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“I was not.”
Reid looks at her. “You were.”
“Nobody asked you.”
He reaches across and steals a sausage from my plate.
I slap the back of his hand.
“What the fuck?” Reid looks genuinely offended. “You gave her bacon.”
“She’s pregnant.”
“So?”
“So you’re not.”
Nora laughs beside me, and my wolf rolls lazily beneath my skin at the sound.
My wolf. That stopped feeling strange somewhere over the past month.
The diner is louder than I used to tolerate. Cutlery against plates. The hiss from the kitchen. Marnie shouting at somebody that substituting fruit for hash browns is unacceptable. A kid at the counter is kicking his heels against the stool while his mother repeatedly tells him to stop.
A month ago, I would have heard every sound separately. Catalogued it, tracked it, and waited for the one that changed. I still hear them, but I don’t automatically assume they mean something bad anymore.
The bell over the door rings, and Alice walks in carrying Lyra against her chest. Gordy is behind her, pushing a stroller that appears to be carrying everything except the baby—a blanket, two bags, a stuffed dragon. And something pink that I assume has a purpose.
One of Gordy’s snakes has a pacifier in its mouth.
Nora’s mouth twitches as she follows my gaze. “Don’t.”
I give her an innocent look. “I didn’t say anything.”
Alice spots us and smiles. “There you are.”
I glance at Nora. “Were we missing?”
“No,” Alice says as she reaches the table. “But apparently, we’re all having breakfast together now.”
Nora pats the empty chair beside her.
Apparently, we are.
Gordy and I look at each other. He nods. I nod.
“Beautiful,” Alice sighs as she settles Lyra into the high chair Marnie brings over. “You and Gordy. I’ve never seen male friendship expressed so eloquently.”
Across the table, Reid laughs.
I look at him. “Something funny?”
“You.”
“Fuck off.”
His grin only gets wider. “Missed that potty mouth, brother.”
There was a time, not that long ago, when hearing him call me that would have sent me straight for the door. Too much history packed into one word. Too much guilt over all the years I made sure he couldn’t find me.
