“I’ll take a soda.” She beamed, lifting her chin high.
Merrick disappeared for a moment, and when he returned, Sunny handed me her daughter so she could enjoy her drink.
Baby Abigail was nearly six months old and cute as a peach. Her little hands reached out, slapping my face lightly.
“You’ve got a heartbreaker on your hands here, you know,” Merrick said as he intently watched me holding the baby.
“You really think she’s going to get the chance to break hearts when her dads are going to be the most overprotective buttheads in existence?”
“They won’t bethatbad.” Merrick laughed, turning and leaving.
“Oh, they aredefinitelythat bad.” Sunny said, adoration clear in her tone. “Can you imagine what you’ll be like with yourowndaughter?”
“We don’t know whether it’s a boy or a girl yet,” I said.
Sunny frowned. “But you’re nearly five months along. You should know by now.”
“I thought about finding out,” I admitted.
“And you didn’t?”
I shook my head. “Honestly, I’ve got it in an envelope, but it feels wrong to open it without Preston. Even though I’m still mad at him… it’s also his baby, you know? And he’s missed out on so much.”
“You’re a good person, Hailey. Maybe better than me.” Sunny laughed.
“I’m not sure I’m a fan of it being a surprise, though.”
“Yeah, but at least this would be afunsurprise. Though, knowing what you’re having makes everything a lot easier. You can shop for the nursery and it’s a breeze. Have you just been buying neutrals?”
I grimaced. “Yeah, it’s beginning to look like I’m going to be a sad beige mom. I need to buy some more colorful things!”
“That’s the problem with only getting neutrals. And once you give birth, for the first few weeks, you’re going to be too tired to go shopping. If you really want it to be a surprise, I recommend getting clothes for both.”
“That sounds expensive.”
“Yeah, but your alphas can pay for it.” Sunny grinned playfully. “Also, I did bring all of Abigail’s newborn-sized clothing. She doesn’t fit into them anymore, and I thought you could get some use out of them. A lot of them are neutral colors as well.”
“Oh, wow! Thank you.” I sighed. “That’s perfect.”
In my lap, Abigail reached up her little hands and started grabbing at the loose tendrils of hair falling from my ponytail.
“Be careful,” Sunny warned. “She’s loving grabbing onto hair at the moment. She’s got a death grip too. It’s a weird baby thing. Their grips are surprisingly strong.”
“That’s okay. I don’t mind,” I said, gazing at her lovingly. It was surreal to think that in a few months, I would be holding a baby of my own.
“Do you feel ready?” Sunny asked.
“Not at all.” I laughed, still looking down at sweet Abigail.
“I suppose it doesn’t help that your entire pack isn’t here yet.”
“It really doesn’t,” I agreed, smiling so I didn’t tear up. “I’m really happy with my pack as it is, but Preston is just looming in the back of my mind.”
“Walker seems to think it won’t be much longer.”
I gave Sunny a sarcastic look. “They were saying it would be a few weeks a few months ago.”
“These men really don’t have a sense of urgency, do they? Iftheywere the ones growing the baby, they’d be all over it.”