The cat was out of the bag. I'd told Zander about the baby and he hadn't completely freaked out! And on top of all that, I'd also scored a free book. Things seemed to be working out for me. I was feeling good.

When Conner was done browsing all the book shelves three times, he asked me to come home with him so I could say hi to his family. I was pretty sure what he really wanted was a free ride, but I said yes anyway. It would be good to see everyone.

Zander shot me a questioning look, though, probably wondering where I wanted to spend the night. Seriously, he was so silly sometimes. Like I'd settle for anywhere other than his bed. “I'll be back later,” I told him with a wink before I headed out the door behind Conner.

“You're staying with Mr. Kerner?” Conner asked as he climbed into the beat-up car I'd leased.

“Yup. We're having a sleep-over, just like the good old times.” For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to tell the boy that Zander and I were anything more than friends. I knew I had to sooner or later, but he was so pleased when I told him alphas and omegas could be friends. I didn't want to confuse him.

Sadly, it seemed it was too late for that already. “You're not just friends, are you?” Conner eyed me critically as I started the car.

“What do you mean?”

“I saw you before I walked into the store.”

He saw us? Oh my God. What had he seen?

Shane was going to kill me. Just after Kade was done with me.

Maybe I should turn the car around, head straight back to LA. There was still time to make my escape, right? Better check with Conner how fast I had to run. “What did you see?” I asked, trying to keep my eyes on the road instead of the boy next to me.

“I saw you... hug. It just seemed really intimate.”

I let out a breath. He hadn't seen anything super inappropriate then. And I was never going to tell Zander—or anyone—how close he'd come. “We were... really glad to see each other again?” I tried. I didn't really think it would work. Of course, it didn't.

Conner only gave me a look. “I'm not stupid.”

“Okay, I'm sorry. Yes, Zander and I are more than friends. But that doesn't mean omegas and alphas can't be friends. We're just not a good example of an alpha/omega friendship.”

“It's all right.” Conner waved me off. “I know that. No two people are the same, right? All those stereotypes are stupid.”

“I'm glad you see it that way. You can totally be friends with your alpha friend.” I didn't want the boy to feel pressured into anything. “But if you want to be more than that someday, that's cool too. You gotta follow your heart in these matters. It'll tell you what to do.”

Look at me giving relationship advice like a real adult. Conner didn't seem too impressed either.

“Okay,” he said, and after that he remained quiet for the rest of our short ride.

I wondered what was going through his mind, but there was no telling. He was a smart kid, though. I knew he'd make the right choice when it was time for him to do so.

* * *

“Good to see you again!” my cousin greeted me at the door.

“Have you settled on a baby name, yet?” Kade asked, coming down the stairs to nag me. In his arms, he held his daughter, who stared at me with wide eyes the same color as Kade's. I wondered what color eyes my baby would have. Blue like mine or brown like Zander's? Something in between?

“Knock it off,” I told Kade.

“You're pregnant?” Shane's eyebrows shot up as he looked at me.

“Oops,” Kade said with a grin. “But you told Zander, right?” He asked me. “So, I was allowed to spill that.”

I nodded. That was the agreement we'd come to. Now that Zander knew, I really didn't care who else he told.

“Come in, come in,” Kade waved me inside. “You need to tell me everything.”

“Yeah, I'd like an update too,” Shane chimed in. Kade and I both laughed.

“You'll get an update. Later,” Kade promised his mate while handing their daughter to him. And then he dragged me into the basement with him. “Sit,” he gestured at one of the chairs standing in front of his way expensive recording equipment. I sat slowly. Even though I wasn't touching anything, I was still kind of afraid to break something.

“Relax.” Kade picked up a microphone from a table by the wall and held it in my face, mimicking a reporter. “Mr. Kramer, please, how do you feel about the name Kayla, or Lara or Sharon?”

I pushed the mic away from me. “Lara is my sister's name. Why do you think my baby is a girl?”

Kade shrugged. “Omega's intuition.”

“Shouldn't I have some sort of intuition about this?”

“I don't know.” Kade put the mic back on the table. “What do you think it's gonna be?”

“Honestly? No idea.”

“Well, think about it. I'm gonna go get us something to drink. Wait here.”

I shook my head as I watched my friend take the stairs two at a time. Instead of thinking about what sex my baby might be, I dug my phone out of my pocket. It had vibrated earlier in the car, but I hadn't had time to look at it then. Now it seemed I'd received a new e-mail on my drive over.

My stomach seemed to collapse in on itself when I saw the title and sender. It was a response from that one comic studio I'd sent a job application to months ago. I'd totally forgotten about them. To be honest, I never really thought they'd consider me anyway. Still, seeing I had an email from them...

Telling myself it was probably just a formal rejection, I made myself open it.

It was an invitation to an interview.

Holy shit.

They actually wanted me to come in for an interview! That meant I stood a chance, right? I could actually get this job?

Breathe, Nick. Breathe.

Kade came back down the stairs, carrying two cups of coffee. “That's decaf for you,” he said, handing me one of them.

“I got a job interview,” I said before he could lay in on me about baby names again. Oh God, the baby. I couldn't keep living in LA with the baby, could I?

“A job interview?” Kade looked confused. “I thought you were working at that one diner now.”

Right, I'd never told him that I'd applied for a job with that studio. “I am.” And it was a horrible job too, but the tips were all right. “I applied for a couple more jobs before I came here in November, though. I never thought I'd be hearing back from any of them this late.”

“You make it sound like getting a job interview is a bad thing. What sort of job are we talking about?” Kade pulled up a chair and sat across from me.

Instead of wasting my breath on a long explanation, I simply showed him my phone with the email still opened on it. “Speed Lines Studio?”

Ugh. Obviously, my friend had no idea what sort of company that was. “It's a comic studio,” I explained. “It's okay if you don't know them. They only published the greatest comic book ever.”

“What's the greatest comic book ever?”

“Midnight Ranger, duh! He’s got a laser lasso, you can’t beat that.”

“Oh. I think Conner's friend Jake reads those.”

“Then Jake has good taste.” I huffed. “This is my dream job, Kade.”

“Really?” Kade handed the phone back to me, forehead creased in thought. “You never told me about that.”

“Because I never thought I had a shot. I don't know why I even applied, to be honest.”

“But now you've got an interview! Isn't that fantastic?” Kade looked like he was about to jump out of his chair from excitement. Was he really not getting this?

“If I got the job, I'd have to stay in LA,” I said. “I was kinda thinking about moving back here, though, you know.” Zander and I hadn't talked about it yet, but I didn't want to raise our child away from him. He had a store here, and there was nothing really keeping me in LA. Not until now, anyway.

“Oh.” My friend deflated. Finally, he seemed to be seeing the problem. “You should interview anyway. Maybe they can offer you a remote position if they really like you.”

I shook my head. “It's a miracle they offered me an interview at all. No one's going to hire a pregnant omega.”

Kade looked like he wanted to say something, but then he didn't. He knew the world we lived in too, after all.

“It's fine,” I said. “Not everyone can be as lucky as you.” My friend had it all—his dream job, a mate he loved, and a beautiful daughter. He deserved those things; he'd worked hard for them. But he was lucky too.

Kade licked his lips. “I'm sure you can find some way to make money off your drawings, even if you move here. Look at me, I had to resort to YouTube for a while too.”

“Yeah, you're right.” I put my phone away. From here on out, I was just going to pretend like I'd never seen that email. I'd been happy before it had arrived, why shouldn't I be happy again? “Let me hear those baby names you thought of,” I said to Kade. Baby names, that was what I needed to be thinking about now, not jobs I would never land anyway.

* * *

I got back to Zander's place late that night. Kade had insisted I stay for dinner, and then we all got to talking for quite a while after. But I could see from the street that the light was still on in Zander's apartment. A smile formed on my lips, looking up.

Moving back to Oceanport wouldn't be so bad. I'd thought a lot about this over the past few weeks. Zander's apartment was big enough that the three of us could live there comfortably for a few years. It was way better than anything I could offer my child in LA. I wanted him or her to grow up the way I had, with snowball fights and sledding in the winter and treks through the forest in the summer. I wanted them to grow up with sea salt in their nose and the mountain wind in their lungs.

This was the right decision.

I just needed to keep that in mind and forget about the email.

Shoving all thoughts of job interviews aside, I moved to ring the door bell, but the door opened before I could.

“Saw you from the window,” Zander said with a grin.

“Anxiously waiting, were you?” I couldn't help but respond to his grin in kind. Everything felt easier around him, even giving up far-fetched job interviews.

“I wouldn't say I was anxious,” Zander said, pulling me inside where it was warm.

“What word would you use then?” I held on to his hand as we went up the stairs. I liked the feeling of his skin on mine, craved the connection.

“I would say I was... hopeful.”

“Hopeful?” We stepped through the door into the apartment above the store and there was Betty, eyeing me critically for a moment before deciding that I could pass. Oh, that old dog was going to love the baby.

Zander closed the door behind us and helped me out of my jacket. “Hopeful that you'd come back to me,” he elaborated.

I gave him a smile, feeling my heart warm up along with the rest of my body. “I promise I'll always come back to you. In fact, how would you like it if I moved in with you?”

“You want to move in with me? Here?” Zander put his hands on my hips, drawing me closer.

“Yes, here. I think it's perfect.” I cast my eyes around the apartment. “We might need to get rid of some of the books to make space, though.”

“You're not being serious.”

“Oh, I am. I totally want to move in.”

“Not that part.”

“You mean you can't sacrifice any of your books?” I teased. “You do realize that you're already a book abuser, though, right? Or do I have to remind you what happened to The Mating Rituals of Homosexual Penguins? That book's got some stains on it.” Suppressing my laughter as Zander's eyes grew wide was the most difficult thing. “Where's that list of book abusers? I want to add your name to it.”

“Don’t you dare.”

“Stop me.”

Zander kissed me—as if he thought that could distract me. I had to admit, he was making a strong point, but the thought of messing with one of his lists was just too tempting. Goal in mind, I broke away from my boyfriend and made a beeline for the kitchen. The list was still on the fridge where I’d last seen it. I needed a pen, though. Where did Zander keep those?

Everywhere, apparently. I spotted one on the kitchen table, one on the counter next to the stove and another one on the top of the fridge. I grabbed that last one and uncapped it. Zander stood in the door, watching me.

“Go ahead,” he said as I poised my pen. “I stand by what I did. I would sacrifice my books for you any day.”

“Aw, that’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.” Coming from Zander, it really was. “Don’t worry, though. I won’t make you.”

“That’s why I love you.”

I put the pen back where I found it and joined my mate at the door. “I love you too,” I said, resting our foreheads together, breathing him in and feeling at peace with the world and the decision I’d made. “We’re going to have a fantastic time here together.”

And nothing else mattered, did it?