Page 57 of An Unexpected Claim

“I’m impressed,” I said.

Emerald held out her hands and grinned. “Don’t be. I can’t help it if I’m awesome.”

I laughed and stepped out onto the porch, giving her a wink. “Ditto.”

Emerald pointed at me and looked at Samantha. “I dig this chick.”

Samantha just smiled happily. It was nice to see her with a little less sadness lurking in her eyes.

“Somebody needs to explain the ‘Foxy’ thing though. I mean, Samantha is hot, sure, but I have a feeling there’s a story there.”

I quickly explained my logic for the name and Emerald threw her head back and laughed—a full, rich sound.

“I don’t know another Peyton,” she said when she stopped. “But I think I’m going to call youTabitha.”

I rolled my eyes but laughed. “A little cliché, don’t you think?”

Emerald tapped her chin, looking thoughtful. “You’re absolutely right.” Her eyes lit up after a couple of seconds. “Schrödinger!”

I scrunched my nose. “As in Schrödinger’s cat?”

“Yeah, because with one foot out the door, you’re neither here nor there!”

Samantha giggled.

“Next,” I said dryly.

Emerald chuckled. “How about we just go with Nomad? Samantha tells me you’re a wanderer.”

I mulled it over and nodded. “I can feel that one.”

Emerald clapped her hands excitedly. “Perfect!”

“Should we stick with the nickname Emerald?” I asked.

Emerald shook her head and pointed at herself with both thumbs. “That’s my real name. Part of being born awesome.”

“No way,” I replied with a chuckle.

“Way.”

Samantha smiled at us both, seeming happy, and a little smug, that we were getting along. “Ready to roll?”

I nodded. “I’m game, but let’s not go too far and I can’t let my guard down. Nathan was beyond pissed at me last time, especially when he found me asleep by the lake.”

Samantha tilted her head and watched me with a calculating gleam in her pretty brown eyes.

“What?” I asked.

She shrugged. “He just seems awfully overprotective with you.”

I frowned, thinking about his unexpected claim that we were mates. Not ready to talk about that yet, I waved off her observation. “I’m sure any alpha male would be overbearing and obnoxious when it came to the mother of his child.”

It was Emerald’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “You’re knocked up? With Nathan’s kid? The alpha?”

I nodded, once again wary because I didn’t know what she would do with the information.

“Good fucking luck with that one,” Emerald teased. “I’ve seen how possessive my friend’s mate is of her and she’s not even carrying his pup.”

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