Page 60 of Briggs
Dr. King stopped me. “Don’t worry. I know that Banner was going to walk home with him. But when I walked out of the clinic, I did see them walking this way. Is this supposed to be done before he gets here?”
I tried to lean out the door to see if I could get a glimpse of Todd, but even with where our house was located, I couldn’t see the entryway to the neighborhood.
“He was supposed to wait for me.”
“Yes, you’ve said that. Now, about the nursery. Did you wish for help?”
I nodded. “Yes, please.” I stepped back. “Come in.” Dr. King followed me up the stairs and into the nursery, where John was unpacking what looked like yards and yards of ivy.
“I see that purple won.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Todd had two pictures at work. One of a purple nursery, the other of a pink one.”
John snorted, and I laughed. “Todd said the pink one would end up looking like cotton candy, and he didn’t want that.”
“Do you have an inspiration pic?” Dr. King asked.
“We have several,” I told him. I took the tablet from John when he held it out. Dr. King swiped through the pictures, and I heard John make a noise but didn’t know why until I looked up and away from the tablet. I was surrounded by the perfectly purple-and-green-ivy nursery. It was gorgeous and just like the inspiration pictures that Todd had saved in his inspiration board that he’d put together.
“Oh, wow,” John said.
I smiled at Dr. King. “I cannot thank you enough.”
Dr. King shrugged. “It’s not the first time I’ve helped decorate places. Oh, and your cribs are now level. Both of them were off by a hole in the back.”
John groaned. “I knew they looked wonky.”
Dr. King and I both chuckled.
“Briggs?” Todd called out from downstairs.
“Be right back,” I told the others before rushing out of the nursery and down to my mate. When I saw him, he lookedexhausted. Immediately, my protective instincts kicked in, and I knew it was probably time to start suggesting some limits for him and the things he was doing.
For whatever reason, I thought back to before I’d had a mate and Dimitri was talking about Caspian being pregnant with their baby and how, despite being mated, that didn’t mean it was sex all the time. Just looking at Todd, the last thing on my mind at the moment was getting him naked. Sure, I’d be more than willing, but I knew that wasn’t what he needed at the moment and, most likely, not what he wanted.
“There you are. How was work? You got off early, I was told.”
“Did you stop by the council? Why didn’t you just reach out through our bond?”
“Because I didn’t want to bother you if you were at work.”
I gave him a look that he absolutely could understand. “You should have reached out after you found out I was already at home.” I looked behind him at the closed door. “Is Banner gone?”
“How did you know I was with Banner?”
“Dr. King told me.” I took Todd’s hands. “I needed his help,” I said. I started walking, but when we reached the stairs, I traded places and moved to behind my mate. “Do you need me to carry you?”
Todd glared. “I’m pregnant, and I’m as big as a whale, but I can still climb the stairs.”
I bit my lip to keep from saying anything. Todd wasn’t as big as a whale, but he definitely looked uncomfortable. And he certainly waddled when he walked. Instead, I just held his waist as he slowly made his way up the stairs. When we finally reached the top, I could feel Todd’s exhaustion through our bond. I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and led him down the hallway.
He seemed surprised that the nursery door was open, but I knew the exact moment he saw everything. Todd stepped into the room and gasped. “Nooo…” he whispered. He looked over at me, and immediately, I could see he was fighting tears. “You did this?”
“Yes and no,” I said. “I bought everything from your inspiration board, but I needed a bit of magical help to hang things.” I gestured to our right. “And to put in the little playroom tower thing.”
Todd looked around, the tears now falling from his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said, swiping at his eyes. “I love it.” He looked up at Dr. King. “Thank you for helping. For everything.”
