2. Daisy
What on god”s green earth is wrong with me? I thought to myself as I stirred the bowl of batter while Taylor Swift blasted from my speakers. I had barrelled my way into the neighbor’s house and practically accosted him for those glorious spicy and cheesy noodles.
They had been amazing, and I had eaten them all, and more importantly, they hadn’t come back up. I couldn”t remember the last time I’d eaten a full meal and kept it down.
Though I’d seen and admired Jeremy from a distance, up close, he was stunning. Even through his shirt, his defined muscles had been obvious, and his skin was clear and bright. His brown hair, cut short, and scruff were highlighted by specks of red throughout. He looked like he should have been gracing a magazine cover. Or a billboard.
Then there was me. The pregnant, overtired and sweaty, food-pilfering neighbor. I must have looked like a state, barging into his home, mind completely focused on food. He had been so sweet, even giving me extra to eat the next day—though I doubted the noodles would last until then. I had every intention of eating them as a midnight snack.
Once I had sat down, and remained down for a while because I was now the size of a small house with no real center of gravity, I knew I had to do something to thank him. Mrs. Jenna had given me her recipe for those cookies when I had moved in, and now, the least I could do was make Jeremy a batch...even if the smell of eggs made me want to hurl. I refused to be sick, not when those delicious rice cakes were making my stomach so happy. I would grab a clothespin and close my nose if I had to.
It was late, and he had mentioned that he worked in construction. I didn’t know much about that sort of job, but I guessed he would have to wake up early. Since I didn’t want to disturb him after he had been so nice to me, I resolved to make a small mountain of cookies for him and deliver them tomorrow evening, during a more respectable hour. I had all the ingredients on hand and had planned to make them when I had some energy, but this seemed like a much better reason to make them.
It took until midnight, but once the cookies were all piled into the largest Tupperware I owned, I stumbled to bed, wrapping myself in the thin duvet and groaning. The dull ache in my lower back was terrible. I thought for a moment about how nice it would be to have a partner, an alpha, who could rub my back and look after me. It was just me and my sweet little parasite. Cole didn’t give two shits about me and had split the moment he learned I was pregnant. He had stuck to my side before that, insisting he be there for every one of my heats. I’d been young and naive, impressed by his fancy car and obvious wealth. I’d let myself get played.
Yet, whenever he texted, my heart skipped a beat. I was like an abused puppy who didn’t know what was good for them. I should have seen the signs when he refused to introduce me to any of his friends, when he didn’t want me around his family. I thought simply being an omega would be enough for him, but apparently, I wasn’t an omega of good breeding, so I was useless to him for anything other than quick heat fun.
Wrapping the thin duvet around me, I resisted the urge to cry. I wanted a nest, a real one, like I saw on TV, with enough pillows and blankets to suffocate yourself in. My meager savings were just enough to afford this apartment, which I had gotten for a steal. Jeremy’s was far nicer, and a lot more modern. Mine had fixtures from the sixties and was in a sad state of disrepair.
After an abysmal night of sleep that consisted of a lot of tossing and turning, I crawled out of bed around midday and settled myself at my laptop to get some work done. The computer was about five years older than it should have been and took an age to boot up. So, as I waited for it to come to life, I went to the kitchen and made myself a cup of ginger tea. The ginger was meant to help with the nausea, but it didn”t do much at all. Still, I drank several cups a day in the vain hope that it would alleviate some of the raging nausea.
Tea in hand, I settled on my lumpy old couch and started tackling my tasks for the day. I had been working as a virtual assistant for a few business owners—answering emails, organizing calendars, and such—and had been finding the work easy enough.
Letting myself get lost in the work, I tried my best to clear my never-ending to-do list and managed to clear the majority of it. In what felt like no time, the sun had set and it was past six. Putting my laptop down, I frowned. If only I could afford a more modern laptop, I would have gotten so much more work done, instead of waiting for the screen to load every time I clicked on something. That was a luxury I couldn’t afford—sadly.
Stretching, I climbed off the sofa, ignoring the pinch in my side as my little parasite moved, kicking me in the ribs. On my trip to the bathroom, I took the time to run my fingers through my hair, taking stock of myself in the mirror. I didn’t hate the way I looked. My hair could be a little wild, but I liked it. My mother had insisted on straightening my hair constantly, and I’d despised it, so when I had moved out, I stopped straightening my hair and let my curls do whatever the heck they wanted.
With a final look in the mirror, I accepted that I couldn’t really do anything to improve my appearance. Pregnancy had made my face swell, and there was a constant flush on my face.
Why did I even care what my neighbor thought? He was stunningly handsome, and probably taken. Even if he was single, there was no way he would be interested in a pregnant omega who was going to be a single mother very soon. No. I was going to give him the treats I had baked as a thank you. I hadn’t been sick all day. Granted, all I had eaten was a bowl of oatmeal, but it had stayed down, which was a serious win, in my opinion.
Grabbing the box of cookies, I waddled over to the door. The ability to walk normally had long since left me.
I felt awkward as I knocked on his door—just a random pregnant lady who’d accosted him the night before to steal his dinner.
The door swung open, and Jeremy’s face lit up as he saw me. His sawdust and hay scent wafted out of the room. My mouth watered as it hit me. There was something innately comforting about it.
“Daisy! How are you? I’m just starting dinner if you want to come in?” He pushed the door open with a grin.
“I-I can’t impose again—” I started to say, but Jeremy cut me off.
“I’m making spicy Korean noodles topped with crunchy garlic sprinkles...” He trailed off with a smirk.
Before I opened my mouth, my stomach gurgled loudly, and I flushed with embarrassment as Jeremy beamed at me with a knowing smile.
“Come on, I made plenty.” He stepped to the side, ushering me into his apartment. I trailed after him, my stomach guiding me as I clutched the Tupperware to my chest.
“I, uh, here.” I thrust the cookies into his hand. “A thank you for yesterday,” I rushed to say.
Jeremy cocked his head as he took the container, stepping over to the kitchen island to open it. His face turned from confusion to glee in a split second. “Are these butter pecan?” he asked, turning to beam at me. “You got me cookies! Did you accost Mrs. Jenna for these?”
“She gave me the recipe in case I had any two a.m. cravings—well, she offered to make me cookies at two a.m., but there was no way in hell I was going to wake up a sweet old lady.” As I spoke, I waddled up to the kitchen island. “They’re probably nowhere near as good as Mrs. Jenna’s, but it’s the least I can do after you fed me. Those rice cakes were amazing!”
“Wait, you made me cookies?” His grin widened. “I thought you just convinced the nice old bat to make them for me. Thank you. Did you manage to keep the rice cakes down?”
I beamed. “I did! My stomach hasn’t felt that settled in months. I demolished all the leftovers before I went to sleep—they didn’t last until lunch.”
“I’m glad it helped. Hopefully, tonight’s dish will do the same. It has similar ingredients.” He snatched a cookie from the box and took a bite, moaning and closing his eyes.
The groan was like music to my ears, and my body couldn’t help but respond. My entire body tingled, and I was awfully aware of the slick gathering between my legs. Squeezing my thighs together, I prayed that my scent wasn’t too strong. “These are fucking amazing. Holy shit. These might be better than Mrs. Jenna’s! You’re fucking amazing!” he exclaimed, quickly demolishing the cookie in two more bites.
My chest warmed, and my heart rate increased at the praise. “Now, don’t let Mrs. Jenna hear you say that!” I scolded.
He snorted. “That lady is tougher than an old boot, but I wouldn’t dare! Fuck, these are amazing.” He moaned again, and I shifted in my seat. Pregnancy had only increased my rampant need, and hearing a hot-as-hell alpha moaning over something I made was not helping in the slightest.
“I’ll make you another batch when you finish those,” I said, glad I could do something to make him happy.
Jeremy’s eyes widened, his mouth still stuffed full of cookie as he gazed at me, quickly swallowing before speaking. “You are amazing. I’ll do anything for more cookies.”
I tried to avoid dwelling on the anything part of that sentence. There were several downright inappropriate things I could have asked of this man.
“Honestly, those rice cakes were more than enough. This sweet parasite hasn’t been making it easy for me,” I admitted, resting my hands on top of my bump.
“Are you having any cravings in particular at the moment?” Jeremy asked, walking over to his fridge and pulling out three drinks, placing them on the counter in front of me. Ginger ale, water, and fruit juice. “Drink,” he instructed.
I laughed lightly. “Which one of those is for me?”
He shot me an easy smile. “All of them. Ginger ale for if you”re feeling nauseated; it should help, even though I know you said the ginger tea wasn’t doing much. Fruit juice for vitamins, and you can never be too hydrated when you’re pregnant.”
I looked between the drinks and the alpha. He had really thought about what I needed. When was the last time anyone had cared about me enough to ensure I drank one drink, let alone three? That warm sensation I was starting to get all too familiar with spread throughout my chest.
“My bladder is the size of a pea, thanks to the parasite. There’s no way I can drink this much!”
“Luckily, there’s a bathroom right there.” He pointed to the door to his left.
Reaching out, I took the juice, cracking the bottle open and taking a sip. As I did, a wet nose nudged at my leg, and a sleepy Gilbert appeared. “Hello, there,” I cooed, doing my best to lean down and pet the sweet boy, but I probably looked far from graceful.
“I see, you wake up for Daisy, but my company isn’t good enough?” Jeremy asked with a laugh, glaring playfully at the dog, whose eyes didn’t leave me as he rested his head in my lap.
“It was probably the smell of the cookies,” I said as I played with the golden retriever”s ears.
Jeremy barked a laugh. “I would also come running for the smell of those cookies.”
Note to self: bake all the cookies to attract the sexy man.