Page 107 of Never You

Her dark blonde hair perfectly frames her face, and her sea-green eyes are laced with a sense of comfort, making me instantly like her. “I’m Charlotte.”

I give her a short wave, glancing at her belly. “I’m Rae. Congratulations.”

“Thank you!”

“How far along are you?” I ask, admiring her feminine curves.

“Twenty-one weeks.” Charlotte proudly rubs her stomach.

Her belly is petite, covered by a denim dress shirt, but she has that pregnancy glow that people always gush about.

She looks beautiful.

“Nice to finally see you again, stranger.” She tilts her head to the sulking man beside me, and his frown turns into a smile.

“Way too long, Charlotte.” He pulls her in for a hug. “You’re glowing, mama. I hope you are getting enough rest because a mini Hunter is gonna drive you madder than the OG one did over the years.”

“Don’t I know it. I’m not ready for that.” She complains, though her happiness is engraved in her features as she lets go of Jensen.

“No one is, honey.”

“Well, come on in.” She gestures her hand into the house. “I made fried chicken.”

I freeze, feeling the corner of my mouth rise, splitting my face in half. Slowly, I twist my head toward Jensen looking at me with amusement.

“She made fried chicken,” I gush.

She’s beautiful and she’s about to be my new best friend if her fried chicken is even remotely close to my Nana’s.

“I know.”

“You know?” I parrot, incredulous.

We all walk into the house, and the smell of my favorite dish enters my nose. I inhale deeply, my mouth watering just thinking about it while my stomach roars in excitement.

“You didn’t tell me we were having dinner at Hunter Hansen’s house,” I hiss, squeezing his side, as we follow Charlotte and Hunter into the big kitchen. “Andyou forgot to mention his wife is making fried chicken. We should’ve brought flowers or something. Wine, chocolate, anything! You get deduction points,hockey boy.”

“I’m sorry, butyouforgot to mention it’s your birthday.” I quickly glance between the married couple as we follow them into the kitchen, hoping they didn’t hear him.

“Today.” He emphasizes loudly, and embarrassed as fuck I look for any hiding spots.

Asshole.

When I can’t find any, I give him a pained look, feeling like I want to crawl to China right now. A lazy grin forms on his lips, and he grabs my elbow, tucking me against his chest.

“I’m free of getting deductions today, you little witch.” He folds his arms around my body, tickling my side before pressing a kiss to my hair.

“Hold up.” Charlotte frowns from behind the white breakfast bar, the sound of boiling oil going through the room while we all look at her. “It’s your birthday?”

I sheepishly give her a smile while Jensen still holds me tight in his arms.

I’m glad he is, because really, I want to bury myself into his body, having no clue what they will think of me. Birthdays are not a big deal for me, but I know they are for everyone around me, always making me the odd man out whenever it's that time of the year again. After my parents died, I didn’t feel the need to celebrate my birthday.

The only reason I traveled back to North Carolina for it every single year was because Nana demanded it. And well, you don’t say no to Nana.

“Yup. She forgot to mention it in the last seventy-two hours. I found out when we walked into her surprise party this afternoon.”

Hunter and Charlotte exchange a look, a little perplexed. I wish I was a mind reader right now, because even though I normally don’t care what people think of me, for some reason, I want to make a good impression on Jensen's friends.

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