Page 59 of Knotty New Year

“I might need some, in a minute.” I stared down at my mate.

“Just a small glass for you,” Paxson whispered, his gaze dropping to my abdomen.

“He still hasn’t asked her?” Rain muttered to Soleil. “Think he’s got performance anxiety?”

“I’ve heard old men get that a lot. But there’s a pill.” Soleil pulled her phone out of her purse. “I don’t know what it’s called. I’ll look it up.”

Pax closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “It’s called Vialphren.”

“Oh, you already take it?” she said cheerfully, putting her phone away. “Well, that’s great! Maybe you just need a higher dosage.”

Rain groaned. “Don’t marry him, Candy. He already has to take pills to get it up; it’s all downhill from here.”

Pax’s face was going a little bit purple. I was biting my lip as hard as I could not to laugh. “No, I don’t take it. Imakeit. Our company… I don’t need a pill,” he finished while everyone laughed. “Can everyone shut up so I can propose?” He glared around the room, until they all went silent. “Candy Kane, will you do me the incredible honor of being not only my true mate, my future, and my reason to live, but also my bride? I want to spend every day with you, grow old with you—”

Someone muttered, “Too late.”

Pax just laughed. “Will you?”

“I always thought making choices was hard. But this one isn’t.” I took his hand in mine, smiling so hard my cheeks hurt. His fuzzy polar bear ears flopped to one side, and his deep brown eyes gleamed with humor and hope.

The door opened again, and I heard my mom and dad call out, “Are we late?”

I rushed to get my answer out. “I choose you, Nicholas Paxson. Yes, I’ll marry you. I’ll marry you dressed up like a polar bear, if I have to.”

“Oh, you’re marrying a furry?” Dad grumbled as Mom grabbed me in a hug.

Mom stifled a laugh as she looked around the room. “A whole family of them.”

Chapter26

Candy

Five Weeks Later

We didn’t get married in January. We were tying the knot at Paxson Lodge, with only my close friends and both of our families in attendance, on Valentine’s Day. Pax had invited his friend Storm Halder, but Storm had gotten so sick he’d ended up staying in the hospital for almost the entire month. His doctor wouldn’t clear him to travel.

We also weren’t getting married in furry outfits. I’d seen Lin folding two fuzzy adult-sized onesies into a special case that had a side pocket filled with small lube packets and what I thought might be anal beads, though, so there was the outside chance we’d be dressed in fur on the honeymoon.

Soleil and Rain thought Lin’s gift of a his-and-hers furry starter kit was weird, even though they both gave me equally inappropriate ones: a candy-cane striped double dildo, a set of nipple clamps with tiny peppermints hanging from them, and glow-in-the-dark grapefruit-flavored body paints.

But that was just the way omegas showed their love.

Or maybe that was sisters. I’d never had any, besides Rain and Soleil, who were the sisters of my heart. But I’d gained six grown ones in the past six weeks, and the first months of the new year had been a crash course in how to be part of a big family.

I loved having lots of siblings, and our family was going to keep growing. I rested a hand on the tiny bump that was almost totally hidden by my shapewear. We hadn’t made an announcement yet, though everyone who would be here today already knew. How could they not, when Pax had turned into the biggest worrywart ever, hovering so much I almost wished he would go back to work.

Almost.

Penny had returned home with us, and her sisters had stayed a few nights at Pax’s house—my house now, too—where we’d spent most of our evenings all together around the massive dining table, getting to know each other. I’d helped Penny with her homework, and she’d helped me learn how to use social media more effectively, although Pax almost lost it when he discovered she was a fairly influential influencer, even if all her videos were posted using custom filters, so her identity was safe so far. She hadn’t used any of the video she’d taken of the family, though.

“That’s just for us, Candy,” she’d confided one night when we were tying candy canes onto a wreath for some of the wedding decorations. “Mom and Dad didn’t do videos, and I grew up wishing I could hear their voices on more than their old answering machine messages. Life is uncertain, right? I want to make sure some of the most important moments are kept safe.”

Even with only five weeks to do it, Kati had organized every detail of the ceremony and reception perfectly, including making sure all our family members and closest friends were there, ordering a cake, and even dressing her brothers in the same tuxedos Tom Hiddleston had worn on my favorite Pinterest board.

Valentine had been the biggest surprise. She’d taken my mom’s old wedding dress—after I’d mustered the courage to tell her I didn’t want to get married in nine yards of yellow hand-crocheted lace from the 80’s—and asked for permission to make it into curtains and throw pillows for a baby nursery. Mom had been elated, and the two of them had spent hours sewing together.

Of course, that meant Kati had been free to find me the dress of my dreams.

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