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"Are you okay?"
"I think so. I mean, this is a lot quicker than I expected, but I think I'm happy."
Quinn throws her arms around me as she rocks back and forth. "Our babies are going to be close in age! This is the best day ever! We have to tell everyone!" She tries to get up and rushes out to the living room, where everyone is.
"Wait, Quinn. I don't want to tell anyone."
"What! Why?"
"Liam has a lot going on right now, and he needs to focus on that. I don't need to add this to his already-full plate. I'll tell him later when all this mess is over with. And DO NOT tell Thorn. He will force me to stay back, and I'm going no matter what."
She nods with understanding. "Okay, Paige, but promise me you will be careful, all right?"
"I promise."
Liam drives up to the house, so Thorn and I exit to get into the truck. Thorn grabs my bag and takes it to the back while passing Liam with a death glare.
"Well, aren't we happy today? Hi, sunshine. I was going to grab your bag."
"No need to show who is more macho; I know you would have. And hi, sexy wolf."
He leans down and kisses me deeply, which makes me tingle all over the place. Pulling away, he walks me to the passenger door and opens it so I can climb in. Just as I am just about to turn around and sit, Liam pinches my ass, making me yelp. He winks at me and closes the door. Liam climbs into the driver's seat, while Thorn is in the back.
"If you must touch my sister, do it in private where I can't see, or else I'm going to cut off your hands." Liam looks over at me, both eyebrows raised while I shake my head.
"If you don't want to see me touching your sister, close your eyes. I listened to to many people telling me to stay away from her, and that was a mistake. I am damn well not listening to you because you're uncomfortable."
My mouth pops open, completely surprised by what he said. I turn to Thorn because I really don't want this to turn into a fight, but when I look at him, I see a smirk on his face, and maybe pride. As I look back at Liam, he winks at me and starts the engine.
Portsmill isn't all that far from Twilight Meadows, maybe three hours, but we stop at a diner on the way there to grab something to eat. The diner is mildly full, with what looks to be locals gathering for lunch.
Liam holds my hand and leads me to a booth in the back of the diner. Thorn walks quietly behind us and assesses the area. He is always on, assessing risks and threats. I wonder if his brain ever stops. Liam puts me into the booth first and slides in beside me, blocking my exit, but it feels like he is protecting me from everyone else. The waitress comes up to the table, and she looks like she has already had a long day. She's young, but she looks tired.
"Hi there, what can I get for you?" Glancing at the menu, I order a burger and fries, because you really can't go wrong with that in a diner, right? The waitress runs off to put our order in. Thorn has his phone in his hand, typing away at a work email, probably, while Liam pulls me closer and rubs circles on my arm. I can't help but pull his hand over and look at his heart tattoo. I can't believe he got a tattoo to remind him of me. When he told me, I wanted to full-on ugly cry. I really had no idea what he was going through in our pack; I know that my own experience was horrible, but I should have stopped to think about what could have been happening to him. I shake my head, trying to get out of the spiral I am heading in. It's in the past, and we need to look at what is in the future.
A baby…a baby. I can't believe it. I mean, Quinn does come from a long line of psychic shifters, so I should believe her, right? I can't believe I'm finally going to have the life I only dreamed of. A child and a loving mate. I look up at Liam, who is surveying the restaurant, and am stunned again by how handsome he is. It's been a dream being with him these past couple of days, and I have to admit the bond is making it harder to keep a straight head, but I don't think I want to. He has already shown me that he will stand for us by introducing me as his mate to Isaac and standing up to Thorn, which was scary enough in itself. I shouldn't, but I think I love him. I love Liam, and now I'm pregnant with his baby. But this whole situation with his family is not good; when things get good like this, something is bound to happen. I just hope I'm wrong.
"Are you guys always this quiet?" I look back up at Liam and over to Thorn.
"Does it make you uncomfortable, 'sexy wolf?' Nice name, by the way."
My mouth pops open; he did not check out Liam's mail-order profile…but the smirk on his face tells me he did.
"Listen, I am a one-wolf man. I appreciate you find me sexy, but I'm all Paige's. You got that grumpy mysterious thing going on, but you can't compete with this gorgeous, curvy woman." He leans down and kisses me. What the hell am I living right now? Thorn just grumbles and goes back to looking at his phone.
"Yeah, unless I fill the silence, it's usually pretty quiet when we are together." I figure I might as well answer his question.
"Good to know what to expect at family dinners."
Thorn just grunts.
Finally, the waitress makes her way back over to us with three plates balanced perfectly on her arms and puts them down. We all dig into our food and, before too long, climb back into the truck to head out.
The scenery starts to change, and the trees and roads become more familiar. I lived in this area for seventeen years, so to see it again after so long gives me a few chills. Liam pulls into a parking spot in front of a gift store in town and says he'll be back. He returns with a stuffed dog that is the size of his forearm. Butterflies stir in my stomach as I see him climb back in. He bought that for his brother. He is such an amazing man.
We find the only little motel in town and book two rooms beside each other. It's the type of motel that has the doors to the rooms on the outside with a lawn chair to sit and smoke if you want to. It's not super gross looking; they must have repainted recently. The sign says 'under new management,' so that gives me hope that the insides of the rooms won't be disgusting. As we are unloading and heading to our room, Liam gives a rundown of what he wants to do.
"I figure Paige and I will go out tomorrow morning to my dad's place and see if we can meet my little brother and talk to my dad's mate. Maybe one of us can get her alone to see what she wants to do. I'm just winging it, but I know I can't make a plan until I see what I'm up against." I squeeze his hand in reassurance just to let him know he's not alone.
