________

BRYAN

 

The following Tuesday I was really busy at work so thankfully the time passed quickly.  The end of the day finally arrived and I don’t know that I spoke to more than two people that day because I was so anxious for it to be over.  I buried myself in work and barely took a lunch because I knew that if I took a long break, I wouldn’t get anything done.  All I could think about was Sebastian.  For me, immersing myself in work had always been my go to strategy for making time fly by.

 

Luckily, 5:30 came before I knew it and I rushed home so I could take my time getting ready for my date.  Sebastian had arrived earlier that afternoon but he had a meeting across town so I wouldn’t see him until he picked me up for dinner.  He was picking me up at 7:30 and I wanted to make sure I looked perfect for him.  I took my time getting ready, made sure my hair was perfect, and slipped on my new black shirt. I missed him terribly and I couldn’t wait to feel his arms around me.   

 

At exactly 7:30 he knocked on my door and I rushed over to open it.  Sebastian stood there, leaning against the doorframe with a bouquet of a dozen red roses, and he looked even more gorgeous than I had remembered.  He winked at me and I just about melted.  I flung my arms around him as he planted butterfly kisses all over my face before gently giving me a lingering kiss.

 

“Hi, baby, I missed you so much.”  His deep rich voice practically purred in my ear.

 

I held on tight as I whispered back to him.  “I missed you too.”

 

“Where do you want me to put these?”  He motioned to the flowers.

 

I put them in a vase and a couple of minutes later we were out the door.  Before we got in the car, Sebastian closed the gap between us and gently placed his finger under my chin, raising my eyes to his.

 

“I could not stop thinking about you, Bryan.  You are consuming every millimeter of my mind.  How are you feeling?  Any more morning sickness?”

 

I gave him a sweet smile.  “Just a little bit, but nothing like what I experienced last week.”

 

“Good.  We have an appointment with Dr. Bell Thursday at 2:00.”

 

“Oh, I didn’t know you made the appointment so soon,” I said.

 

“Yes, sweetheart.  We want to make sure the baby is healthy.”

 

“Yes, you’re right.  Thank you for making the appointment for me.”

 

“Of course,” he said as he helped me into the car.

 

When we were inside the car I turned to him, my eyes bright and excited.

 

“So, the other day you said it was a surprise.  Where are we going?”

 

A mischievous grin touched his mouth and I could tell that he was pretty proud of whatever he had planned for us.  “We’ll be there in five minutes.”

 

He linked his fingers through mine, gently stroking the back of my hand.   The car pulled up to the restaurant and when I saw where we were I couldn’t contain my excitement.  I had been dying to go to Masala.  When we walked into the restaurant it was completely empty.  I gave Sebastian a curious look.

 

“Are they closed?”

 

There was that mischievous smile again.

 

“Yes, they are.  For us.”

 

My eyes were wide as saucers.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I mean you and I are going to have a very special, private dinner.  I know I have been away from you for only four days but it feels like an eternity.  I didn’t want any distractions tonight.”

 

All I could do was smile.

 

“Thank you, baby.”

 

I felt so spoiled as the restaurant staff catered to us in the dimly lit room.  The orange and yellow fire from candles created the only light in the room and it was simply beautiful.  Sebastian smiled at me and gently caressed my cheek as his eyes searched mine.

 

“I’ve been thinking about something.”  I would never get tired of hearing his sexy voice.

 

“Oh yeah?  What’s on your mind?”  I asked.

 

“When we go to dinner at my parents’ house Saturday night you will meet my cousin Kipton’s boyfriend.  He is very sheltered so don’t be surprised if he doesn’t embrace you right away.  It takes time for him to warm up to people.”

 

“What do you mean by ‘sheltered’?”  That had me worried a bit.

 

“He comes from money and it’s pretty obvious that he hasn’t socialized with anyone outside of his world.”

 

“Oh, you mean he’s a snob.”  I just blurted out the words without thinking.

 

Sebastian chuckled.  “I didn’t say that.”

 

I winked at him as I giggled.  “You didn’t have to.”

 

“Once you get to know him he’s not so bad.  I was really surprised when my cousin started dating him because he is the opposite of the kind of guy he dated in the past.”

 

I shrugged my shoulders.  “I guess you can’t control who you love.”

 

He gently stroked my cheek as his eyes held mine.  “No, you can’t.”

 

We enjoyed a really nice dinner and Sebastian told me who would be at his parents’ house that Saturday night. I would be meeting his grandmother, and seeing his mom and dad, his brother Tyler, Evan, Kipton and Nicole, again.  Even though I was a bit nervous, I was looking forward to seeing them again and meeting his grandmother.

 

I didn’t realize just how nervous I was about seeing everyone at his parent’s house until the next morning when I was sitting in my office.  I was sitting at my desk the next day staring out the window, replaying the conversation I’d had with Sebastian about the dinner when I had a mini panic.  For some reason it took me that long to realize that I was going to be spending social time with his really wealthy family.  I’m not going to lie; I enjoyed the nice life Sebastian had, but being in his parent’s house with his family members who were all super rich?  That was starting to scare me.

 

I hoped they would still like me after they found out we were engaged, and wondered if they would judge me for not being a part of their über wealthy world, and if they would think I was a gold-digger.  Sebastian’s money and connections were a nice surprise, but I really did love him for who he was.  I was the furthest thing from an omega that was digging for gold.

 

I had to push those thoughts out of my head because I wasn’t getting any work done and I had a deadline to meet.  I took a deep breath and immersed myself in work.  That is what I had to do every day that week in order to get through each day.  As Saturday drew near, my anxiety level incrementally increased each day.  By Friday I was a nervous wreck.  Sebastian popped into my office to check on me late that afternoon because he knew how nervous I was.

 

He closed my door behind him and walked over to me and gave me a big hug.

 

“Sweetie, you have nothing to worry about, please stop stressing, it can’t be good for the baby.  I hate to see you like this.  They are going to love you as much as I do.”

 

“I feel so silly but I don’t want to screw anything up.”

 

“How could you?  You are perfect.”

 

I rolled my eyes and smiled at him.

 

“I am not perfect, Sebastian.”

 

He gently touched my cheek and winked at me.

 

“You are perfect for me.”

 

His sweet words made me momentarily forget about dinner the next night and I gave him a hug.

 

“Thank you for that.”

 

“You’re welcome, sweetie.  Okay, listen, tomorrow really will be just fine.  My family is harmless, you’ll see.”

 

I had to snap out of my mood because I didn’t want him to think I didn’t want to see his family.  I gave him my best effort at a smile and took a deep breath.

 

“Okay.  You’re right.”