Chapter Twelve
Brach
I’d never really paid attention to the timelines of movie-making magic.
I wasn’t somebody who watched actors announce a new project and then waited with bated breath for it to be released.
If anything, movies were something I watched because I was sick and needed background noise or because a friend really wanted to see them.
So it took me aback how long it went from Ronny finishing the initial filming to the premiere and all the steps in between.
He had to go back numerous times to do voiceovers when they decided that something didn’t quite turn out right, to do press tours, photoshoots etc.
It had been one thing after another for months.
If we hadn’t gotten together and instead remained friends or acquaintances, it still would’ve been a good idea for me to be living in the apartment. Poor Bosco would’ve been left alone numerous times and he was far too spoiled and bossy for that nonsense.
I hated it when Ronny left. I wanted to be with him all the time, but I’d never tell him that. This was his dream, and he’d achieved it.
When he first came back to work at Animals, the regulars recognized him and were excited to see him. The other staff members were thrilled he was there, as well, but that was about it.
Now, it wasn’t uncommon for people to say, “Hey, aren’t you that guy in—” and then babble on about something they saw related to the movie. All the hard work he’d put in over the years was about to pay off.
It was finally premiere time. I’d never been to something this fancy or formal before.
I thought it was something really rich and famous people did.
Never once had I considered that I might be on the arm of somebody who was on their way to that fame.
He still had to wait on the rich part, but I didn’t need him rich.
We had jobs that paid our bills and allowed us to save, an apartment we loved, and an adorable cat. What more did we need?
We had a choice between flying and driving, and we ended up opting to fly.
It wasn’t super convenient, given our distance from the airport, but it was faster.
With Bosco being at home waiting for us, faster seemed like the best way to go.
I already felt fancy and special just by boarding the airplane first. It wasn’t something Ronny asked for and at first, he wanted to decline.
The flight attendants suggested it would help them if we did.
They said it would minimize the attention Ronny would get.
I wasn’t sure how true that would be, but it was the first time it really hit me how famous my mate was becoming.
I had no idea how long this fame would last or what his next steps were, and he didn’t either. A lot of it had to do with the box office success of the release and the roles offered to him. But I wasn’t going to worry about that now. Tonight was all about celebrating him and his accomplishments.
“Are you sure I look okay?” I asked.
We’d rented a tux for me, and it was a nice one. I didn’t look like someone going to a prom, but also, I didn’t feel like me. Add to that, my stomach had been queasy all day. I wasn’t sure if it was the traveling or the change in water or what, but I wasn’t a fan.
“You will be the sexiest one on that red carpet. Don’t ever doubt that.” He was either lying or looking at me through love-tinted glasses. Either way, it helped me feel better about the outfit. “They’re going to want you there and will forget all about me.” He kissed my cheek.
“They’re going to want their star.”
“And their star wants his man by his side. Speaking of which…” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring box. He opened it up to reveal not one but two rings. “I got these for us.”
“You want to get married?”
We’d talked about how mating was deeper than marriage, and I felt very comfortable in our current relationship. But I was human, and marriage didn’t sound awful to me. It just hadn’t been a goal with Ronny.
“Technically, these are couples’ rings.” He pulled one out and slid it on my ring finger and then put one on his. “If you want me to replace it with a wedding ring one day, I’d be honored. I know that for you growing up, that’s how you saw your happy ever after.”
I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “That’s because I didn’t know there was something better out there.” I brought it up to my lips and kissed it. “They didn’t exactly tell me about mating.”
I looked at our ring fingers. I loved it. “Explain this, though. Why the rings. Why now?”
“I know you’re my mate. You know you’re my mate. We can’t exactly tell everyone on the red carpet that you wear my mark, though. Can we?”
I shook my head.
“Exactly. But they can draw any conclusion they want from these rings.”
“And if they ask—”
He couldn’t just leave it like that. I needed to know what response I needed to give. I was so afraid of messing this night up for him.
“And if they ask, I’m going to tell the truth—that you are the love of my life.”
“You’ve got a silver tongue there, Ronny.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Because he was a star, we were picked up in a limo.
There was nothing natural or laid-back about what happened after we left our hotel room.
Every step was orchestrated, from where I sat in the car to how we exited the car, where we stood on the carpet, what poses we took, what questions we could answer, what questions we couldn’t answer, and on and on and on.
It was so unlike anything I’d experienced before.
I slapped on my bet smile and crossed my fingers that I wasn’t going to embarrass my mate or, worse, ruin his career. My nerves were so on edge. And even after we were inside watching his movie, I questioned whether I was going to be able to keep my dinner down.
Thankfully, I did. This was so not my world. I wondered if I’d ever fit in here.
We got back to the hotel, and the second the door was shut, all the staff and cameras and onlookers gone, he cupped my cheeks and held my head so that I was meeting his eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.
“What was I supposed to tell you?”
He lowered one hand to my belly.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked again.
“Tell you I was so nervous I thought I was going to puke in front of the world? Because I kinda thought you had enough other things on your plate.”
“Is that what you think is happening?”
Was it not?
He scooped me up and carried me to the bed then sat me down and helped me off with my shoes. “You must be so exhausted after tonight.”
I’d been exhausted before the night began.
“You know you’re not making any sense, right?”
He was still kneeling in front of me, looking up and watching me carefully. “You’re not nervous. You’re not sick. You’re not just tired. You’re pregnant, omega mine.”
My hands went straight to my belly. Is that what he’d meant the entire time?
Being knocked up hadn’t crossed my mind, but now that he mentioned it, it did make sense.
We’d never done anything to prevent pregnancy and a whole lot to cause it.
On top of that, the symptoms I’d brushed away as nerves were more closely aligned with pregnancy, now that I thought about it.
“You think— Really, we’re going to be—”
“I don’t think so. I know. I scented it during the movie. It was all I could do not to drag you out of there to talk about it.”
“Wait. You’re saying I stink like pregnancy?” I never considered pregnant people stinky, but also, I didn’t have a shifter’s nose.
“I wouldn’t call it stinking, but, yeah, I can scent it. I hadn’t been able to before we were in the theater. My guess is, it’s because we’ve been in so many new places and far too many scents.”
“Are you happy?” We hadn’t discussed this, and it was a huge deal. I wouldn’t be mad at him if he wasn’t, but I wouldbe sad. Now that I knew a little one was on their way, I was ecstatic and I wanted him to be too.
“Of course I am, omega mine. I’m the happiest alpha in the world.”
Gods, I wanted to believe him.