Page 66 of The Billionaire Alpha Surrogate

They laid down on the bed of flowers. The sun was so warm. The birds were singing and squirrels chased each other, chattering with each other. He almost fell asleep.

“Micah,” Lucy said.

“Yes?”

“We’re hungry. You promised us lunch.”

“They are always hungry,” Micah teased as they redressed.

“Of course. It takes a lot of energy to start growing all their internal organs, arms, legs, and then just get bigger.”

“True enough,” he said. “I’m terrified to see what the grocery bill will be when they are teenagers. I might have to get a second job.”

Lucy laughed. “Vera might have to hire an assistant to keep up with them.”

Hand in hand, they walked back to the truck. Micah grinned. For the first time in a very long time, he could actually say that he was happy. It wasn’t that he had been unhappy before, but being with Lucy and knowing that he had a growing family had created a whole new level of wonder and satisfaction. He was also pleased that they had talked about their feelings for each other and made their relationship official.

Howlers’ was busy, but they managed to snag a table.

Sean, the owner of the bar and grill, came over and handed them the menus.

“The joint is hopping for a weekday,” Micah said. “Are you running some type of special?”

“Nope. It’s lunchtime. A lot of people come here for their lunch breaks,” Sean said. He looked at Lucy and said, “You’re looking good. I understand congratulations are in order.”

“Thank you,” Lucy said.

“You definitely look a lot happier than you did when you first came through the portal.”

“I am,” Lucy said. “Life is great here.”

“I’m glad,” Sean said. “I guess I better get back to work. Enjoy your meal.”

The waitress blew by like a hurricane to take their orders. Ten minutes later, she practically ran to their table, carefully set their dishes in front of them, asked if she could get them anything else, and dashed off.

“I hope Sean gives her double pay for running,” Lucy said.

“He pays the staff well, plus they keep all the tips. Sean doesn’t take a cut of them,” Micah said. “Sean is an awesome guy.”

They were just about to leave when Caroline walked over to their table. Micah groaned.

“You’re getting fat,” Caroline said.

“That tends to happen when one gets pregnant,” Lucy said, laughing.

Caroline looked at Micah and then back at Lucy. “I don’t get what he sees in you. Is it something like the rich guy playing with the gutter snipe to satisfy some primal craving?”

She spoke as though Micah wasn’t sitting at the table. He was about to tell her to get out of their face, but Lucy put her hand on his arm.

“You’re a genius. That is exactly what the situation is,” Lucy said, grinning. “He needed to find a real woman to satisfy his needs. A fake doll who wears too much makeup and perfume, who wouldn’t know about giving or passion just wouldn’t do it for him.”

“How dare you,” Caroline said.

“You started the whole conversation. If you can’t stand the heat, I suggest you stay out of the kitchen,” Lucy said. “Don’t come at me and think that I’m just going to roll over and take your crap.”

Caroline looked at Micah who laughed. “Hmmph.” She stormed off. Caroline was so mad that the door hit her in the face as she jerked it open to go outside.

“That was fun,” Lucy said. “I’m not a mean person, but it did feel good to put her in her place.”

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