Bearly Beloved (Love Sync Mates Season Two)

Chapter Fourteen

Spencer

“I don’t want to fly home tomorrow.” I laid in Liam’s arms on the couch, the credits for the latest zombie apocalypse trilogy rolling on the TV screen. I felt too comfortable here in his house and dreaded leaving the following morning. Plus, the thought of leaving my fated mate and flying during my first trimester made my stomach twist with panic.

“Then don’t. Stay here.” Liam tilted my chin to the side and up with his pointer finger, so that my eyes were on his. “I don’t want you to ever leave.”

“But I have to go back to work.” My boss was already blowing up my phone with threats of finding my replacement. He didn’t care that a weather incident caused my delay, and he was the one who had made me stay behind originally. He thought good employees would defy nature’s rules to get to their job. No one mentioned how he called in sick for a hangnail last year.

“Do you really need to return to that job? I get the feeling you hate it.” Liam tilted his head. “You can find something out here to do. You can ask if you can be transferred if that’s an option at your current company if you don’t want to start over completely in a new place. You can stay home for a bit and take care of yourself and our cub. If you have dreams of starting your own business, this is the perfect time to consider it as an option.”

“I guess I could. But I do have bills to pay. Like rent for an apartment I still have for ten months.”

“Give me your landlord’s information and I’ll pay up the rest of your lease. We can go down there after the baby and pack up the big things. Isaac can go down there now and grab you the little things you need.” Liam sat up and repositioned us so we were face-to-face. “I don’t want you to go. I know you were planning to come back, and I was going to go and see you but—I want you here in our home every night.”

“That’s what I want, too.” The thought of staying here filled me with a bit of calm I hadn’t had all night. A weight lifted off my chest just thinking of calling my boss and telling him to take his threats and shove them.

“Then that’s the plan? You are staying here with me?”

“I am—”

Liam met my mouth in a desperate kiss that took my breath away, and the rest of the night was spent with him showing me exactly why I made the right decision by staying.

Liam

“How did it go when you called your boss to quit?” I handed Spencer a cup of ginger tea with honey. Pregnancy queasiness hit him hard that morning and I was grateful Nicola had left some of her teas in my pantry for when she visited. I’d stock up later this afternoon so we would never run out.

“Eh.” Spencer sat down, sighing. “He was pissed, but honestly what could he do? I told him that I could work remotely for the next three weeks to train any replacement they hire but that I would not be coming back into the office and that my end date was firm. They even offered me a very generous salary increase if I stayed on and committed to five more years to them.”

“Were you tempted?” I handed him a plate of toast with peanut butter. “Not even a little bit.” Spencer bit into the toast and moaned. “This tastes good. Thanks.”

“My sister mentioned quite a few times over the years little tricks that helped her.”

“Am I going to meet this sister of yours? She lives nearby, right?”

“She does and you will.” I bit into my own toast and chewed. The blend of peanut butter and honey was a pleasant treat. “I figure we should go over there in the next day or two. The roads are being cleared so she will want us to stop by.”

“Why not go today?”

“Would it sound bad if I say I just really want a little more time alone with you before having to go deal with my family? I love them, don’t get me wrong. We probably will be over there a couple of times a week, just so you’re prepared for that. But you just decided to stay with me. I want to wrap myself around you for a bit and shut out the rest of the world for just a little longer.”

Spencer ducked his head bashfully, an adorable blush painting his cheeks. “That makes sense. We can hide for another day. But tomorrow, you are taking me to go see your sister.”

“Deal. Now eat up.” I leaned over the table and pecked his lips. “We have a show to finish binging and couch cuddles to get to.”