Page 7 of Changing Rules

Only then does he jump off the couch and pad to the hallway. He stops in his tracks once he sees Audrey.

“Hey, boy! Didn’t you miss me?” she murmurs sweetly, tilting her head to the side. Milo hesitates, and Audrey’s face clouds. “Another change,” she mutters, her eyes narrowing.

“The dog is totally smitten with Bella.” Xander walks around his sister, meeting my eye. His lips stretch into that boyish grin I love so much. “As long as he has her, he’s happy. Hell, he doesn’t even need me anymore.”

“I see.” Audrey purses her lips.

“Hey, Xander.” Meg’s voice cuts through the tension.

“Hey.” He gives her a friendly smile, then casts a quick look at his sister. “Audrey, this is Meghan, Bella’s best friend. Meghan, this is Audrey, my sister.”

“We’ve met,” Meg says sweetly, hands stuck in her back pockets. “At the Warriors game.”

“Yeah, I remember you.” Audrey assesses Meg. Her expression isn’t exactly cold, but it’s not warm either. Then she turns to her brother. “How much time do you need?”

My chest gets tight as I look from her to Xander and back again. Do they have plans I don’t know about?

“Fifteen minutes, tops.” He strolls toward me, his gait easy, comfortable. “I need to change my clothes and have a moment alone with my girl.”

He holds out a hand to me, and I take it without hesitation. The warmth of his body makes my muscles relax. The love, happiness, and joy I always feel around him rush back through me.

He never fails to notice even the slightest change in my mood. At first, it was disorienting. I’ve never been with someone who’s so attentive to my needs, so attentive to me overall. For most of my life, I felt like a burden, so it was hard to accept his nurturing and respect.

“How was the gym?” I ask the moment we step into our bedroom.

“It was fine.” He shuts the door, then twirls me around and makes me look at him. “Happy birthday, Bella.”

“Thank you, but you’ve already said that to me at least a dozen times,” I murmur, drinking him in. He’s so handsome. He recently got a haircut, so his hair is a little shorter than I’m used to but still a bit messy on top. I’m pretty sure he’d cut it even shorter if not for me. He loves when I run my fingers through his hair and scratch his scalp.

“Audrey kinda messed with my plans. She showed up at the gym.” He cups my cheek and ducks so he’s eye level with me. “I’ll fix it. I promise.”

I shrug. “You don’t need to do anything else for me. The flowers and the special edition ofHowl’s Moving Castlewere more than enough.”

“But I want to do more.” He caresses my cheek and briefly presses his lips to mine. “You taste like alcohol.”

“Meg and I had a girl’s afternoon.” I beam at him. “We ate pizza, drank wine, and watched our favorite movies.”

“No gossiping?” He taps my nose and takes a step back.

“Maybe a little.”

He takes off his T-shirt, steps into the closet, and comes out with a fresh one.

“Where are you going?”

“Audrey has an appointment with an interior designer to talk about decorating the nursery. Ryan has a late meeting, so she asked me to go with her. To keep her company.”

Seriously? She’s a grown woman. She couldn’t go on her own? Or ask one of their parents to go with her? My unease grows. I have a feeling this has less to do with needing company and more to do with proving that she’ll always be Xander’s first choice.

“She says it’ll only take an hour. I’ll be home as soon as possible…with my other gift.”

“Okay.” I fake a smile and head to the door, needing to find Meg. With each passing second, my despair grows.

“Bella.” He catches my arm as I pass him. “I know it’s not how we planned to spend your birthday, but I’ll make it up to you. I just don’t want to give you my surprise in a rush. I want to see your face when you open it.”

“I’m really excited,” I say, failing to sound enthusiastic. “Whenever you have time to give it to me is great.”

He inches closer, holding my gaze. “Ugh, I hate this, but Audrey wouldn’t take no for an answer. This is the only time the designer had availability.”

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