Page 46 of His Omega Bear
I got out of the car and opened the back door to get Emilia out of her car seat. Jaxson grabbed the wine he’d insisted on bringing, no matter how many times I told him it wasn’t necessary.
“I don’t want to go empty handed. It’s rude,” he’d teased.
Jaxson reached over and took her from me, then handed me the wine. Maybe he needed to hold on to her this time.
As we took the steps up to the front door, hand in hand, my heart pounded loudly in my chest. It was a miracle Jaxson couldn’t hear it.
After I rang the bell, the muffled sounds of chatter and laughter could be heard inside, making me even more anxious. Jaxson must have felt my anxiety, because he squeezed my hand gently.
“Relax, babe. It’s going to be fine. You’ll see.”.
The door swung open, and there stood my brother Hunter, a wide smile on his face. “Hey, glad you guys could make it.” He held out his hand to shake Jaxson’s hand.
“Thanks for the invitation,” he said, returning his smile.
As Hunter released him, he stepped to the side so we could enter. I took a deep breath and stepped into the house, clutching the neck of the wine bottle in my fist. From the volume of noise inside the house, it was clear we were probably the last ones to arrive.
I’d sent several messages to the family group chat, pleading with them not to embarrass me. But I knew trusting my family to be on their best behavior was like hoping pigs would fly. Especially when some of them thought I was making a mistake by not telling Jaxson everything.
The inviting aroma of roasting meat and simmering spices greeted us as we walked toward the myriad of voices. The family room was filled with the familiar faces of my family, and of course, they weren’t subtle at all when they all turned to look at us as we entered.
I knew this dinner at Gabe and Kian’s would be a risk to my secrecy, but Jaxson was eager to spend time with my family, and I couldn’t keep making excuses. But my real concern was the kids. My nieces and nephews weren’t fully shift-trained yet, and the thought of one of them transforming in front of Jaxson had me on edge. I’d been praying since I told Kian I was coming that it wouldn’t happen.
“Better late than never,” I muttered, trying to shake off my nerves. Jaxson gave my hand a gentle squeeze and flashed me a reassuring smile.
The house was buzzing with activity. Hunter went back to Sage, who looked to be holding a riotous conversation with Cooper and Graham. They’d just returned from a trip to Aspen where Cooper had been invited to do a review and his influencer thing for a new restaurant had opened recently. They’d flown down, leaving the kids with Cooper’s mom while they were away.
Austin and Nash were also present, deep in conversation with Gabe.
By the sounds of things, all the kids were in the playroom, except for Isla, who was with her dad Gabe, and Serenity, who was dozing in Sage’s arms. The sight of my family made me smile, but knowing so many little ones, namely three sets of unpredictable twins under the age of three, were under one roof had my stomach feeling like I was on a damn rollercoaster.
“Hey, you two! Glad you could make it,” Gabe greeted us. “Let me grab you something to drink.”
He got up from his seat and went to the kitchen, coming back with a beer for Jaxson and what looked to be ginger ale for me. I took it and handed the bottle of wine back to him. He studied the label and nodded.
“This is a good vintage. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. A buddy of mine in Chicago recommended it. Thought you guys might enjoy it.” He glanced at me with a smirk that said, see I told you.
Even though everything was going smoothly, I gazed longingly at the glass bottle in Jaxson’s hand. I still wanted a beer to help steady my nerves.
“Sorry, little brother. But you know the rules. No beer for you for a while.” He patted me on the shoulder and turned toward the kitchen.
My eyes immediately went to Jaxson as Gabe walked away with the wine. I took a big swallow of the soft drink, then placed it on the table. On instinct, I reached for Emilia. She was my human shield.
“Did you tell them?”
My face went beet red and heat radiated from my skin. I hadn’t but of course I couldn’t explain that my brothers had likely noticed my scent change. “Uh, I think I might have mentioned it to Kian. His big mouth must have let it slip. I’m sorry. I should have told you.”
Jaxon nodded and looked at his beer before taking a swallow. I watched his throat while Emilia patted my face. He must have seen the concern on my face, because his eyes softened when he looked at our baby tugging at my hair. “It’s okay, sweetheart.”
With one crisis behind us, I was relieved when Cooper and Graham made their way over to us.
“Jaxson, this is my brother, Graham, and his husband, Cooper.”
Both extended their hands to shake his.
“And this is Emilia,” I said, loosening her grip on my hair.