Dance Around - Susi Hawke Page 0,29

at the cushions, his huge, adorable cotton puff of a tail was the lone familiar part about him.

I was frozen in place, trying to make sense of both what I was seeing and Gil’s undeniable pregnancy. I'm not sure how long I would've stood there, but I snapped out of it when my mom shoved me toward the stairs. "Honey, worry about the details later. As absurd and impossible as it seems, I think your mate is trying to make a nest. He’s not only pregnant but ready to deliver, unless I miss my guess."

Gil stopped what he was doing, his head snapping in my direction as those red eyes stared daggers through me. Crinkling his nose, his large buck teeth flashed as he chattered indignantly as if telling me off. Or ordering me to move my ass and help him. It was hard to tell for sure, but even I wasn’t dense enough to miss I was in trouble either way.

I'd been so focused on Gil I hadn't noticed the large crowd of people in the room. And nearly every last one of them was named Blythe. They finally got my attention because Edgar shoved his way through a few guys and came over to talk to me. I motioned helplessly toward Gil. "He's pregnant, right? I'm not wrong? My mom says he's building a nest. Do bunnies build nests?"

Edgar shook his head impatiently. "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle said it best. Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."

What? I blinked a few times, then motioned toward Gil again. "This isn't the time to talk in riddles, man. Or make Sherlock Holmes quotes or whatever. Are you saying Gil really is pregnant?"

Slapping a hand against his face, Edgar sighed as he slowly lowered it. "You had sex with my brother, remember? About a month ago? It was heat sex, and since we're all adults here, I'll go out on a limb and assume you knotted him, yes?"

I nodded dumbly. "Yeah… but it's barely been a month. What happened? Did he drink a bottle of Miracle-Gro or something?"

Somehow, I managed to startle a laugh out of Edgar. After he recovered, he rolled his eyes at me. "How much do you know about rabbits and the length of gestation? Think, Dan. Our shifter side always tends to mirror the real-world biology of our animal."

Mom smacked me on the arm. "Where do you suppose the phrase ‘breed like rabbits’ comes from, sweetheart? It only takes a month, and they usually give birth to litters."

My heart was pounding so fast I had to put a hand on my chest and hold onto my mother as a wave of dizziness passed over me. "So he's… and with my…?" I couldn't seem to finish a sentence, but it didn't matter because Gil bobbed his head so fast his long ears slapped his big belly, then swung in a wide arc to smack him on the back.

And I didn’t need any more confirmation.

Shoving Edgar aside, I snatched Gil off the couch and hugged him to my chest, spinning in a circle while he chittered in my ear. He nipped my shoulder, and I realized he meant business and set him back on the couch.

Gil preened as I stroked a reverent hand over his belly. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you this past month. I would've been, if I'd known. I'll always be there from now on. Just try and stop me, Blondie. Holy shit, we're having a baby! And you wanted my clothes. And stuff with my scent. Let's go. Wait, forget it. You stay. I'll go. Be right back."

His chittering sounded like laughter, the noise following me as I raced up the stairs. I didn't mind. He could mock me as much as he wanted; I kinda deserved it after my performance.

Asking if an obviously pregnant man was really pregnant. Honestly, what the fuck was my issue?

8

Gil

Although he took way too long to understand the situation, I could hardly fault the man when I’d never told him I was pregnant. I’d meant to. Every single day. But… in the end, I’d never found the nerve. Especially as I’d grown comically bigger by the minute. His immediate response, once he’d made sense of everything, was to promise to always be there, which made me feel like an asshole for not telling him from the start. After twenty-three years and everything we’d been through, I was glad to finally