Page 71 of Knot What I Expected

Too bright. Too loud. Too many fucking people.

Music plays from hidden speakers, kids run around like escaped zoo animals, and about fifty different perfumes assault my nose simultaneously.

Shifter senses and shopping malls do not fucking mix.

I find the store Wreck sent me to, shove the pickup information at the cashier, and wait while she disappears into the back to retrieve whatever overpriced shit the Bear bought for his mate.

Probably jewelry.

Definitely something shiny.

Wreck has become embarrassingly predictable.

I’m leaning against the counter when a display catches my eye.

Journals.

Fancy ones.

Leather covers. Embossed designs. Some with ribbons and little pockets inside.

My first instinct is to ignore them.

Then I remember Gia talking about the baby. Her cub.

She’s always taking pictures lately. Writing shit down on scraps of paper. Something about wanting to remember everything.

I pick up one of the journals.

Soft brown leather.

A tree embossed across the front with its roots spreading around the cover.

Huh.

Gia’s a Dryad.

Tree.

Makes sense.

I flip it open.

Thick paper. A place for dates. Plenty of room to write.

She could use it for the pregnancy. Write down memories. Maybe give it to the kid someday.

Fuck.

I’m buying a pregnancy journal.

I glance around.

Nobody better fucking know about this.

“No, I’m not a bitch,” I mutter. “Fuck you very much.”

An older woman beside me looks startled and quickly moves away.