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My three mates laughed.
“And know that you and the babe are safe,” he added.
I rolled my eyes. “We are fine.” But deep down, I wasn’t sure about that at all. Everything was different from what it was supposed to be. How could I confidently say I was healthy, that the baby was doing well? Just because Doc had taken one look early on and given us the proverbial thumbs up didn’t mean it was smooth sailing from there.
He was also the one who pointed out the birth itself is where things could get tricky. Despite my words to Kingston otherwise, I had no way to know that the pains I’d been havingweren’tindications I was about to go into labor any day.
“What else have you been keeping from us, dove?”
The unexpected caress of Noah’s voice in my mind made me jerk. I narrowed my eyes at him. “Get out of my head, Noah. It’s rude to eavesdrop.”
Hurt flashed on his handsome face, and I immediately regretted my harsh tone. “Don’t keep secrets from me.”
“Secrets? What secrets? Sunshine... you promised.”
I raised a brow. “Oh no, just because you guys have this special new bromance going on doesn’t mean you get to gang up on me. I’m allowed to worry about things without having to announce it to the world.”
“But we’re your mates,” Kingston protested.
“And you are the kings of overreacting. Not everything requires a battle strategy and war council meeting. Sometimes I just have to sit with my thoughts and figure shit out before coming to you.”
“This is a literal war, Sunny. We are fighting for a future.”
Anxiety tightened my lungs. I couldn’t breathe. Goddammit, these men and their stupid... making sense. “It’smybody. Regardless of anything else, I’m the only one who decides who I talk to about what’s happening to it. If I don’t want to talk about it, I don’t have to. Andyou”—I glared at all of them—“don’t get to make me feel guilty about it.”
Mood effectively killed. I waddled past them as they stood speechless. But I could feel the apology from Noah tickling my mind. He wasn’t going to infiltrate my thoughts again, but he wanted me to know he was still there. Still joined with me. As a mate should be.
I knew they were worried. Fuck, so was I. We’d only just gotten each other back and barely had a chance to enjoy any of it before we’d been flung back into the deep end. We were all just doing our best to stay afloat.
I swallowed back a sigh, knowing I owed them an apology. Later. Once it would feel less like a retreat. I may not have been in the right back there, but it didn’t make what I’d said wrong either. They needed to respect my space. Just because there was one of me and four of them didn’t mean they got to steamroll me into decisions.
They flanked me as we walked back to the house, now so much larger thanks to Alek’s magic being at full strength again. No one spoke; no one rushed me or scooped me up to hurry us along. They simply strolled slowly with me. Kingston on my left, Alek on my right, Noah behind me. My very own secret service. Although, it was no secret what service they provided.
Noah’s hands wrapped around my hips, stopping me in my tracks as we rounded the bend toward the home we all now shared. “Stop, dove. Someone’s there.”
Kingston lifted his chin, taking a long inhalation. “It’s the woman who came on the boat.”
“The midwife? She’s early.” Alek linked our hands and held tight. “Why is she early?”
“Food. She brought us food. I can smell it.”
I laughed at Kingston’s eager tone. “Always motivated by food.”
“You know I love to eat.” He winked at me, and I had to fight against the little flutters that set off between my legs. “My favorite is a sweet sundae all smothered in cream.”
Stop it, Sunday. You do not want to get all hot and bothered before a stranger has to dive between your legs to inspect your vag.That isnotthe kind of first impression we’re aiming for.
Ignoring Kingston, I answered Alek. “I’m not sure. Let’s go find out.”
I started moving forward, not realizing Kingston had remained behind until he shouted, “Really? Not even a smile? That was some prime wordplay right there. Top-notch shit.”
I could just make out the sound of Noah’s voice, so I stopped and peeked over my shoulder in time to see him patting Kingston on the back. “It’s all right, mate. Solid attempt.”
Kingston sniffed. “Sometimes I don’t even know why I put in the effort when no one even appreciates it.”
“I appreciate you.”
“You do?”
