Chapter 30
Nolan
Ihad been nose-deep in my work for too long, but one thing was abundantly clear as I took a deep breath.
The heat spike wasn’t a one-off.
Hailey was trying to keep it quiet, but there was no mistaking the way her scent kept intensifying, and she had to drag Merrick off to help her.
Was I jealous?
Yes.
As much as I hated to admit it, I was insanely jealous. Hailey was stunning and smart and our omega, so naturally, I was highly attracted to her.
Simply knowing that she was going through heat-like symptoms and that I could do nothing about it stung.
She and Wilder were getting closer, thanks to them putting Preston into thousands of dollars of credit card debt together.
I, on the other hand, had been so busy trying to figure out what the hell Preston was doing and also trying to keep my business afloat, despite being states away, that I’d failed when it came to making time to connect with her.
Standing up from my desk and stretching, I grabbed my car keys. I needed to spend a little time with our omega.
“Want to go for a drive?” I asked Hailey, who had woken up from a cat nap on the couch a few minutes ago.
Unlike the lumpy, hard, old one at her apartment, Merrick’s couches were actually really comfortable.
In fact, I knew exactly how comfortable they were because I had woken up from the best nap of my life in her arms a few days earlier.
Hailey certainly seemed to enjoy them because I kept finding her fast asleep, wrapped up in a little miniature nest of blankets on them.
Pregnancy was exhausting, though. And Hailey was only four months along.
“A drive where?” she asked suspiciously.
“Ice cream parlor. I need something filled with sugar after dealing with this idiot client all morning. Where is your guard dog?”
She rolled her eyes, but smirked nonetheless. “Merrick is upstairs painting the room I think is going to be Wilder’s long term.”
“Oh. That’s nice of him.”
It really was.
Begrudgingly, I had to respect the alpha who Hailey had chosen to bond with. He was a solid guy who clearly adored her and was constantly doing things with his hands and looking after everyone, even me and Wilder.
To our faces, he still acted like he wasn’t our biggest fan, but he cooked enough food for all of us and bought things that he thought we'd enjoy, like those stupid sour candies that Wilder was obsessed with, and was now painting the rooms that he was so graciously giving us.
“What can I say, I'm a wonderful person,” Merrick said in a tone full of sarcasm as he came down the stairs, blue paint splattered on his cheek. “My ears were burning. Are you guys talking about me?”
“Nolan wants to go get a sweet treat, and he mentioned the ice cream parlor. Want to come?”
Well, at least that meant she wanted to go with me.
Merrick looked at me for a moment, and I could feel his gaze boring into my face, like he was trying to make an assessment. “Actually, I'm halfway through this coat of paint, so you two go and enjoy,” he said with a smile, leaning down to place a loving kiss on Hailey's forehead.
She closed her eyes and hummed happily at the contact, and I cocked my head as Merrick nodded at me when he straightened.
There was an unspoken moment that passed between me and the fellow alpha.
I knew exactly what he was doing. He was showing me that he trusted me to take Hailey out and was giving us an opportunity to be alone together.
Something I greatly appreciated.
“Come on, princess, your carriage awaits,” I said, jingling the car keys.
“So what exactly do you do at your job?” Hailey asked as we pulled away from the house.
I chuckled lightly. “I’m a family lawyer. I used to be a criminal lawyer, but that got to me after a few years, so I changed my specialty.”
“What does a family lawyer do?”
“Lots of things. For example, I’m currently dealing with a daughter contesting the will of her father.”
Her curiosity piqued. “Why is she contesting the will?”
“I can't go into details of an active case, but sometimes, people will leave things in their will that can't be upheld by law, such as discriminating based on sex.”
“Like when someone decides that their alpha son should have all the money and their omega daughter should get nothing because they're just going to bond into another pack?” Hailey asked.
“Exactly. The entitlement of some people is infuriating, but sometimes I get to help those who really deserve it. I've helped children who have lost their parents find suitable guardians and deal with their estate. I've also dealt with a lot of custody cases.”
“That sounds like very taxing work.” Hailey said, looking out of the passenger window.
“It is, but it's also extremely rewarding. I guess we could say the same about being a paramedic.”
Hailey chuckled. “It does take a lot out of me, but I love it. I feel bad that I've been leaving my partner short-staffed. Without me, he's having to drive around with a student.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “I take it from your tone, he's not a big fan of that.”
“Everyone needs to learn, but every now and again, we get a student who is so incredibly stupid, it makes me doubt the future of humanity.”
We pulled up outside the ice cream parlor, and I was pleasantly surprised to see it wasn't too busy.
“I haven't tried this place before,” Hailey said. “But I've heard really good things from my friends.”
“It had the highest review of any nearby.”
“Well, let's go judge for ourselves, then.” Hailey grinned, practically bolting out of the car.
Ten minutes later, we were pressed into a small booth, me with a single scoop of strawberry ice cream, and Hailey with a cookie butter sundae.
“Are you sure you can eat all that?” I asked, eyeing the massive scoops of diabetes.
It was giant, more than any reasonable human could eat in one sitting. There had to be five scoops of ice cream in that monstrosity, along with whipped cream, sauces, cookies, and other add-ons.
“Yes. Because it is delicious,” Hailey said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Also, the baby wanted like three different flavors, and who am I to deny them?”
She shrugged, and I couldn’t stop the laugh that burst out.
Personally, I would be nauseated if I ate that much, but I wasn't going to question the pregnant omega any further, my mind drifting.
“I'm sorry for falling asleep on you the other night.”
Hailey waved off my concern. “It was actually quite comfortable. It was a good night.”
“It was, wasn't it? I didn't even mind the headache I had the next day.”
“I'm surprised you were even able to function with how much whiskey you guys drank.”
“We are seasoned pros. Preston can put some drinks away too. There was this time in college when he drank so much that I thought he was going to be passed out for three days, and instead, he went to an exam the next day and aced it.”
“That doesn't sound normal.”
“The lucky bastard rarely gets hangovers.
Sometimes, he's nice and helps me and Wilder if we're feeling a little worse for wear, but other times, he's a butthead about it.
The man absolutely hates vacuuming, and yet, you can bet after a heavy night of drinking, he'll suddenly decide at six a.m. that the entire house needs to be vacuumed.”
Hailey's mouth dropped open. “Oh, that's just cruel.”
“I think Wilder had broken some of his gym equipment while drunk, so maybe we had it coming.”
Hailey took a bite of ice cream. “Okay, that I can understand a bit better. Still, if he ever turns the vacuum on before midday when I'm in the house, I will strangle him.”
I chuckled. “I'll make sure he knows.”
Hailey picked up a spoon of ice cream and popped it into her mouth, shifting from side to side happily in an adorable little dance as she tasted the sweet treat.
“Okay, this is good.” She pointed at the bowl of ice cream in front of her.
“It really is,” I agreed, taking a bite of my modest scoop of strawberry ice cream.
I wasn't the biggest on sweets and desserts, but lately the taste of strawberry had been especially appealing.
She frowned at her ice cream. “You know what, I think you may have made a mistake bringing me here.”
“Why?” I asked, trying to ignore the spike of panic in my chest at her words.
Shit. Did I fuck up? What did I do?
“This stuff is so good that I'm going to crave it all the time, and it's a bit of a drive. I'm going to be pestering you at three a.m. if the baby wants this ice cream.”
“You know you can get some ice cream to take home and store in the freezer from this place,” I pointed out.
Hailey's eyes went wide, her mouth dropping open into that adorable little O shape.
“Well, why didn't you say that sooner?!”
“My apologies.” I chuckled. “How dare I fail to mention that?”
“I shall forgive you if we can get a bunch to take home. And the fixings.”
She eyed me, her brows up, and I took the words seriously, nodding adamantly. “Of course. Your wish is my command.”
Tickled, Hailey danced in her chair again and smiled as she finished her ice cream. I couldn’t deny how much I enjoyed seeing her like this. I also knew intimately now why Wilder had racked up such a large bill with her at the nesting store.
By the time we were checking out, Hailey had picked out eight different flavors of ice cream to take home. I knew she had a big thing for ice cream, so I didn't bat an eye as she rattled off all the flavors she wanted.
If it made her happy, I was going to do it.
And damn, it felt nice to just accept that.