6. Daisy
Jeremy hadn’t been kidding when he said the water pressure in his bathroom was amazing. Three different showerheads jetted water at my poor, tense back. As I slowly relaxed under the water, I couldn’t help but marvel at how beautiful Jeremy’s place was. The bathroom was all marble and sleek black fixtures. The fact that he had done it all himself blew my mind.
Earlier, I’d stood outside of my kitchen for a few moments, looking out at the complete carnage as the room slowly filled with water. What the hell did someone do in a situation like that? The only plumbers who would answer my call would have charged an extortionate amount.
Then I had remembered my stupidly hot neighbor and his offer to help. Mrs. Jenna had told me several times about how he had so kindly helped her with a plumbing issue in the past, and he had seemed pretty adamant that I could ask him for help if I needed it. Mind made up in panic, I had darted over there, despite the late hour. I’d half-expected him to be angry. Instead, he had jumped right into helping. Not only did he fix the issue, but he was letting me use his magical shower while he patched the pipe.
Gilbert had looked downright heartbroken when I didn’t let him into the bathroom with me. I had almost given in, but I didn’t want a soggy dog causing chaos in Jeremy’s apartment. He had already been so nice to me, and that would have been a lousy way to repay him.
I took my sweet time showering, letting my back slowly relax under the hot water. When I finally did extract myself from the spray, I grabbed one of the clean towels, letting out an audible moan as I wrapped myself up. They were fancy towels. Large, soft, and oh so fluffy. My towels were threadbare and scratchy.
Once dry, I threw on my pajamas, grimacing as I realized I had grabbed the T-shirt and shorts that were covered in little rainbows. Why were all my nightclothes so juvenile? Jeremy looked like a sex god sleeping in just his boxers. When he had swung his door open, I’d struggled not to gape at the chiseled planes of his chest on display. I had almost blurted out can I lick it? and only just managed to restrain myself.
I let Gilbert follow me as I waddled back to my apartment. The sweet golden retriever was sticking to my side like glue. I had expected to find Jeremy in my kitchen, patching up the pipe, but instead, he was kneeling behind my front door, screwing something into the frame.
“Erm...what are you doing?” I asked. I didn’t want to be rude, but I had a strong suspicion that my doorframe had nothing to do with my burst pipe.
Jeremy looked away from what he was working on to me, his face breaking out in a smile. “Hey, you look more relaxed now. I told you the water pressure was amazing. I’m just installing a deadbolt.”
“A deadbolt?” His answer did nothing to rid me of my confusion.
“Your security is frankly tragic, Daisy. This door would be exceptionally easy to break down. I couldn’t, in good conscience, leave it like this, especially when I had a spare deadbolt from when I started the remodel.”
“Oh, thank you—I’ve been asking the apartment manager for a deadbolt since I moved in.”
“And how long have you lived here?” he asked, turning to pet Gilbert. “Hello, boy. How did I know you wouldn’t be able to resist following the pretty omega around?”
He was talking to his dog, but that didn’t change that fact he had called me pretty, and my chest was bursting with pride at the alpha’s compliment.
“I’ve lived here for about eight weeks. My parents kicked me out when I told them about...well, this.” I gestured down to my gigantic belly.
“Sounds like pretty shitty parents, if you ask me,” Jeremy growled, getting up and shaking the dust off his sweatpants. He hadn’t put a shirt on, so I had the gargantuan task of trying to avoid ogling his chest.
“I won’t disagree with you there. The idea of their daughter pregnant out of wedlock horrified them. Then again, I guess most parents wouldn’t like that.”
Jeremy snorted. “If one of my sisters got pregnant with no father in sight, my parents would throw a party. My mother would love the excuse to have a daughter and a grandbaby in her house. Decorating the nursery and all that shit.”
I moaned wistfully. “She sounds lovely.”
“She’s a force of nature, but we all love her. My eldest sister, Della, got pregnant at a time when her pack was super busy with work commitments they couldn’t escape, so she just went ahead and turned up on my parents’ doorstep one day with her bags and didn’t leave for several months until they were all settled and comfortable.”
“Can I borrow your mother?” I laughed.
“Take her! It’ll get her off my back about giving her a litter of grandbabies.” He laughed, but he clearly didn’t mean it. “You need to sit your butt down. You look exhausted.”
I did as I was told and plopped down on the sofa, making a pleased sound when Gilbert followed my lead by jumping on the cushion next to me and resting his head on my bump.
“Do you want kids?” I asked, absentmindedly petting Gilbert as Jeremy packed up his tools from the doorway.
“Oh, for sure.” He grinned, his whole face lighting up. “I want a whole football team one day. I love kids. I’ve considered kidnapping my niece and nephew a few times, but I think my sister would get violent, and she’s a vicious little creature when she wants to be.”
“That’s nice.” I hummed. “I thought most guys were scared of kids—I know that my dating life is pretty much dead in the water. No man wants to raise a child that isn’t his.”
Jeremy walked to the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water and handing it to me. “Packs do it all the time. Most of the time, they have no idea whose kid is whose. What difference does it make if a kid was born beforehand? Legally, all children become part of the pack, don’t they?”
I nodded. He was right, and it was something I had considered. “It would be nice to give this parasite a pack, in theory. Only, most of the packs interested in a single mother omega are very...”
“Predatory? Creepy?” Jeremy helpfully suggested.
“You hit the nail on the head! I talked to a pack or two when I first learned I was pregnant. They made it clear I would basically be their house maid and bedroom slave just because I had the audacity to keep my child. That isn’t exactly a good environment to raise a baby in.”
“Who were these packs?” Jeremy growled.
“No one of importance,” I insisted.
“Still, I think they need someone to screw their heads on straight.”
“And you’re going to be the one to do that?” I laughed, but his face was dead serious.
“Don’t doubt what I would do for you, Daisy. You deserve a fuck ton better than the hand the world has dealt you.”
He needed to stop talking, immediately, otherwise I was going to start blubbering. Where had this alpha come from? He cooked, wanted children, looked after me, and asked me for nothing.
“Are you a hallucination?” I blurted out.
“A hallucination?” Jeremy asked with a laugh, running his hands through his hair.
“Pregnancy is weird. You could be a figment of my imagination. That would explain why you are so dang nice to me.” I shrugged. “You’re basically the perfect man.”
Somehow, his grin got even wider, and he beamed down at me. “I can assure you I’m not a figment of your imagination.” He leaned down, his hand gently grabbing the back of my head as he planted a kiss on my forehead. “And I’m not going anywhere—you’re just going to have to get used to me. I’ll take this at your pace, but this is happening, omega.”
I looked up at him, confused. “What is happening?”
“Us,” he said simply, leaving me dumbfounded.
“Wha—”
“Make sure you lock the deadbolt,” he instructed as he made his way towards the door. “Dinner tomorrow? I can make dumplings?”
“Sure.” I nodded, following him to the door, almost in a trance... Had he just said what I thought he had said?
When I closed the door behind him, latching the brand-new deadbolt, I couldn’t help but let a crazy grin spread over my face.
The alpha liked me!