Page 148 of Secret Shifters Next Door

She’d agreed, but had seemed distant on the phone. When I picked her up, she’d been quiet and a little withdrawn. I drove us to the next town over. Since this was supposed to be a treat, I didn’t want to take her to the salon where she worked, and going to the competitor just seemed weird. Plus, there was a fantastic Vietnamese restaurant in town to which I wanted to take her.

We sat in the service chairs beside each other, and while the technicians gave us each a foot massage, I finally asked her what was wrong. “Are you okay, Chelsea? You seem a little out of it.”

She shot me a guilty look and twisted her hands in her lap. “I’ve got a lot on my mind. Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. You can tell me, you know. That’s what family is for. What’s up?”

Chelsea sighed, then smiled a watery, nervous smile. “Um… I’m pregnant.”

I screeched in excitement and surprise. My technician jumped back and almost fell to the floor. I looked at her apologetically. “I’m sorry, so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” I looked back at Chelsea and saw, with a sinking feeling, that the look on her face was anything but happy. “Why do you look miserable? Shouldn’t you be excited?”

She sagged in her chair, looking like someone had just told her that her dog had died. Like being pregnant was the worst thing that could ever happen to anyone. I remembered the story Kellan had told me about how Aiden’s mom had left, and I worried Chelsea was thinking the same thoughts she had.

Finally, Chelsea said, “Kris doesn’t want kids.”

It took a second for that to register. “Wait, what?”

She sighed and readjusted herself. “Back when we were dating, we decided that we didn’t want kids. The responsibility of it all was too much. I think Kris saw how much Kellan struggled with raising Aiden.” Chelsea started to cry. “And he thought it was more than he could handle. I agreed. We both love kids, but having our own seemed so intimidating. We dote on Aiden like he’s our own, but it’s different.

“Kris always talks about how he and his brother were hell-raisers and that if karma is real, he’d be in for it if he ever had a kid. He’s always been very vocal about it. I thought I was too, and then I saw that positive test, and I freaked out. April, do I even tell your brother? Or do I go get it taken care of? In secret, I mean.”

The technicians working on our toes did a good job of acting like they were ignoring our conversation, but I could see they looked like they wanted to be anywhere but right there. I didn’t blame them. It was an uncomfortable conversation. I felt for Chelsea. It had to be tough to go through something like this without having someone to talk to. I couldn’t imagine how stressful it must have been to keep this hidden from Kris.

“I know this is hard. I can’t even start to understand how hard this is, but isn’t this part of marriage? Kris is there for you. He’s the one person you can talk to even when it’s a difficult discussion, right? This wasn’t part of your plan, but fate had other plans. Maybe if you talk it out, the two of you can come to another decision.” I took a breath and asked the question that was screaming to be asked, “Chelsea, do you want to the baby?”

Chelsea’s face crumpled, and she nodded so hard that tears bounced off her nose. “I didn’t think I ever wanted kids. Ever. But when those two lines appeared on the test, and I knew a baby was growing inside me, I… I don’t know. It was like a door opened that I didn’t even know was inside me. I spent an hour imagining what it would be like to hold it, to hear it cry, to have its little hand grab my finger. I can’t describe it. Then the shame washed over me when I remembered all the plans and decisions Kris and I had made. I mean, we’ve only been married for two years. It felt like I was betraying him by even considering keeping it.”

I took Chelsea’s hand and squeezed it. “I’ll be there for you no matter what, but I know my brother. I don’t, in a million years, think he’d abandon you or the child. It may not have been what he wanted, but things change. Maybe, when he finds out, he’ll have a change of heart the way you did. There’s only one way to know, though. You’ve got to tell him.”

Chelsea nodded and wiped tears from her eyes. “You’re right. Ugh, you are totally right. I knew it, but I was scared. I needed someone to talk me through it.”

After getting such huge news off her chest, Chelsea was a little more like her old self. We spent the rest of the appointment talking about more banal things—TV shows, music, books. It was a relief to talk about something less intense and serious. Still, even as we talked about everything but the baby, my mind kept going back to it.

It stayed on my mind all day, all the way into my date that night with Steff. He’d rented an entire corner of Bernard’s Seafood Bistro, which was the closest to fine dining you could find without going all the way to Denver. It was the go-to place for high schoolers on prom night in and around Lilly Valley. He’d even had them put candles and a single rose on the table.

I was picking at the crab cake appetizer and staring off into space, when Steff reached over and took my hand. “You seem somewhere else. Is everything okay?”

I cursed myself. I was terrible at keeping stuff hidden, which made me an awful liar. “I’m sorry.”

I looked up at him and was struck by how fucking delicious he looked. There was a flash in my mind of sliding his cock into my mouth. I blinked it away and tried not to blush. Apparently, I wanted to eathiminstead of the food. Steff raised an eyebrow, and a low growl sounded in his chest. A grin spread across his face, like he’d read my thoughts.

“Can shifters read minds?” I asked as I failed to keep my face from flushing.

Steff shook his head. “No, but we can scent a shift in pheromones. Whatever you were just thinking aroused the hell out of you. I liked it.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “You’ll need to wait to tell me about it though. Most restaurants frown on sex on the tables during operating hours.”

That made more images and thoughts erupt in my mind, and a warmth grew and spread between my legs. Steff’s eyes blazed harder. Thankfully, he eased himself back into his seat and popped a shrimp into his mouth. “What’s really on your mind? I doubt thoughts of our sweaty, naked bodies could make you zone out like that.”

I chewed on my lip for a second, then finished the last bite of my crab cake. I wiped my lips with the napkin, and cleared my throat. “Do you want children?”

Steff had put his glass to his lips to take a drink of water, and he nearly choked on it. He sputtered and coughed, which made me wince.

He held up a hand and finished coughing. “It’s fine, sorry. You only surprised me, is all. To answer the question, yes, I’d eventually like to have kids. For the longest time, I didn’t think I ever would. After being kicked out of my pack, I was on my own. There aren’t many bear shifter ladies around, and shifters can only have children with their own kind. Like, I could go on a date and be with a wolf shifter or something, but we can’t have babies together.

“I thought of finding another bear pack to join. Especially when I came back home, but I’ll be honest, the thought of mating with anyone but you never sat right. I don’t think I could have done it. I could have forced it and pretended, but that wouldn’t have been to the woman I chose. It wouldn’t have been fair to myself. So, instead of finding joy in a woman, I found joy in coaching the game I love. That and hanging with my friends. What about you? Did you ever want kids?”

“Not really. Not while modeling at least. I always assumed that, eventually, I’d meet the right guy. We’d settle down and have kids.” Steff growled at the mention of another—fictional—man. “Easy, big guy. I clearly never met anyone I ever wanted to start areallife with. I’m pretty glad about that. It would have made this,” I gestured at both of us, “even more complicated.”

“So,” Steff said, “what brought about this baby talk?”

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