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I smiled while shaking my head. “I get it. I struggled to get up and out of bed so early after a month of sleeping in. I probably would have been late if not for Vaughn, honestly. He’s mentioned to me that he understands if I want to continue working, but I don’t have to. He’s quite a bit older, and even if he were to stop working for the council, funds or housing wouldn’t be an issue.”

Beau looked as if he was about to have a meltdown. “But you’re here to help me. This is what we always said we were going to do. When we grew up, we were going to run the bakery together.”

I sighed. He wasn’t wrong because we had said that. “How old were we when we said that though?” Beau looked incredibly confused for a moment. “I remember. We were sixteen, and my parents had just died. And it was a great dream to have, but just like I told Vaughn, our teenage selves weren’t really thinking beyond the moment.” I reached out and ran my hand down Beau’s arm. “We’re not teenagers anymore. We are both mated now, and you already have Cooper and one more on the way. I’m pregnant with my first, and Vaughn and I have plans to have more.”

“So you’re saying you’re just going to leave? That this isn’t your dream anymore?” Beau turned and sat down.

I moved over to sit in the chair beside him. “I’m not saying that, just that our dreams have changed. At least, mine have, and maybe that means this wasn’t exactly my dream to begin with. I love you, and I love working with you, but finding Vaughn has changed things for me. I would have thought the same for you and Roman, but maybe not.”

Beau’s face looked hopeful now. “So you’re not leaving?”

I sighed. “I don’t know,” I told him, and that was as honest as I could be with him. “I’m in love, Beau. I want to be with my mate, and I don’t want to have to be away from my baby when he or she is little. I plan on having more, so in reality, that means I’m not really wanting to be away for the next five to ten years, so…”

“So you’re leaving.”

I shrugged. “Not right away, but I need you to know that it’s a very real possibility that I’m going to leave. I don’t want to upset you, but I also really want to be with my baby.”

Beau nodded. “I get it. I truly do. I would love to stay home with Cooper and this one once he or she arrives, but I was brought here with Evan specifically to run the bakery.”

I moaned, frustrated, because so was I. That was why I was here. Thomas and Canyon had come back to the village specifically to bring me here to run the bakery with Beau. Not to find my mate, but to run the bakery.

I nodded, suddenly not feeling well. “You’re right. This is why I’m here. This is why I was able to leave the village. Not Vaughn, not to have babies, but to run a bakery with you.” I stood and went over to the prep table.

“That’s not what I said, Lewis. Of course you can have a mate. Why are you acting like this?”

I heard a growl in my head. “I’m okay, Vaughn. I promise.”

“You are upset.”

“I knew this would probably happen.” I looked back at Beau. “I’m allowed to change my mind about what it is that I desire in life, Beau. So are you. You just said you would love to stay home with the babies. Then why don’t you?”

“Because I have a bakery to run. I was able to come with my brother because I was supposed to be the one running the bakery.”

I sighed. There was a loud banging on the back door, and I winced. “That’s probably Vaughn,” I said quietly.

Beau’s eyes widened. “What? Why would he be banging on our back door?”

I walked around Beau and went to the door as the pounding continued. Sure enough, it was my mate when I opened it. He wasn’t alone though. Evan was standing there with him.

“See, Vaughn, they’re safe. They’re in here and fine,” Evan said as he stepped into the kitchen and gestured between the two of us.

“That wasn’t the issue,” Vaughn said. I’d actually never seen him like this before, and this was completely new.

“He’s upset because I’m upset,” I said quietly.

Evan stopped. “What? Why? Is something wrong?” Evan suddenly turned on Vaughn. “Has he done something to you?”

I snorted. Vaughn had done many things to me, but I’d enjoyed every single one of them. I thought about what he’d done just this morning as I stared up at my mate. I needed him to calm down. I truly was fine.

“I’m okay,” I told him as I touched his chest. Vaughn’s hands went to my shoulders, and only then did he seem to relax. “Beau and I were talking about the bakery and how things are possibly going to work going forward now that we both have mates and are both currently pregnant.”

Evan groaned. “I knew this was probably coming soon,” he said.

Beau turned a glare toward his brother. “Knew what?”

“Come on, Beau. You’re already frustrated at having to be away from Cooper as much as you are. The council has already offered for you to step back for the next few years and run the bakery in a more hands-off situation without losing it completely. I’m sure they’ll do the same for Lewis.”

“What?” I shouted. Vaughn wrapped his arms around my shoulders when I started toward Beau. “What do you mean? You’re upset at me for wanting time off to be with my baby, and they’ve offered you the perfect answer, and you said no?” I seriously was upset about that. So much so that I felt tears of frustration starting.