“He'll be able to pay it off as soon as he gets out. Hell, I'm pretty sure that Wilder or Nolan could pay it for him. They're just choosing to punish his dumb ass.”
“I would also be pissed if I were in their shoes. Hell, I’m pissed in my own shoes.” I giggled as I started looking through the changing tables.
“Oooh, look! This one changes height!” I said excitedly.
Even though I wasn't a short woman, my alphas were considerably taller than me, so having a table that was adjustable would probably be a lifesaver.
Or a backsaver.
There were so many choices to make, and only weeks to make them. My omega wasn’t happy about that, but having all the guys here to help me, knowing that we didn’t have to stress about a budget, helped.
A lot.
As I was looking over the different changing tables, a swift movement in my stomach made me halt.
“Hailey, is everything okay?” Merrick asked. Everyone else paused to look at me.
“Y-yeah,” I stammered, my hand going to my belly. “I think the baby is moving?”
Merrick’s eyes widened, a smile spreading across his face. “Can I?” he asked, holding out a hand.
“Go for it—man, they are wriggling!” I muttered as they moved once again.
Merrick’s hand rested on my stomach, his eyes filling with amazement when they kicked again. “That is insane.”
“Trust me, it feels even more insane from where I’m standing!” I laughed.
Nolan and Wilder joined us, taking turns touching my bump, muttering sweet words to the baby. It was wonderful to see them interacting with the little nugget with such excitement. Despite all the chaos, I was convinced they would make good dads.
“Okay, Mama is tired now, let’s get some ice cream and have a nap!” I laughed, dragging my alphas toward the checkout.
Chapter 38
Hailey
Sunny came wandering into the living room, baby Abigail in her arms, and plopped down beside me without so much as a hello. I was on the couch, being lazy and generally trying to gather the strength to dosomething, because pregnancy was no joke.
“I haven’t seen you in a while,” she said in a playfully accusing tone as she glowered at me.
“Oh, what’s been going on?” I said with a laugh, sitting up straighter and pulling her into a hug.
“How are you doing? How is your pregnancy coming along?” she asked, looking pointedly down at my bump. The days were flying by, I was already nearing my fifth month… and still no sign of Preston.
“I’m doing okay. I’m getting loads of support,” I said, doing my best to avoid going into details about Preston. His situation was need-to-know, and as much as I wanted to vent and talk about it, I also wanted to keep him safe.
Sunny snorted, giving me a disbelieving look. “My mates told me all about your situation. You don’t have to hide anything from me. Given how long it’s been going on, they thought you could use a female friend to talk about the baby with.”
“Oh, thank God.” I sighed in relief.
“Why didn’t you tell me yourself? Actually, now I understand why you didn’t, but still.” She huffed.
“Trust me, I wanted to tell you more than anything, because morning sickness has been a bitch. I thought it was meant to be first trimester only, but nope. I got blessed with it all through my pregnancy! And on top of that, I’ve had separation sickness—which you had a little bit, so you know how it feels.”
Sunny grimaced, pulling her little bean closer as she shook herself. “I had the mild version because my alpha was working a lot, and thatsucked. I can only imagine how shitty you’ve felt. I suppose you’re lucky that Merrick pulled his finger out of his ass and realized he had feelings for you,” she said pointedly.
Laughing, I nodded, rubbing over the blanket wrapped around the baby. “Yes, I wasverylucky. And I mean, he always knew, butneitherof us had acted on it. I’m really glad we did.”
“I was also very lucky that she came to me, because I nearly lost the best thing to ever happen to me,” Merrick appeared in the doorway, and I looked over my shoulder with a smile. “Hi, Sunny, do you want a drink?”