Page 78 of Agony of Our Regret

My requestfor space and to take things slowly had officially gone out the window. If I actually cared, I’d be upset the guys didn’t listen.

But my heart healed each time I entered a room with all my guys—or most of them, given their schedules—but I still relished my scraps of alone time.

I added more hot water to my bath, leaned back, and closed my eyes. This was the most relaxed I’d been in a long, long time. It only took eight weeks for me to adjust to this as my new normal. Less than six months ago, I never would have let myself imagine life could look like this.

They were back.

They weren’t leaving.

This was real.

At work, we made progress against the AS.

Bruce and the other chancellors announced two weeks ago that brighter times were on the horizon. They couldn’t go into specifics, in case the AS intercepted the message, but it was enough to encourage the Society members to keep pushing.

I attended another meeting for our area, only my second since being on the Council, and the overall vibe was so much better than I expected. Tessa told me the local leaders did their best to shield the public from the worst of things. Why make them panic when there was little to nothing they could do? Remaining vigilant and traveling in groups was enough so far. Reports of attacks around the world had decreased since implementing those rules and having members return to their Council’s bases.

As hard as it was to be hopeful with all the AS had taken from me, I was finally allowing myself to believe the threats could end. My baby might be born without an immediate enemy.

The timer I set on my phone went off, and I got out of the tub. Ten minutes wasn’t enough. I could stay for hours, but the guys were strict about me following all the pregnancy rules they discovered in their research.

I had more incentive than normal tonight, though. Vince was coming over for a date night while Luca and Gavin hung out with Noah and Sky at the house. This was our first night all to ourselves. He finally had a break from the school renovations, and I got over my guilt of asking the guys to give us the apartment.

I dressed in a comfy matching pajama set Luca bought for me and pulled my hair up in a twisted bun before heading into the living room.

“There you are,” Vince greeted me from the kitchen.

I nearly jumped. “I didn’t know you were here already.”

“The guys let me in on their way out.” Like me, he dressed comfortably in gray sweats and a black T-shirt. I admired his defined arms while he rearranged the to-go cartons in front of him. “I brought dinner.”

The familiar scent of French fries drew me in. “What did you get?”

“Gavin mentioned you’ve been on a burger kick, so I went to the diner down the street he recommended.”

“Mmm.” I peeked into the box he put in front of me and grinned at the small pile of pickles under the bun, doing a little happy dance with my shoulders. This was one of my favorite meals lately. Greasy, simple, and delicious.

“They got the amount right?” he laughed.

“Yeah, they must have recognized the order.” That should be embarrassing, but I didn’t care in the least if I gained a reputation. We ordered from them at least once a week, and after Gavin went in the first time to explain I needed, not wanted—a borderline disgusting amount of pickles on my burger—they took the challenge and had yet to disappoint.

“You know what would go perfectly with this?” I asked, as I bit into a fry.

“What?” He took a bite of his burger.

“A white chocolate and peppermint hot chocolate.”

His grin grew. “Nah, Mexican hot chocolate with mini marshmallows.”

“We never got to go back.”

He sat his burger down and wiped his hands with a napkin. “Now we can.”

Memories of our first date, when he showed me his secret hangout, flooded back. “Will you sing again?”

He nodded. “If you want me to.”

“Our baby is going to be so spoiled. They’ll get a personal concert every night.”

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