Worth It - Lisa Oliver Page 0,66
kin, although I’d prefer that they didn’t know that. But as for you and me, we need to buy a house, and we do have a young one who’ll be making their presence known soon enough. Are you still feeling okay?”
Paulie nodded. With all that had been going on, it was easy to forget he was carrying new life. “No feeling sick, faint, or having swollen ankles just yet. My mom was the same. She’d just develop a bump and a few months later she’d do a lot of yelling.”
“Hmm, that’s a good point.” Zeus frowned. “With your tiger genetics, our little one might come a bit sooner than Hades or Poseidon’s rug rats.” Pushing back his chair he stood up, holding out his hand. “Come on, we’re heading to Scotland.”
“Do I need a coat?” Paulie got up too. “You want to buy our house in Scotland? I heard it was super cold there. Do the locals even speak English?”
“You never have to worry about understanding a foreign language.” Zeus chuckled. “One of the perks of being a demigod. But no, I doubt we will buy a house there unless you really like the place even though the warm-hearted locals definitely speak their own version of English. But it can get damned cold there and I’m not a fan of shivering. I do want to introduce you to Owen and his mate Baby, though. I think Owen might know who your father is. He’s a bit like you, although he’s a polar bear shifter.”
“My father?” Paulie reached for the edge of the table as his head swum. “Why are we looking for someone who didn’t want me?”
“Owen’s the big wig among the various Native American gods. Oh, shit. Your face has gone white.” Zeus hurried round and the moment his arm went around Paulie’s waist, Paulie felt better. Letting go of the table, he nuzzled against Zeus’s bare chest, inhaling deeply.
“I probably shouldn’t have sprung it on you, but we need to know who your father is before the baby’s born, sweetness,” Zeus said quietly, his breath fanning Paulie’s hair. “Whoever it is, as a god, he will feel it when the young is born. We need to… I need to know who we’re facing before that happens.”
“I get it, I do.” Paulie knew how time-consuming little ones were. “But it’s not like my father came running when I was born and yet if he’d feel his grandchild, he must have felt it when I came along. How did you come up with the idea he’s Native American anyway?”
“Your claiming words to the Fates, honeybuns.” Zeus’s big hand felt like heaven down Paulie’s back. “One of the proudest moments of my life, I might add. I doubt you even knew what you were saying, but you called out in Owen’s name. That’s a pretty big clue, wouldn’t you think?”
“You think this Owen is my father?” Paulie pressed closer. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the man who abandoned him from birth. Cuddling Zeus was a far more preferable option.
“No. Owen didn’t have any children until Baby popped out triplets. But when he meets you, he will know who your father is just by looking at you.”
“I look more Mediterranean than Native American, surely.”
“If you mean cute with tight buns, then yes, although I’ve met some cute Native Americans with tight buns too, so, that’s not really a good indicator. No, Owen is blind…”
“Hang on a minute.” Paulie raised his head, looking at his mate. “Look, I’ve put up with some freaky shit in this last year, and I’ll admit, I’m not that clued up on a lot of things, but even I know blind people can’t see.”
“Owen doesn’t see like you and I do.” Zeus smiled and ran his finger along Paulie’s jaw. “But he will see you, and when you meet him, you’ll understand. He can ‘see’ just fine, just not like you and I do.”
“My life just gets freakier and freakier,” Paulie mumbled, kissing Zeus’s finger as it brushed over his lips. “Let’s do this then. I don’t want to alarm you at all, but my mom used to give birth about a hundred and ten days after conception, so if I take after her, then we don’t have much time if we’re finding and buying a house too.”
“A hundred and ten days?” Zeus’s eyes widened. “Shit. And then we spent a week of that time apart, and… Double shit. Let’s go.”
Paulie sighed as his molecules dispersed.