A Mate for Lu - Amy Bellows Page 0,47
between us.
I fall asleep holding my mate and our unborn baby in my arms.
31
Lu
The next morning when I wake, the weight of Sam’s arm is still solid across my chest.
“Do you need to go?” I ask, before I can stop myself.
He kisses my forehead. “No. Unless you don’t want Mary to find me in your bed before you can explain things to her.”
She’s two. She probably won’t understand the reality of my relationship with Sam until we move to his house. And it isn’t as if she’s never met Sam. She knows him.
“You don’t need to leave. But we should probably put on clothes at some point.” We took them off in the middle of the night. Sleeping in jeans isn’t very comfortable.
“Alright. Stay there.” He climbs out of bed and puts on his underwear and pants. Then he goes hunting in my closet for my clothes. I smile when he opens the top drawer where all of Ansel’s gifts are.
“Wow. I… wow.”
I laugh. “Pick out something for me to wear. Something you like.”
He spends a ridiculous amount of time pulling out each bit of lace and holding it up in my direction, as if picturing what I’d look like in it. I’ve never seen this playful side of him before.
I hear a pitter patter of little feet outside the door, then a tap, tap, tap.
Sam tosses me a pair of sweatpants with some white underwear that has a satin front and lacy back. I hurry and yank them on before the knob of the bedroom door turns, and Mary walks inside the room.
Her eyes widen when she sees Sam. “No shit.”
Sam covers his mouth with his hand to hide his smile.
“She means no shirt. It’s shir-r-r-rt. Ir. Can you say it with me?”
She ignores me and holds her arms up to Sam.
He bends over to pick her up. “Good morning. How are you?”
“Pancake.”
He laughs. “Is that what you want for breakfast?”
She nods emphatically.
“Does your dad want that for breakfast too?”
“Sure.” I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep anything down. But a pancake seems like a better bet than cereal.
Mary points to Sam. “No shit.”
Oh God. How embarrassing. “Shir-r-r-rt.”
“Tell you what, how about I put on a shirt? Then we don’t have to worry about it.” He sets Mary down on the ground, and grabs his T-shirt.
“Hey, Mary. Can I have a hug?” I ask.
She runs over to the bed and holds up her chubby little arms. I lift her into bed with me and hug her close.
“Sam stay? Like Akie.”
Sam looks to me for guidance, which is fair. He has no idea what “Akie” means.
“My brother, Axel, stays over sometimes.”
Sam pulls his shirt down over his belly and sits at the edge of the bed. “It’s a little different from Axel. If it’s alright with you, I’d like to be your new daddy. Would that be okay?”
She stares up at him. I don’t think she really knows what that means. “Stawbewies?”
That’s what Cy brings her every Monday night when he babysits her.
“Do you like strawberries?” Sam asks.
She nods. “Sam has stawbewies?”
“No, I don’t. I’m sorry. But I could make you a pancake.”
She claps and slides off the bed, jumping excitedly when she gets to the floor. She holds out her hand to Sam, waiting for him. “Sam pancake daddy?”
He chuckles and stands, leaning over to hold her small hand. “Sure. I’ll be your pancake daddy if you like.”
They walk out the door together.
That was a lot less eventful than I thought it would be. She’s so young, she probably won’t remember a time when her alpha father wasn’t here. Sam will take that place in her life.
If only things could be so simple for Sam’s kids. I don’t know how they’ll react to me being their stepdad. I won’t ever be their omega father. They already have one, and I’ll never be able to replace him. I don’t even want to try.
I just hope they can find a place for me in their hearts.
32
Sam
I park outside my fathers’ home at just after ten o’clock. I had a slow breakfast with Lu and Mary, then we sat down and talked about how we were going to break the news to our families.
Lu squeezes my hand. We agreed to tell my family first. Mostly because we need to pick up my kids from my fathers’ house anyway, but also because Lu’s brother might fly into an uncontrollable rage. Starting with nonviolent family members feels a lot safer.
I’m still nervous