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It was true. Fiona admitted as much to herself but stayed quiet. She’d always wanted to stand on her own two feet. That was as true in her personal life as it was in her professional life. She hadn't realized she was missing anything until Callum came into both those lives. Callum and their child.
She had hardly spent a moment away from their baby in the four months he had been in their lives. Even leaving him with Callum before getting dressed and ready for the ceremony was harder than she had imagined. Right now, he was only a few hundred feet away, but she wished he were here.
A knock sounded at the door. Alexis moved to answer it, only opening it a crack before she huffed.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she said with mock fire. “It is bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her dress before the wedding.”
“I don’t believe in luck,” Callum replied, muffled through the mostly closed door. “And if you want to blame anyone, blame Junior. He’s the one who’s hungry and won’t take a bottle.”
“Let him in, Alexis,” Fiona called out.
Callum stepped into the dressing room. He wore his tux, tailored for his powerful frame. He always looked like a giant when he carried their baby, but a gentle one. It always tugged at her heart, seeing him with their son.
He stepped in gingerly as Lillian and Chloe joined Alexis, cooing over the baby in his arms. The three of them finally stepped past him and out of the room, leaving them alone. Callum had hardly noticed the other women. His eyes had been fixed on Fiona.
“You look beautiful,” he said. Junior babbled, grabbing toward her with his chubby little hands. “I’m not the only one who thinks so. Sorry to break tradition. I just couldn’t get him to take the bottle.”
“And you didn’t want to leave him with anyone else to bring him to me?” Fiona asked.
“Like you felt comfortable leaving him to get ready?”
They both shared a laugh. Fiona twisted to show him her back. Without a word, he stepped close and unzipped her dress halfway. His hand remained on her shoulder as he passed Junior over and took advantage of the view.
“We don’t have any time, Callum,” Fiona said. “We can’t keep all those guests waiting, and I’ve already had my hair and makeup done. You’re just going to have to wait until tonight.”
“I’m Alpha. If I want to delay the ceremony, our guests will accept it.” His hungry gaze remained on her exposed breasts. “We wouldn’t even have to tell them why.”
“Yeah, but what about all the shifters with their inconveniently powerful sense of smell? I’d rather not have them thinking about me that way during the ceremony.”
Callum let out a little growl. He had no reason to be jealous of anyone, but she’d long learned the wolf didn’t see things the way a human would. Just a hint of his wolf came to the surface in such situations.
“Fine, I’ll wait.”
“When you knocked, I half expected you wanted a little fun before the big show,” Fiona said, patting Junior’s back soothingly as he suckled. “That, or you wanted me to handle the diaper change. There’s a downside to that wolf’s nose of yours.”
He shuddered with a sour expression. In human form, a wolf shifter didn’t share a quarter of the animal’s powerful nose, but scents still hit him much harder than they did her or other non-shifters. She still laughed when she thought of his first few diaper changes. Seeing such a big and powerful man dry heaving at a little baby poop still got her when she pictured it.
“Have I ever shirked my diaper duty?”
“No, and that’s why I agreed to marry you.” Fiona leaned back against him. “Speaking of, I think he might be ready for one.”
Callum gave their son a mock glare. The baby blinked up at him, beaming a smile that would have melted glaciers. He plucked him from her arms and moved to the nearest counter. Fiona couldn't fight her smile even if her life depended on it.
“Your mom’s not the only one all dressed up, buddy,” he said, setting Junior down before pulling the baby’s pants off. “No target practice, okay?”
Junior replied with a babble, his wide eyes watching his father almost unblinkingly. Callum unslung the diaper bag over his shoulder and got to work. He had gotten the routine down in the last couple of months, but Fiona still marveled watchinghim. Even alone, Callum had a fierceness, an imposing nature. That melted away at the slightest gurgle and smile from Junior.
The moment Callum had him cleaned up and bent to the bag to grab a fresh diaper, his nose wrinkled. He spun, swooping Junior into his arms and facing out. Junior giggled, swinging from Callum’s arms as he urinated.
“I think he did that on purpose,” Callum said, frowning at their giggly baby and the mess he’d made on the floor. “But how about that nose? Without it, we’d have had to go out there with everyone smelling that.”
“Maybe he was trying to mark his territory.”
“We don’t do that.” Callum frowned in playful indignation before his eyes brightened. “Maybe it was his Alpha nature? Trying to claim the pack already, little guy. I’ve got a lot of years ahead of me yet. You'd best wait your time. I’m not going anywhere.”
Fiona stood and slipped her arm around Callum. Junior reached toward them with his hands, trying to grab them.
“We aren’t going anywhere,” she said, her head resting against his shoulder.
For a long moment, they smiled down at their son. Then, the arm around her back slipped lower and lower. She glared up at Callum.
“After the ceremony,” she said. “And the reception,” she hurriedly added.
He might have been able to smell when their son was about to soil his tux, but she’d nearly memorized his expressions. She saw the twinkle in his eyes when he thought of a loophole. As much as she wished they could have had some fun before the ceremony, they parted and went to their respective places.
The rest of the day was a whirlwind, with Callum taking center stage in her eyes. She hardly noticed the throng of people lining the aisle as she walked down it. Family, long-time friends,new ones, and a new extended family in the pack surrounded them. Callum stood proudly at the front. She stood beside him as the officiant spoke words she hardly heard. Only when Callum nodded did she realize she was supposed to say her, “I do.”
She did hear the wordkiss. And they did. The crowd applauded. Happy tears threatened to ruin Fiona’s makeup when Callum wrapped his arm around her, and Chloe passed Junior over.
She’d crashed Callum’s party looking for a story and found so much more.
