Page 64 of Talk About… Secrets
Drew looked at me. “You already know my family. They’re definitely the big and loud type, but they moved away around the same time I did. Mom thought I was crazy when I didn’t go back for you. I guess she was right. Maybe it’s time to give her a call.”
“I always did like her,” I grinned, giving him a wink. “Does she still make that incredible blueberry crumble?”
“You know my mom never stopped cooking,” Drew laughed before turning to the others. “Just wait till Thanksgiving. That woman can knock you out for days with the amount of food she’ll make.”
“Sounds amazing,” Beckett said with a chuckle. “My dad was always very career-oriented. He was a lawyer and my mom died when I was young. I think he married his job instead, and that’s the only reason he survived. It just didn’t leave time to be a father.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said, feeling a twinge of sadness in the bond and sending back my own brand of love to counteract it.
“It was hard. Mom and I were close. She was this ball of sunshine, his complete opposite in every way,” he admitted with a wistful smile. “She always smelled like wildflowers, partly because she spent all day outside. Her only frustration was my dad’s job. It was always pulling him away. But that just meant it was me and her a lot. No siblings. I was an only child. Maybe that was why I dove into pack life so easily. I was craving that sibling-like connection.”
“I’m so sorry, Beck. That’s devastating,” Drew said, frowning now.
“It was,” he admitted, “but I guess I’m like my dad in the way that I persevere. I met these guys in college, and we stuck together. Realized we were a pack. I guess we just didn’t realize we weren’t acompletepack.”
“It really did come together easier than I thought. Back at that resort I was more than a little nervous,” Cade said, giving Beck a pointed look. The alpha simply ignored him.
“My parents were a little Alpha-obsessed,” Spencer admitted, taking over the conversation. “My brother was their golden child in just about every way. He was outgoing and charming, designated as alpha, and found himself a pretty, little omega to settle down with. I was the opposite. Threw myself head firstinto my education and learning. I was too quiet, too standoffish. They didn’t really know how to connect with me. They tried in their own ways. They just couldn’t figure me out.”
“That’s their loss,” I said stubbornly. “I learned a long time ago that family is what you make it. I found my family here in Rockwood Valley with the Whitakers, with all my best friends and their packs. Hopefully, you guys can find that same kind of peace here.”
“We only got to see a little bit of it last night, but it seems like a perfect town. Adorable, even,” Cade said. “Change might be good for us. We were lost in our work and the city. Here it feels like it’s safe to just… be.”
“That’s how I always felt. There’s so much more character than you think,” I said, warming up just at the thought of sharing this piece of my life with them. “There are all these cute, little stores, but they have just about everything you could want. Cade, you’ll have to check out the art store, it’s incredible. They just moved into a new shop so they could expand, and they have a huge selection. Plus, there’s this amazing art and pottery studio that we do for wine and craft nights at. It’s so much fun, although I guess I won’t be drinking much wine now.”
I glanced down, rubbing my stomach that hadn’t changed much.
“I can’t wait to see your stomach swell with our baby,” Beck said, his voice a low growl as he came over, placing his hands on my flat stomach and pressing himself into my back. I could feel him grow harder at just the thought, and that was wild to me.
“You mean when I’m waddling around here?” I joked.
The alpha let out a low growl in my ear. “That better not be you talking bad about my omega.”
“It’s not. I’m just stating facts,” I argued stubbornly. “At some point in pregnancy, you definitely start to waddle. I’ve seen it a few times firsthand.”
“And you’ll still be just as sexy to us,” Cade promised. He knelt down, and even though this baby was barely even starting to form, he pressed a soft kiss to my stomach. “You tell that mama of yours that she’s going to be beautiful. Just wait till you see her. I hope you have her same green eyes.”
“Or her daddy’s dark brown,” Beck said, puffing up a little like he was for sure the father.
For a moment, I worried as I looked over at Drew. I was afraid he’d be upset, but I should have known better. My sweet alpha looked just as happy as they were. We all knew he couldn’t possibly be the father, we hadn’t reconnected at that point, but that didn’t seem to bother him in the least.
“Well, he won’t have these dashing good looks of mine,” Drew tacked on with a chuckle, “but I bet I could still teach him to play a little football.”
Just hearing them planning this future like we weren’t strangers mere weeks ago, was everything I didn’t think I’d find.
I’d gone on so many dates that I couldn’t remember half of them, and almost all of the ones I did remember were terrible. Most packs trying to find their omega presented their lives like it was some kind of collection of trophies. It was full of ego and arrogance and talking a lot about themselves.
They focused only on what they could provide or show, not who the woman or man was they were trying to tie themselves to.
That probably worked for a lot of omegas, but for me, I wanted the connection, the intimacy, the trust.
Somehow, I found that already.
Beck’s phone went off. He looked down at it, then back up at me, and I saw a flash of guilt there, which caused the conversation to fall away.
“There’s just one more thing we have to talk about,” he admitted.
“May as well rip off the Band-Aid. I can handle it,” I urged him. I’d rather have everything laid out so we could move past it.
