Page 40 of Pack Plus Three

Daisy

My back ached as I hauled my groceries down the street. The bus had stopped farther from my apartment building than the normal stop, making me walk that much more to get home—much to my displeasure, because the low burning sensation at the base of my spine was starting to infuriate me. If grocery delivery wasn’t so darn expensive, I would have opted for that. Then again, in a neighborhood like mine, I doubted the delivery boy would be willing to walk up a set of stairs.

As soon as I got home, I was going to lie down with the heating pad on my back—it was hands down the most practical gift I had ever received, and I loved it so damn much. It had been with me pretty much constantly since Devon had given it to me.

Every few steps, my eyes would travel down to look at my bags as I took wobbly step after wobbly step. Part of me was convinced my center of gravity would never be the same again.

“Daisy?”

I looked up and found Jeremy standing on the pavement. “Oh, hello!”

“What on earth are you doing?” he asked, his lips turned down as he took me in.

“I needed groceries?”

“You should have told me. I could have driven you!”

“It’s only a short bus ride, and it’s a nice day,” I insisted. Yes, my back was in agony, but I didn’t want to put him out any more. Not until I had made him a mountain of cookies, at the very least. I had been riding the bus at least once a week since moving in, so I was more than used to it.

I couldn’t let myself become too reliant on Jeremy, either. Part of me had to stay realistic—his interest in me would only last so long. That had been my experience with alphas, anyway. Soon enough, I would be a mother, which meant that I had to be sensible. My abysmal living situation was thanks to me blindly placing faith in a man.

“Give me those.” Jeremy took the bags off me without waiting for me to hand them over. “You shouldn't be carrying things with your sore back!”

“You have a life. I can’t keep interrupting it,” I insisted.

Jeremy rolled his eyes, leaning over to place a quick kiss on the top of my head. “You aren’t an interruption; you’re a joy.”

His warm sawdust and hay scent washed over me, and the pain eased up ever so slightly. His smell was like a drug that eased all my troubles.

Who was I kidding? I was a goner for this alpha.

“Fine,” I grumbled playfully, letting him take the bags.

“Have you eaten yet?” he asked as we entered the building, tapping the pin into the rusty old door lock. It was so old that with one good shove, it would fall to bits.

The moment I had some decent money, I was moving to a much better neighborhood. One with a good school district, so my little parasite could grow up with plenty of opportunities.

“I had the leftovers you gave me just before I left,” I told him with a smile, happy I could give him a satisfactory answer for once.

“Good.” He nodded happily as we slowly started ascending the stairs to our third-floor apartments.

“I got all the things to make fresh strawberry shortcake cookies as well.”

Jeremy groaned. “You’re going to make me so chubby—my trainer is going to kill me.”

“I can stop baking for you if that helps?”

“Please don’t!” Jeremy rushed to say. “That old bastard can deal with me gaining a few pounds.”

“Don’t talk about gaining a few pounds while you look like that.” I gestured to his body. He had the body of a sexy lumberjack. Defined, but not garishly so. “You look far too good, and you’re not even out of breath?” I puffed. He was carrying the groceries and wasn’t even slightly out of breath, whereas I was panting like a beached whale.

“That’s because I’m an athlete who gets to have no fun. If you deprive me of cookies?—”

He stopped still, and I almost ran headlong into his back. “—Daisy. Stay back.” His voice took on a hard tone. Firm, no nonsense.

“Wh—”

“Stay,” he growled, his eyes firmly on my apartment door.

---