want to use the kitchen for planning, I can get out of your hair.”

“No. Please stay. I feel like you are running from me every time I enter your personal bubble.”

The little fist waved out of his wrapping. Rowan smiled slightly. “I have been tethered to you for three years and Aspen for twelve. I am finally free of having to keep others alive, and I just wanted a day to step back. I am very tired, Mell. I have been tired for a long time.”

The baby fussed, and Rowan sighed and held her arms out. Little Rowan murmured contentedly the moment that she touched him.

“How do you do that?”

“It’s an omega thing. I feel like a soft blanket.”

“Rowan?”

“Yes?”