difficult subject with William.
“I’ve been thinking about what the agency offered us.”
“The money? Why?”
“Not the money. The, um, the therapy.”
William frowned. “Well, I kind of assumed that was for helping us separate, not for if we made it work together.”
Harper grumbled inwardly. The alpha wasn’t taking the bait, so he’d have to be his normal blunt self.
“I was thinking less about that and more about you and what Dante and Samuel did to you. You said it yourself, you boxed it up and moved on. Beckett said that when I told you I was pregnant, it was as if the wound had opened up again, as fresh as the day you learned the truth.”
William’s hands tightened on the steering wheel, but his voice was even.
“What are you saying?”
“That we should get some counseling. Alone, and maybe as a couple too. I want this to work. I want to give it the best chance possible to work. I know I have issues—my self-esteem is hanging by a thread at the best of times. And you’re carrying a lot of hurt and anger. Anyone would be, in your shoes. Our baby deserves the best of us. Could it hurt to talk to someone and see if we can’t work on ourselves, for them and for us?”
William was silent for so long that Harper was mentally deciding to walk back his request. Maybe it had been too soon to bring it up, maybe it was the wrong approach, maybe—
“You’re right. When I think about what happened back then, I’m so afraid of my emotions. Afraid to let them out, scared of what I might do. That’s no way to live. Not with a baby and many stressful, sleepless nights ahead. I’ll start looking for someone right away.”
Harper let out a breath. He hadn’t expected it to be that easy.
“You’d probably be more comfortable with an alpha, right?”
“I think so,” William agreed. “And therapists for alpha-omega couples are usually betas, right?”
“Right.” There was good reason for that, since alphas and omegas struggled not to identify more strongly with their own likeness.
“And you?”
“Beta or omega,” Harper reasoned, “given I have some hang-ups about alphas knocking around in my head somewhere.”
“Then we’ll each choose our own person to see and work together to find a beta to see us both.”
Harper laughed softly, leaning his head against the window. “I thought this would be harder.”
“My first instinct was to get defensive,” William conceded. “But we’ve come too far for me to be pigheaded and stubborn now.”
“Wouldn’t stop some alphas.”
William glanced over at him, smiling broadly.
“Well, I’m not ‘some alphas,’ am I? I’m your alpha.”
Harper smiled back at him, letting his hand drift down to rest against his stomach. “Mine,” he agreed softly.
Chapter Thirty-Two
When William had a few minutes of quiet in between client meetings or on a busy day, he liked to take out the ultrasound photo he’d stashed in his wallet. He did a lot of wondering—what would their kid look like? Who would they take after? Would they have Harper’s eyes or his nose? The solace he got from that little grainy picture could not be understated, the edges already worn from his fingers gripping it.
His phone rang, interrupting his daydreaming.
“Hey, Harper.”
“Hi. Um, you’re still free this evening, right?”
They’d been planning to join Zac and Beckett for dinner.
“Of course. We have plans.”
“Well, they’ve changed. Sort of.”
“Okay…”
He could tell Harper was flustered and waited patiently for an explanation.
“Zac ran into my dad at the garden center this morning. He might have invited my parents to join us for dinner.”
William swallowed hard. “Oh. Okay. They know, right? You told them last week?”
“Yeah, they know. And I had promised to introduce you. I just wasn’t expecting it to be so soon.”
Harper sounded nervous, which wasn’t common for the omega, who was usually pretty unflappable.
“Should I be worried?”
He’d learned bits and pieces about Harper’s parents, but not enough to paint a full picture of the couple. Like him and Harper, they were alpha and omega. And Harper was an only child, something of a surprise for the couple who’d thought they couldn’t have kids.
“Worried?” Harper’s laugh was strained. “Why should you be worried? They’re my parents. It’s not like they’ll eat you alive or anything.”
“Of course.” Inwardly, William was more concerned than he was letting on. If Harper was who he was, surely it was because of his parents? He was a little hesitant about what a power couple like that might look like.
“Besides, we’ll have Zac and Beckett