Page 64 of Cooper

“How did we wind up with so much stuff?” I ask, reaching for one of the shopping bags since they’d been delivered directly to the plane.

“I don’t know.” Shannon reaches for hers and right on top is an adorable green and white striped onesie with the Eiffel Tower embroidered on it.

“When is the baby due, Shannon?” Casey asks Shannon softly.

Shannon pales a little, blinking at her. “I, er… how did you know?” she finally asks. “We haven’t told anyone yet.”

“You have a certain glow about you—all pregnant women do. And also, I saw you eyeing all the beautiful baby clothes and other items, but you put each one down again carefully. I’m assuming because you don’t know the sex yet or you’re waiting for a certain milestone.”

Shannon flushes. “We just found out… I’m only eight weeks. We weren’t going to tell anyone yet.”

“I apologize, but I won’t tell anyone,” Casey promises. “But I had Celeste, the shop owner, add a few items for the baby. You can put them away until you find out, but my gut tells me it’s a little girl.”

Shannon’s eyes widen. “Oh my goodness. Thank you!”

She bursts into tears.

Casey hands her a tissue, talking to her in a soothing tone, and conversation moves to all things pregnancy, hormones, and babies.

And suddenly I want that too.

Notnow, but maybe in four or five years. I’m only twenty-six, so I have time, but that’s something Cooper and I have never talked about. We’ve talked about getting engaged someday, but not whether or not he wants kids.

Six months ago, that would have terrified me.

Now I’m looking forward to the future.

Moving in together.

Getting married at some point.

I know I’m getting ahead of myself, but we’ve spent the last two days talking about officially moving in together, him becoming a Royal Protector. Where else would this go?

He hasn’t made up his mind yet, so that part is concerning, but I know the prospect is as exciting as it is daunting. He’s the only one who can make up his mind, so I have to be patient. And that’s not my forte.

* * *

I’mantsy before I meet with Joe and Sandor. I’m still a little annoyed about yesterday’s meeting on the plane, and I decide to bring it up once we’re settled in Sandor’s office. “I assume we’re here to talk about Cooper joining the Protectors,” I say.

Sandor nods. “Do you have an issue with that?”

“No, but I do have an issue with something that happened yesterday.”

Both of them have blank looks on their faces, reminding me that while we’ve come a long way, we still have quite a way to go.

“Why was I left out of a meeting about Royal Protector business?” I ask quietly, trying to keep my voice neutral. “I haven’t had my oath-swearing ceremony yet, but you’ve both told me I’ve passed all my tests and am officially on the full duty roster.”

No one moves for a beat, and then they give each other a weird look.

“That’s on me,” Sandor says after a moment, shaking his head. “And I apologize. You’re right. It’s become a habit to leave you out because you were still training, still recuperating, still something or other. But those days are done. You have my sincere apology—and my promise it won’t happen again.”

“Thank you.” I dip my head.

That’s all I can ask for.

“Yeah, I’m sorry too,” Joe adds. “It wasn’t intentional, just a habit. One that we need to break. With Lennox on maternity leave and you just getting into the swing of things, it’s become a bit of a boys’ club. That doesn’t make it right, and we’ll do better in the future, but that’s the only explanation I have.”

“That’s fair, and apologies are accepted. Now let’s talk about Cooper.”

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