“Long. Too damn long when all I wanted to do was come home to you. Then I remembered I have so much that’s not at our house yet. So, that’s what I’m doing.”
“Let me help?” he asked.
“Please help,” she said, leading him over to where she’d dropped all her clothes on the ground. He helped her pick up her clothes and at least stack them neatly if not folded in the front seat. As they worked together, they laughed and talked. Then he rearranged some of the rest of the things she’d already shoved into the car.
Inside the house, Riley and Maia watched as they stood together at the window. “See that?” Riley asked.
“Pure happiness,” Maia said.
“You just don’t know how much it does for my heart to see that.”
“Sure I do. It does the same for me.”
“What are we going to do with all the room in this house now? It’s just us,” Riley said, looking away from the window to do a quick glance around the inside of the house from where they stood.
“It’s not just us. Sebastian still lives here.”
“When he’s home from school.”
“And the Pride still congregates here.”
“True.”
“And now we have grand babies on the horizon, so we won’t be alone long.”
Riley’s head snapped toward his mate. “What?”
“She’s mated. It’s only a matter of time before they have babies. We can turn Cristie’s room into a nursery for any future grand babies.”
“I like that. But I don’t.”
“Riley, she’ll always be our baby, no matter what’s happening in her life. It’s just time for the next phase of hers.”
“I know. And I’m thrilled for her. You know I am. I just really need some time to get used to it before we talk about babies.”
“I thought you said you were excited about this phase of her life.”
“I am! It’s a good thing! I know Cristie and Remi will successfully take the Pride into the next generation — when I’m ready. But I’m still here and not looking to go anywhere this week. And, I know she’s mated, but I don’t want to think about her having babies yet. She’s not old enough for that.”
Maia laughed so hard she almost spilled her tea. “You are aware that I became her stepmother at a much younger age than she is now.”
“You became her mother, there’s nothing step about it, and I know that. I do, but, she’s my baby. So, I’m going to need her to take baby steps.”
Maia kissed him, then leaned her head against his shoulder. “Just imagine how we’ll feel when Sebastian finds his mate, and our jobs are done. You’ll be begging for grand babies, then.
“No, I will not. I’ll be profusely thanking whatever poor female agrees to take him on. Lord, can you imagine any woman in her right mind taking him to task and trying to make a mate of him?”
“He’s a good male,” Maia said.
“Yeah, as long as you don’t expect him to rise to any responsibility.”
“That’s not fair! You know he’s not a terrible person.”
“I didn’t say he was. What I’m implying is that he’s a fifteen-year-old, in a twenty-year-old’s body. At some point he’s got to move beyond beer pong and cheerleaders.”
Maia smirked at him. “Yeah, so he’s a little wild. He’s not hurting anybody.”
Riley turned to look disbelievingly at her, and noticed Remi and Cristie through the window as they walked toward the house. “They’re coming in. Sit down, we can’t look like we’re spying on them.”
