Page 70 of Match My Fall
“Thanks, man,”Valenreplied. “Thatwould be great.”
“Anda double date sounds fun to me,”Iadded. “Aslong as it’s not too late.”
“We’llmake it an early night,” she said.
Eventually, the exhaustion of pregnancy wore on me, andIleaned my head on his shoulder.
“Timeto get you home so you can rest,” he declared.
Istifled a yawn. “Sorry, everyone.”
Afterwe said our goodbyes, we held hands and walked out of the club.
“Youtake such good care of me,”Itold him.
“Iwant to, if you’ll let me,” he said with sincerity.
Whenwas the last timeIhad someone taking care of me?I’dbeen the caretaker on my own for so long.Butnow,IhadValenas my partner and mate, andIcouldn’t be happier about our future.
“Ilove you,Valen.”
“Ilove you too.”Thenhe bent down and kissed me.
Whenhe pulled away, he scooped me up into his arms and carried me toward the car.
Ilaughed. “Whatare you doing?”
“Takingcare of you, just likeIsaid,” he declared. “You’retired soI’mcarrying you.”
Ithought about insistingIcould walk but clamped my mouth shut.Thisfelt nice.Icould get used to being pampered.
VALEN
“ThisisAWESOME!”Paigedeclared as she entered my cabin onFranconiaMountain.Shecircled around and ran to the picture window looking out to the pine-dominated forest covered with snow. “Ican’t believe you live here on a mountain.”
Ichuckled. “Nottechnically.Ilive with you and your mom inSalem, but we’ll still have this.Wecan come up on weekends, school breaks, and in the summer.Itmight be a tight squeeze with our growing family.”
“We’llmanage,”Cassandrasaid with a smile.
“Actually,Iwas thinkingI’dbuild onto it.Wecould create another bedroom, soPaigecan have one and the baby another.”
“I’dhave my own room here?”Paigegaped with awe.
“Yes.Andyou already do this weekend.”Ishowed her to the second bedroom, whichI’drarely used.ThenItold her more about living here in the mountains. “Inthe mornings,I’dski that path over to the trails.”
“Nice.”Sheturned to me. “Ilove it here already.”
AndIloved her.Thissweet girl had quickly worked a way into my heart.Iloved showing her around the mountain.Shewas so enthusiastic about discovering new things.Wewere here for the week during the school break, andIwas looking forward to introducingCassandraandPaigeto the rest of my pack during our visit.
WhilePaigeexplored her new room,Ireturned to the main area.Cassandraglanced around with whatIinterpreted as a nostalgic smile.Wasshe remembering the first time she visited here?Istepped up behind her and carefully wrapped my arms around her waist from behind.
“Welcomeback, babe.”Iplaced a hand on the slight swell of her stomach. “Andbaby.”
Inever thoughtI’dshare this cabin with a mate.NowIdidn’t just have that but a family, andI’dnever been so happy.
Cassandraleaned back against me. “It’sgood to be back here with you.”
Inuzzled against her neck and inhaled her scent. “Home.”
