Page 75 of Breeding Clinic

“Thank God,” Gabriel says, equally horrified.

The food court is appropriately positioned near the checkout line. A cashier rings us up, double checking our furniture requests. It takes six oversized bags to fit all of the bedding and decorations we’re buying. The rest has to be scheduled for delivery. Thankfully there aren’t any significant back orders and a lot of the items we picked are in stock at this location. We set a delivery date for two months out. That gives us plenty of time to close and pack and paint.

The total price on her register makes me sweat. Outside of buying my car and house, I’ve never made such a big purchase before. Before I can dig my wallet out of my purse, Liam’s grabbed his from his pants pocket. He hands the cashier his card.

She’s too quick for me to stop her. She slides his card and hands it back, then tears off the receipt. “I thought…”

Liam squeezes my hip where he’s holding me. “I don’t have million-dollar house money, but we’re far from broke.” He kisses the top of my head. “And we like spoiling you.”

They brought me here to take care of me, I realize. When was the last time someone took care of me? All three of themsplit up the bags, taking two each. I follow them to the food court, and they find us a table.

Gabriel gets all three Brazilian dishes while the rest of us pick and choose a variety from the menu. The Canadianpoutineends up being my favorite. Crispy fries covered in gravy and cheese curds? It’s heaven. I take a bite of Gabriel’spasteland moan around my mouthful.

“That’s so good,” I say, taking another bite before handing it back. My stomach gets so full it’s becoming uncomfortable. The bigger my belly gets, the less I can eat in one sitting. And the more I have to pee.

“Wait until we go to Brazil,” he says. “The food in Belo Horizonte is the best. But all the tourists want to go to Rio de Janeiro. They don’t know what they’re missing.”

“I can’t wait,” I tell him. “I’ve been to Brazil before, but I didn’t get to see much of it.”

“You have?” Gabriel asks. “When? Where did you go?”

The last thing I want to do is spoil today with talk of my old pack. Of Josh. Today has been perfect. “It was a work trip to Rio years ago. I have to pee again. Be right back.”

I find the bathroom and pee, then take a few minutes to clean my panties as best I can with nothing but toilet paper. I’m gonna need to start wearing heat panties every day if Liam’s going to keep this up.

By the time I’m done, they’ve cleared our table and they’re shouldering our bags.

“All done?” Liam asks.

I fall into step beside them. “All done. I’ve got everything I need.”

Liam and Gabriel secure the bags in the bed of his truck, and then we all get in. It’s not a bad drive back into town. Liam’s hand on my thigh is a heavy, comforting weight. I trace the veins on the back of his hand and caress his calluses whilehe drives. It’s a good hand. Strong. The hand of a hard worker. There’s a faded scar on one knuckle. I wonder if he got it from breaking up a bar fight.

He turns our hands over and captures mine, threading our fingers together. Gentle. Always so gentle with me. And thoughtful.

Gabriel and Matthew talk in the backseat. Discussing which home improvement store has the best brand of paint. A perfectly boring, domestic conversation that makes me warm and fuzzy inside.

Emotion bubbles up in me. Unable to be contained any longer. “I love you guys.”

Liam squeezes my hand and glances at me, not taking his eyes off the road for too long. “I love you too.”

“Eu te amo,” Gabriel says, reaching over my seat to play with my hair. He strokes a section between his fingers. “Meu docinho.”

“We love you,” Matthew says. “And I have to say… I’m really grateful the clinic fucked up the paperwork. I can’t imagine doing this with anyone else.”

“Me too,” Gabriel agrees.

“Me most of all.” Liam drags our threaded hands to his mouth and kisses my knuckles.

My eyes mist with unshed tears, but I refuse to cry. I don’t want to spoil this moment with tears, even if they’re happy ones. Liam drops our hands to his thigh while he navigates on the highway, his attention focused on keeping us safe.

“Your place or ours?” Liam asks once we reach the edge of town.

“Mine.” I need to feed and hang out with Waffles, and I can stuff our shopping bags in a corner of my office. There’s no room in their apartment above the pub.

Waffles runs up screaming with a meow, his tail twitching,as I unlock the door. He sees Matthew and runs straight past me to rub his cheek against the beta’s leg.

“Traitor,” I say to my wayward furry son. “You haven’t been feeding him treats, have you? The vet said he’s overweight. He needs to lose two pounds.”

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