Chapter 34
Clover
“Iblame you for this.” I smoothed a hand over my stomach, annoyance flaring.
“What was that?” Logan asked, looking away from the TV show we were watching. I’d been too tired for much else, so we’d opted for a cuddle to recalibrate before devoting brain power to anything.
“Oh, nothing”—I waved off the concern I could see in his eyes—“just talking to the baby.”
He smiled warmly back at me, adjusting me on his lap and resting a hand on my barely there bump.
Pregnancy was truly making me insane. Why else would I agree to give the guys time to prove that they were all in? Despite my insatiable curiosity and fixation with them, without the bond and the baby, I’d have probably been long gone.
Hell, I’d tried. But that stunt, tracking down my car and begging me to come back…
well, it got me right in the bonded feelings.
I’d been craving my own Meadow moment, and that felt like one.
The baby and I deserved to be cared for, and even if it ended up only being for a few weeks, I might as well indulge.
So, now I was settling in for what was likely to be the most awkward month of my life. We were tiptoeing around one another, unsure what to say. Things felt off. Even with Parker out of the building, his energy lingered. Cuddling with Logan helped. His arms were a cocoon of sweetness and safety.
We’d stopped at the guesthouse on the way back, and I’d packed up a bunch of essentials under Meadow’s watchful eye, my pack doing their best to convince her, like they’d convinced me.
When I’d called my dads to let them know I wasn’t coming home after all, they’d been skeptical but trusted my judgment.
Avery had taken up my luggage, insisting he be the one to unpack for me and make sure my newly designated bedroom was perfect. The whole day had exhausted me, so I didn’t put up any fight against his nonsense.
“What exactly do you blame the baby for?” Logan asked after a bit of silence.
Damn, he’d heard more than I wanted him to. “Oh, you know, the general hormonal craziness, being tired and hungry all the time. Standard stuff.”
Logan didn’t press further. Instead, he smiled again and lay me back on the couch so he could bend and kiss my belly. “Fair enough. But they’re also pretty amazing, and we haven’t even met them yet. Hell of a thing.”
I gaped for a moment before I could shake the shocked expression off my face. That wasn’t what I expected him to say at all.
“What would you like to eat? Have you had any cravings yet?”
“I don’t think so, but I have been eating more Rocky Road ice cream than usual. I wouldn’t say no to a snack.”
“We’ll stock up,” Logan promised. The heat in his gaze had my pussy clenching as he leaned down again, but this time to kiss me rather than the bump. “I like having you right here.”
“Convenient, because I like being right here,” I said with a laugh.
Before I could drag him down for a more thorough kiss, I heard someone—probably Avery, given that it sounded like he was skipping—bound into the room.
“Oh, angeeel! I have a surprise for you!”
I looked up at him suspiciously from my prone position. “Is it a pony?”
Avery pouted playfully. “Sorry, I’m fresh out of ponies. I can get you one of those next time?”
“Where would you put a pony in this house?” Logan asked from his spot next to me, brows drawn together.
I cocked my head to the side. He had a point that, while the property was large, there wasn’t exactly a suitable place to house a pony.
“The yard, obviously.” Avery grinned. “We could build a stable.”
“How about we table that idea for another day?” Logan suggested.
Avery nodded enthusiastically, making my chest lighter despite myself. “Yes, pony in the future. For now, though…want to come see your surprise?”
I sighed, debating if I wanted to move, and eyed Avery with an exaggerated frown. “I do, but it better be good considering this child is sucking up all my energy and making it very difficult to get off the couch.”
Logan stood up with ease. I narrowed my eyes at him, a little jealous of his graceful motion. It didn’t help that the guys had one of the softest, squishiest couches known to man.
“Come here, mama.” Logan smiled warmly, scooping me up. I suspected he loved showing off how easily he could carry me, but I wasn’t about to complain.
“Oh.” I couldn’t help but grin, settling into Logan’s arms and accepting the help as much as my pride didn’t love it. I was going to have to get used to it, though. The baby was only going to get bigger.
“Follow me!” Avery declared brightly, skipping down the hallway.
“Should I be worried?” I stared after our pack mate trotting off with far too much exuberance.
Logan was thoughtful for a second. “Knowing Avery, it could be something really extravagant, or it could be a glitter bomb.”
I laughed lightly, scoffing at the ridiculous notion. “That sucker knows better than to try and glitter-bomb me.”
“Maybe he glitter-bombed Parker again?”
A grin spread across my face, petty glee lighting me up. “Now that would be a delightful surprise.”
“We—”
“Come on, slowpokes!” Avery shouted back at us with mock displeasure in his voice.
“I think he’ll lose his mind if we don’t hurry up.”
I huffed and pointed toward where Avery had flounced off. “Lead the way, handsome!”
Logan set me on my feet when we hit the top of the stairs, keeping my hand in his so we were still touching.
“What’s down here?” I craned my neck to look around. “I’ve never been to this part of the house.”
“A few more bedrooms this way and some storage rooms.”
I really needed to get a full tour of the house so I didn’t get lost. “Is a map of this place too much to ask for?” I muttered.
Logan chuckled. “You get used to it.”
Avery was bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement, standing outside a set of double doors. Next to him stood a very confused-looking Hunter.
“Do you know what he’s up to?” I asked.
He shook his head, shrugging. “Not a clue. He sent me a text saying I needed to be here, so I came.”
“I wanted you all to witness the fact that I’m the best mate ever,” Avery chirped happily.
“That’s some big talk,” I said, crossing my arms.
“See if you think that when you see my surprise. Go on, take a look.” He stepped back, gesturing flamboyantly to the doors.
Considering we both had a history of pranks, I was nervous to open the door. I could only handle so much right now. He noticed my hesitancy and flung the doors open and gently nudged me inside.
Pink.
Holy shit. The room was gigantic, but the most overwhelming feature was pink.
Everything was pink.
He’d chosen a ton of shades, from the subtle baby pink of the thick rugs to the powder-rose of the walls. He’d even picked out fluffy lampshades that looked like cotton candy clouds.
The bed was big enough to hold several people, and it had a lovely white wooden frame with pastel-pink bedding and overhanging sheer curtains and ribbons to make it extra cozy, as well as a mountain of pillows ranging from cream to raspberry.
Sparkles danced on the walls as light refracted through the crystal chandelier overhead, and both sheer and room-darkening curtains were layered in front of the two windows that flanked the bed, the sequins woven into them catching the light.
The vanity in the corner had a softly glowing mirror sitting in the center. A brush, a jewelry box, and little decor pieces—one a tiny sign that read “Angel’s Private Palace”—were scattered over the vanity, which also had a deeper pink, tufted chair right in front of it.
It was so utterly girly, pink, and clearly mine.
“This looks…” Hunter trailed off, his voice awestruck.
“Amazing!” I squealed, turning to Avery and wrapping my arms around him to squeeze tightly, breathing in that salt air scent of his. “How did you do this?”
His grin somehow widened, making him look like the proudest alpha on the block. “Well, it’s not hard to discern that you love pink.”
“How the fuck did you get this all done without us knowing?” Logan asked.
“I’ve been secretly working on it since the first day I met Clover,” Avery explained. “Scheduled painters when you guys were out, cleaned out the nesting stores whenever I had a spare hour. I wanted it to be ready when we convinced her to move in.”
“It’s perfect, Avery. Thank you.”
“I wanted you to have a space here. I built it all on hope. I didn’t want to presume you were ready to move in, no matter how much I wanted it, but I needed to be prepared so you would have something just for you and not have to wait for it to be pulled together.
It felt twice as important now that you’re the mother of our child and bonded to this dummy.
” He jerked his head in Logan’s direction with a grin.
The alpha in question laughed. “So,” Avery continued, “you’ll be around a lot, all things considered, and I thought it best you had a spot of your own.
Somewhere you can have your space from us if need be. ”
“You’re amazing. I’m truly grateful, Avery.”
Was it a lot? Yeah.
Excessive? Maybe, but I fucking loved it.
It was so wonderfully Avery to have thought this big and gone all out. That was the energy I needed right now—action paired with the words—and damn if Avery hadn’t pulled that off spectacularly.