Page 17 of Such a Feisty Omega

“Daddy!” Reed screamed and threw the ball to Andreas. And there was my answer.

“I had this whole speech laid out, and he ruined it with one word,” Andreas chuckled. “I wasn’t planning to surprise you like this, but my sitter let me down.”

“Wanna explain?” I asked.

“Thank you for letting me. I thought you would run screaming the moment you knew.”

I sighed and looked at Reed. He was cute as a button and happy to entertain himself. “I’m here. Please.”

He nodded. “My omega, Reed’s father, didn’t stick around after he was born. He was all about the excitement of being pregnant, but when he was facing a tiny preemie in the NICU, he ran.”

“I’m so sorry.” I reached over and grabbed his hand, and he let me.

“I’m not, although I was.”

“And was he your mate?” I swallowed against the fear in my throat.

“No. But I know you are.”

A breath whooshed from my lungs and I nodded. “I know that too.”

He was as relieved as I was. “Reed was born early. His lungs weren’t fully formed. He was underweight. There was a question of a possible heart surgery that didn’t happen. It seemed as if there was a new thing to fear every day. I owe everything to the NICU nurses who took care of him. He was released to come home after three months.”

“And you did it all by yourself?” I asked.

“I did. I had to. My parents aren’t really around and my brothers have their own mates and lives. It was worth it. Every second with him was worth it. But I came very close to losing my business in there, too. I could only stretch so thin.”

“He’s beautiful, Andreas.” I looked at Reed who was having the time of his life, oblivious to the fact that we were having a life-impacting conversation right next to him.

“I hope you’re okay with the fact that I have a child with another omega.”

I nodded and smiled. Andreas scooted closer and wrapped his arm around my shoulders despite the heat. “It kind of makes me like you more. And I didn’t tell you before, but I love children. I told you I was a nurse, but I’m a NICU nurse, Andreas.”

“You are?” He lit up. “Do you…no, she might not even work there anymore.”

“Peaches,” I said the name. “Let me guess. Your nurse was Peaches.”

“How did you know?” he asked. “Wait, you weren’t there, were you? I don’t think I could’ve seen you and not stopped in my tracks.”

I shook my head. “No. I was in a human hospital before. I only moved to this one a year or so ago. We missed each other.”

“But you know Peaches. She was the one who stood out.”

I laughed. “Peaches is incredible. I defer to her on all my hard cases and calls. She’s brilliant. I talked to her about you, in fact.”

Andreas made a noise, something between a growl and a hum. “Is that right? What did you tell her about me?”

I watched Reed play, noticing how he had some of Andreas’ traits, including those gorgeous green eyes. He even scrunched his nose like his father. “I told her I was sad when you didn’t text me the next day. That you blew me off.”

“I didn’t mean to, Julian. I didn’t. I really do have early mornings with Reed, and I needed time to think. My wolf went wild the moment I saw you in the club. It wasn’t about you, I swear it. You were perfect that night and I wanted nothing more than to come in and prove it to you, but I wanted to be sure.”

“Okay.” I clapped my hands. My heart was light again. My mate was next to me. His son was here. We were at the beach on a beautiful day. What more could an omega ask for? Not a lot, as far as I was concerned. “How about we bring this little one into the ocean?”

“Are you sure?” Andreas asked but got up.

“Of course. It’s a perfect day.”

He scooped up Reed, who giggled and tucked his head into his daddy’s chest. “I meant about me. About us.”

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