Chapter 12 Matthew
Matthew
Imight have gone a little overboard with the shopping.
Although, Cornelius was just as much to blame for it as I was because he was there on the couch with me as I added item after item to the shopping cart and checked out before moving on to the next store.
I discovered I enjoyed online shopping. I didn’t have to leave the couch, and the things would eventually be delivered to our suite.
It was just so easy. Especially when he said to get whatever I liked. But now that I stood here looking at all of the new things, I was wondering if I’d bought too much. Of course, everything was in boxes, piled in the front room of our suite.
“Sweetheart? Everything okay? I’m feeling that you’re stressed.”
Was I stressed? Maybe? Would Cornelius like the things I’d bought? He’d seen and agreed to most, but there were a few that he’d not seen.
“I’m good. Our purchases have started arriving. Umm, there are boxes everywhere. We’ll need to figure out what to do with everything, I guess.”
“That can all be taken care of later when I’m finished here. How are you feeling? I’m not getting that you’re still under the weather.”
“I’m good. I need to remember to eat a late snack, I think.”
Even Connie recommended I eat several small meals and include snacks.
I was still trying to get into the hang of things.
Not only was I still getting used to being mated—even after two months—but I was finally starting to become comfortable with leaving our suite and venturing out in the estate.
The mansion was gorgeous, and I’d learned that it was well over a hundred years old.
It was originally just the central part of the house, and the separate wings off in either direction were added, as was the third floor, but the house was beautiful.
Deciding to deal with the boxes of stuff later, I left our suite and headed for the staircase.
It always made me feel good to get lost in baking something.
Grantham had told me many times that the kitchen was always open to me—something that I learned wasn’t exactly common.
Grantham didn’t let just anyone in his kitchen.
But he welcomed me, and as I walked down the stairs, I thought about what I wanted to bake.
Thinking about how much I missed honey spice bread, I decided on that. It wasn’t until I was at the bottom of the stairs that I realized someone was calling my name. When I turned, I saw it was Balthazar.
“Oh, hey, Bal. How are you doing? You look upset.”
“Matthew, are you feeling okay? I called for you several times.”
“Yeah, sorry. I was lost in thought thinking about baking. I miss it, and although Grantham is happy to have me in the kitchen whenever, Cornelius isn’t so keen on it just yet. He doesn’t want me working too hard,” I said and rolled my eyes.
“Well, you have to remember that he’s new to all of this too. And from what I hear, you gave him quite the scare in the beginning.”
I sighed. I had. I didn’t mean to faint, but I had.
And I guess it caused a scene with where we were, and Cornelius couldn’t just poof me away to our room because there were too many other people around.
And some insisted on calling paramedics, despite Cornelius’s insistence that one wasn’t needed.
The last thing any paranormal needed was to have an uninformed human medical person be in charge of any type of care.
“True. And I’ve taken things super easy. I’m feeling so much better, and we’re having our ultrasound in two weeks.”
“Is that the normal time? I thought you were halfway now?” Balthazar asked.
“I am, but Dr. C isn’t here right now. He’s assured me that the baby and I are fine, but he had to go somewhere for a training thing or something, I’m not sure.” I shrugged because I couldn’t remember where I’d been told he was going. Just that we would have our ultrasound when he got back.
Balthazar walked me to the kitchen, and when we entered, Grantham stopped and stared at us. When he raised an eyebrow while glancing at Bal, I looked between the two in wonder. Were they somehow communicating and I didn’t know it?
“Hey, you never told me why you were trying to get my attention,” I said, pulling Bal’s gaze back my way.
“I saw you on the stairs and wondered how you were doing. I’m actually on my way to my office.”
“Oh. Well, thanks for walking me here. I’ll see you later?”
“Yep. Enjoy your baking,” Balthazar said before he turned and left the kitchen. I watched him go, and when I turned around, Grantham was watching Balthazar’s retreating form.
“Something you want to tell me?”
“No. I was just trying to figure out why he was walking you to the kitchen and not your One.”
I wrinkled my forehead, wondering what the issue was. “Umm, because Cornelius is at work and he happened to see me on the stairs?”
“Yeah, but your One is Cornelius. Not Balthazar.”
“Yes, but Balthazar and Cornelius are good friends, and the three of us hang out frequently. Is this a problem?”
“Sweetheart? Why are you upset?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Don’t believe it. What’s wrong?”
“It’s truly nothing. Just Grantham being stupid.”
I raised an eyebrow at the chef and waited.
“You sure?”
“Absolutely. By the way, Bal is headed your way.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“Look, Balthazar hasn’t been with our coven long.
Only around a decade. But in that time, he’s kept completely to himself.
Nobody knows what’s going on with him or why he left his last coven.
But yet Cornelius finds his One and all of a sudden the two of them are best friends and he’s hanging out with you, walking you to the kitchen. ”
“Well, I was on the stairs, almost to the bottom floor, and I heard him calling for me. Then he was nice enough to walk me here while asking how I was feeling. As for keeping to himself, that’s his prerogative.
But he and Cornelius were roommates and lived in the same house for five months in Timber Valley. Maybe they became close then?”
I didn’t wait for a response, I just turned and left, no longer wanting to bake because I wasn’t sure it would relax me. I knew what would, though, and that was a trip to Cornelius’s office to see my mate. He always calmed me, and right now, I needed that.
I found his office easily enough, as I’d been there plenty of times over the past few weeks.
When I peeked my head in the door, Cornelius was sitting at his desk, staring at the computer screen.
But just as my body’s vibrations increased as I neared my mate, I knew his did as well and he looked up at me.
“Hello, sweetheart. I thought you were going to bake?”
I sighed before I closed the door and walked over to my mate. When he pushed back, I simply climbed into his lap and snuggled in. Cornelius was the best cuddler in my opinion.
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong? You said everything was fine when I asked you just moments ago.”
I moaned when Cornelius started rubbing up and down my back. It felt good, and I wasn’t even that big yet. Sure, my bump was growing, but it wasn’t that big yet.
“I’m not sure if it’s just Grantham, or if it’s others, but I know at least Grantham finds it odd that Bal, who hasn’t been here that long, is all of a sudden friendly with you now that you have me. I’m not sure if things are being implied or not.” I sighed and closed my eyes, suddenly sleepy.
“Well, it’s true. Balthazar hasn’t been here that long.
And he did leave his last coven suddenly.
But I don’t know why. He hasn’t ever talked about it much.
I’ve gone out to clubs with him a few times, before I met you obviously.
But he hasn’t ever really talked about his life before here.
We weren’t really friendly until we lived in the same house for five months. ”
“Yeah. But are people talking? Is that what it is?” I asked, looking up at my mate.
“I don’t think so, no. I know that Grantham isn’t overly trusting. And Balthazar is one of those that he’s not been able to find anything out about.”
I thought about that and nodded in understanding. “Okay. So I should probably apologize, then, huh? I left without saying anything, really.”
“Naw. He shouldn’t have said what he did to upset you. You two can talk things out next time you see him. But I wouldn’t worry about it. Grantham has good reason for not easily trusting. He’s been betrayed by several of his former coven, including his own parents.”
“What? That’s terrible.”
“It is. But you must calm down,” Cornelius said as he pulled me back into his chest. I sighed in contentment, the sound of his heartbeat soothing me.
“I’m calm. Especially if I can stay here for a bit,” I replied.
Cornelius chuckled, and I jolted a bit when I felt us move. When I opened my eyes, we were in our suite, on the new leather couch that had been delivered last week.
“Oh, this is nice. Can you stay for a bit?”
“I can stay as long as you need, love. I plan on working from here on my laptop for the next few days while we get everything sorted in here. I don’t want you overexerting yourself.
I know you’re not weak, and you’re a fae and have your own magic, but you’ve said yourself: the pregnancy makes your magic wonky. ”
“It does. Maybe next time it won’t, I’m not sure. But I’m trying to not use it because just yesterday I tried to move a basket of clothes from the dryer to the bedroom so I could fold them. Only they weren’t there.”
“What? Where did they go?”
“I eventually found them. They were downstairs in Balthazar’s office. Last week it was fruit and yogurt. Only it was no longer in the bowl and had glopped itself down on Master Arthur’s laptop keyboard. I felt terrible.”
“Oh, sweetheart. Why didn’t you say something?”