“This shouldn’t take more than an hour.” The portly man pulled up his jeans but still left a good two inches of crack peeking out the top when he kneeled down to grab the clipboard out of his bag. “You just need to sign here and we’ll get started.”

Kaden brought over a stool from the break room and sat down while I signed the work order to get the guys going. I needed this dishwasher up and running before the rest of the staff arrived at three, but if it could be finished by two, me and Kaden would have plenty of time to pick up where we left off this morning.

The memory of Kaden violently emptying his stomach made me frown as I pulled him closer to my side. He seemed better now than he was before, but I was still worried by how quickly he went from totally fine to totally not.

I kissed the top of his head and whispered in his ear, “How are you feeling?”

“Good as new.” Kaden titled his head so it was resting on my chest as his hand snaked around my back and squeezed my ass. “So maybe we can sneak away for a few minutes.”

I grinned and tried like hell to keep my cock in check. I had to be professional, but when I was that close to Kaden, all my cock wanted to do was get hard and knotty with him. I needed to focus on something other than how good Kaden smelled, so I glanced at Paul and watched him dig out tools from the leather bag that hung low on his hips.

Keeping my cock soft turned out to be a lot easier than I thought with the large plumber showing off his ass just a few feet away from me. And when he walked past us and turned to sniff Kaden, all thoughts of sex went out of my brain and were replaced with flashing red lights that kept telling me an alpha was trying to steal my man. But when he smiled at me and nodded, it was more confusing than upsetting. I couldn’t tell what he meant, but it seemed to be genuine goodwill toward Kaden and me. I nodded casually and put my other arm around Kaden. “Want something to drink? I know it’s early, but a beer or maybe a glass of orange juice with vodka?”

Kaden’s smile grew. “Yes, please. Just some orange juice sounds really good right now.”

Tilting Kaden’s face toward mine, I leaned down and kissed him square in the mouth. “Coming right up.” I filled a large juice glass for Kaden and grabbed a water bottle for myself. I didn’t know what would settle his stomach better, so I figured having a variety was better than nothing.

For the next ten minutes, we made small talk with Paul as he and his two workers manhandled the old dishwasher out of the kitchen and got the new one into position. I was distracted by helping Paul hold up a heavy pipe that had sprung a leak, so I didn’t immediately notice when Kaden’s body tensed just seconds before he jumped off the stool and ran to the bathroom.

“Kaden?” I called out to him, but I couldn’t immediately follow because I was holding the water main and would have flooded the entire kitchen.

“I’ll get that. Just a sec.” Paul scooted out from behind the dishwasher to take over for me. “Congratulations, by the way.”

“What?” My eyes were glued to the door Kaden disappeared behind and I was anxious to get to him, not really giving a shit about the new dishwasher.

“On the baby. When my omega was first pregnant, a shift in the wind could trigger vomit. I don’t envy either of you during these early days, but he’ll be fine in a few months.

“What?” This time, I looked at Paul and tried to focus on what he was saying. “Pregnant?”

Paul looked confused for a second then smiled back at me. “Uh, yeah. He’s pregnant, right? At least that’s what I thought I smelled when I passed by him earlier. And the morning sickness that actually lasts all day seemed like confirmation.”

I stepped back from the pipes when Paul took over but didn’t chase after Kaden. “So, you really think he’s pregnant?”

Paul patted my shoulder and chucked. “I really think he is, Dad. So, maybe you want to go check on him?”

My head went up and down, but I still wasn’t thinking completely straight. “Yeah.”

I found Kaden sitting on the bathroom floor with his face buried in his hands. “I’m sorry, Mitch.”

I instantly kneeled beside him, desperate to take care of him regardless of all other things. “For what, sweetheart? What’s wrong?”

Kaden just shook his head. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I mean, I think…” He stared up at me. “I’m sorry.”

I gave him a sad smile to try to alleviate his fears, but I was still reconciling my feelings on everything too. On the one hand, I knew that Kaden was it for me. I tried playing it cool with him and that didn’t work. So, starting our family sooner rather than later actually made me very happy. But the anxiety I could see in his eyes and feel in his tense muscles broke my heart and made me want to move mountains to make him feel better about it.

“Kaden, please look at me,” I whispered.

He took a deep breath and lowered his hands so I could see those beautiful hazel eyes that now held fear instead of the love I know I saw just minutes ago. “What?”

“Why do you think you’re sick right now?” I held his gaze, forcing him to face me without hiding from me like he usually tried to do.

Kaden shrugged. “Well, it would be ignorant to not at least consider the possibility…”

I smiled and placed my palm across his cheek. Kaden leaned into me and let out a deep breath. “What possibility?”

His eyes drifted shut for a long moment before he looked me in the eyes. “It’s possible I’m pregnant…”

I held my smile without giving too much of my emotions away. I wanted to hear what he was feeling before I biased him with my own excitement. “And how do you feel about that?”

Kaden swallowed hard then searched my face for an answer. When he realized I wasn’t upset in the least, his shoulders dropped and he shifted his weight to his knees so he was closer to me. “I’m happy.”

I pulled him into my arms and held him tightly against my chest. With my lips nipping at his ear, I whispered words I’m not sure I’ve ever said in my life. “I’m so fucking happy too.”