Page 57 of My Knotty Mountain Men

“Me too.” I nip at his nose playfully. “Let’s see... My full name is Violet Rose Hart. Yes, I know, named after two flowers, crazy. That also became a nickname growing up by my parents.” I roll my eyes like it annoys me, but honestly, there’s nothing I wouldn’t give to have my mom wrap her arms around me in the morning as I’m getting ready for school and hear her tell me ‘good morning, my little flower’.

“Sweets, where did you go?” Nolan asks, and I blink a few times, shaking myself out of my thoughts.

“Sorry,” I say, forcing a smile. “Where was I? Right, I’m twenty-eight. My birthday is the fourth of July. So, you're not the only one who had to share their birthday with a holiday.”

“At least you get to share it with the birth of this country,” he points out.

“True.” I laugh. “But it’s not fun when no one can show up to your party because they have plans with their parents, so you have to do it the weekend before or after. I’ve never had a party on my birthday. We would always do a few gifts and a cake on it, but waited for family and friends to really celebrate it.” It’s still better than his, and I don’t want to make him feel bad and linger on it, so I keep going.

“I love bright pastel colors. But I also love retro vibes. And emo vibes. Oh, and pastel emo.”

“So, everything?” Nolan cuts in with a chuckle.

“Yeah, pretty much.” I grin. “I just hate the colors of the rainbow.”

He gaps. “How could you hate rainbows!”

“I don’t hate them.” I laugh. “I hate the basic colors of them, blue, green, red, that kind of thing. The shades of them.”

“Ahh, yes. Basic is boring.”

“Exactly!” I laugh. “I love all kinds of music, but it really depends on the song and the artist. I love to read. I love all things soft and fuzzy.” I frown. “That reminds me, is there a room for my nest? I don’t mean to be a drama queen, but I need a nest.”

“Don’t worry, Sweets. We got you covered. Actually, you should let Thomas take you shopping for your nest. But save the baby’s room for Aiden.”

“Deal.” I grin.

“I call your room, though. I feel like we’re going to be spending a lot of time in there.” He grins.

“Doing what?” I ask as I raise a brow.

“You dirty, dirty girl.” He chuckles. “Getting away from our overbearing Alphas. What did you think we would be doing? Having hot crazy sex?”

“I mean, we can’t?” I ask, pouting.

He leans in, taking my lip between his teeth, and pulls back until it pops free. “I think I could be convinced,” he murmurs against my lips.

“Hey, now. No public sex. You’re going to scare the nice old couple over there. Maybe give them a heart attack.” Jenny’s voice has me looking over my shoulder.

The girls come and join us.

“Nah, I bet they would love it, being the only action they probably get,” Jenna says with a laugh.

Rylee looks over at the couple. “I bet they still get freaky with it.”

“Gross.” I laugh, moving around so that I’m sitting with my back to Nolan’s front.

He wraps his arms around me, placing his chin on my shoulder and talking to my best friends as if they’re his own.

It makes me so damn happy to see my men and the three people who I’ve considered my family getting along.

Nolan places his hands over my belly, and all I can think about is the baby growing inside me. His baby, our baby.

We stay at the hot springs for a little while longer, taking a few breaks so as not to overheat before heading back down the mountain. We drop the girls off, making sure they’re safely back inside my cabin before heading back over to the guys' house.

Huh. If they’re my pack, would that make it my house, too?I don’t see myself staying anywhere but there now. The idea of being away from my pack just fills me with anxiety.

As we get off the snowmobile, Nolan and I are all smiles and laughs while we make our way into the house.

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