Page 27 of Mate Match: Curtis & Jae
“I do! My crew has been teasing me about you.” I could feel the grin on my face. “They say I smile more since I’ve met you. I delegate more, too, since I want to make time for you. They like that we’ve been dating. They’ll be over the moon about the baby.”
“The baby… are you sure?”
“Never been surer,” I affirmed, wrapping an arm around him to lead him out of the bathroom. “So do you want to try staying a couple days, try the living together thing?”
“That sounds good. A trial run.” His eyes scanned his apartment. “This place isn’t baby friendly at all. There’s all the stairs and no elevator. It’s fine for just me, but with a baby…”
“Which is why we’re lucky we have my house. You could rent this place out if you decide to make the move. I’ve got my office. We can turn it into your office for you to continue working. There’s a room for the baby. We have a yard and room to build on if we need to.”
I was probably getting ahead of myself in my excitement. After a trial run, he could decide to return to his apartment.
Proving he really was on the same page as me, Jae beamed. “You’ve really thought about this.”
“I’m thinking on my feet.” Taking his hands, I led him to his bed and got him to sit down. “We’ve got this. You and me, we might have just started, but we feel solid. Together, we can do this parent thing. We’ve got, what, eight months to prepare? We’re gonna have bumps, I get that, I just know we can do it. The way I feel about you—”
“How do you feel about me?” Jae looked as if he was waiting on a fatal blow.
“I’m in love with you, Jae.” He let out a deep breath with a smile. “Everything about you is perfect. Your view on life, your kindness. I miss you when you aren’t next to me.”
“Same. I—I love you, too, Curtis.” My heart felt like it was about to burst. I couldn’t believe how happy Jae made me with those three little words. Then he continued. “Whenever something happens, I want you to be the first person I tell. We’re doing this so fast, but I don’t care. All I want is to be with you.”
“Well, direct me to what you need, and rest for a bit. You’re growing a person now. You need to take care of both of you.”
He cupped his stomach, a sweet smile played about the corner of his lips. “Okay. I’ll need my drawing tablet.”
It took me an hour to gather up everything he wanted for a few days, and to wrangle Percy into his carrier. I dealt with his litter tray since I’d heard pregnant people weren’t supposed to.
Once fully packed, Jae cast his eye over the apartment, took my hand, and led me out to my car.
Living with Jae was just as easy as dating him had been. Sure, we were bound to get on each other’s nerves after a while, but so far, so good. Okay, it had only been a week. Still, I loved having him to come home to. We were keeping a lid on the pregnancy until we shared the news with our closest loved ones. Jae’s relationship was strained with his parents after his split from Hwan, so I understood he was wary about telling them until he was further along.
The first Sunday was my brunch arrangement with my family. It was Lara’s turn to host, so after Jae’s urging, I decided to go. As much as I wanted to tell my parents, I agreed it was better to wait. It was something he wanted to do together. I suggested he invite his friend over to keep him company while I was out and prepared some granola bars for them to enjoy as a healthy treat. Jae had me eating better because I was making sure he had all the good things he needed to grow our little bean.
“Nice to meet you properly this time. Heard good things,” Brady said as I answered the door to him. I was minutes out from leaving.
The young omega had brown hair and warm tan skin. He was around the same height as Jae, with a slender build and forest green eyes. I liked the vibe he gave off. Protective, yet willing to give me a chance.
“Yeah, nice to meet you under better circumstances. D’you mind making sure Jae eats something? We’ve switched to decaf coffee and tea, so he’s good there, but I worry about him not eating. His sickness is pretty bad.”
I was aware Jae had told Brady about the baby to ask him for his advice about our setup. Surprising us both, Brady had been all in, telling Jae to go for living with me and having our kid. He said he was looking forward to being an honorary uncle.
Needless to say, I liked the omega.
“Got you covered. Been reading articles online and they recommend ginger, so I picked up this tea he might like. Kitchen through there?” He patted my arm as he swept by me. The scent of his pheromones washed over me, with no reaction. Since Jae had come into my life, I’d stopped noticing attractive omegas like Brady. His scent was probably enticing to other alphas, but for me, there was only one scent I loved. Jae’s pheromones were like home to me.
“Yeah. I better get going. Thanks for coming over.”
“No worries.”
Before I left, I went to the living room, where Jae was curled up on the sofa with Percy. The cat loved the house and had made himself at home. Work would start on the catio as soon as I was sure they were there to stay. I was hopeful it wouldn’t be long before he gave his old place up. “Heading out, babe,” I said, dipping down to kiss him. “Brady’s in the kitchen making tea.”
“Hey, I was thinking. Next brunch will be after our first appointment. Can you move it here, then we can tell everyone? Then we can have dinner with my parents or something.”
“Sounds good to me.” More than good. I was relieved he was ready to tell my family. It sucked to keep such good news from them, though I understood him wanting to be there.
His grin made me smile in return. There were nerves at the thought of telling my family. I was pretty sure they would adore Jae and be excited about the baby, but they might voice concerns about how quickly things were going.
The drive to my sister’s house didn’t take long. She lived in a nice area with sprawling homes fairly close to her clinic. I pulled in and was barely out of my truck before Milo came rushing out of the house.
