Chapter 5

STACEY FELL ASLEEPafter some time of just resting on my shoulder—clearly exhausted emotionally as well as physically after everything she’d been through—so I eased her gently to down to the mattress and crept downstairs, leaving my very pregnant mate safe and sound in Nancy’s guest suite.

The night I’d met Stacey I had been as drunk as I could be while remaining upright. I’d endured a boring-ass medical conference all day, and partaken in drinks at lunchtime, and again after the lectures had finished.

I’d managed to rustle some dinner up as well as more wine, and then stumbled my way through the lobby towards the elevators, wanting nothing more than to lie down and drink two gallons of water. But it seemed that Fate had other ideas, because I’d literally run into the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen—Stacey. With her gorgeous long blonde hair and bountiful curves, she would’ve made any hot-blooded male’s mouth water.

When she’d grabbed my arm to steady herself in her rush through the lobby, there had been a strange, electric buzz that passed between us. It was enough to knock some of the alcohol out of my system and sober me up a little, but not enough to knock me off my feet.

In my tipsy, blasé state I’d dismissed the feeling initially, and we started chatting. She’d been looking to book a room, and I’d offered her my spare. I’d paid for a full suite, and the physician I’d planned to travel with had canceled on me at the last minute.

She’d seemed on edge but grateful for my offer of hospitality and came up with me to my suite. We’d shared wine and room service and chatted about nothing in particular. I remember being happy that she seemed more comfortable and relaxed, and then she kissed me, pulling me headlong into a vortex of pleasure unlike anything I’d ever known.

Looking back now, I should have realized she was special. But with the alcohol dulling my senses, and the absence of my twin, I’d dismissed any signs that indicated she was meant to be ours. But now, I was sure. The tingle in her touch was decreasing with each moment we were together, but she was meant to be mine. I was certain. The zing was only there to act as a lightning rod, to help a male recognize the bond. It wasn’t supposed to last forever.

But how do I tell David?

And was it really possible that she was somehow my mate and not my twin’s? Did perfect pairs ever marry different women? I didn’t even know if that was possible or a thing. I certainly wasn’t aware of any such instances.

With these questions and many more niggling at my mind, I made my way downstairs to find that most of the family had gone home. Nancy and my cousins, along with my aunt and uncle, however, were still sitting under the pergola enjoying chatter, drinks, and snacks together by the fire pit.

“Tommy!” Nancy called out, waving me over. “Come, sit!”

I fell into one of the outdoor chairs with a groan, my stomach lurching. “Damn. I think I forgot to eat.”

“There’s plenty of leftovers,” Nancy offered, waving her hand at the laden table in front of us. “Help yourself.”

I reached for a platter of sandwiches and pulled it toward me, picking one up that appeared to be filled with chicken salad. “Thanks.”

“So,” Wade said with a grin, “we hear the final perfect pair have found their woman.”

My aunt and uncle sat up straighter in their chairs, their curiosity immediately piqued. “What do you mean?” they asked.

I chewed my sandwich then awkwardly shrugged. “Stacey is mine, I’m pretty sure. But I don’t think she’s David’s mate.”

“How is that possible?” Nancy gasped, glancing over at her in-laws. “Aren’t perfect pairs meant to always share a woman?”

Aunt Tess picked up her glass of wine and held it in thought. “Well... not always. Some of our mountain lion cousins married separate women—” she began.

“But that didn’t even work out!” Uncle Barry interjected. “They ended up finding their real mate later on.”

“True,” Aunt Tess acknowledged, nodding slowly.

I grabbed another sandwich and sat back in my chair. “So, you’re telling me that either Stacey is David’s mate too... or she’s not mine to begin with, and I have to tell her that?”

Both options seemed strange and unpalatable, and my initial feelings were that I didn’t want to deal with either. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about sharing Stacey, but I also didn’t want to have to tell her that all she’d ever be to me was just the biological mother of my child because my real perfect pairs mate was still out there somewhere.

“How did David respond to her?” Nancy said, “I saw him run from the house, so I assume it wasn’t good.”

I chewed thoughtfully before answering. “Ah... no. Not good at all. My brother took one look at Stacey’s pregnant belly and then pretty much headed for the hills.”

“So, he didn’t touch her?” Tanner asked, one brow cocked in question.

I shook my head. “Nope. He didn’t get that far. He just asked if the baby was mine, then bolted. He looked pretty shattered, to be honest. It was awful.”

Tanner grinned. “Then you won’t know until they make physical contact. David has to shake her hand or something. I’m sure he was just reacting out of shock.”

“Didn’t you keel over when you met Stacey?” Nancy asked me, sitting forward on her chair and reaching for a small plate that contained a piece of pie. “My boys did.”

I chuckled softly, imagining her “boys” falling to their knees from the mere touch of their mate’s hand. “Ah, not really. I mean... I felt an electrical buzz a bit. But I was so drunk when we met, like... blind drunk. So, I think that might have taken the edge off the whole ‘knocking me to the ground part.’”

Tanner laughed. “Well, don’t tell Markus and Oliver that, they’ll be jealous as hell.”

I glanced around, noting their absence. “Did they come today?”

“Oh, yeah,” Nancy said. “But Lexie is so pregnant, she didn’t want to stay long. She’s really uncomfortable at the moment, poor thing.”

I nodded absently. “Yeah, I saw her a few days ago.” She was past her due date and getting grouchier by the day.

“So, what are you going to do about David?” Aunt Tess asked.

I grabbed a chicken leg from another platter in front of me and shrugged for the second time since sitting down. “I have no idea.”

“Yes, you do,” Nancy said, glaring at me like I was a fool. “You’ve got to get them together. It’s the only way.”

“Stacey’s exhausted,” I said, worry coursing through me unexpectedly. “I don’t want to put any more on her today.”

“Well, bring him tomorrow,” Nancy resolved. “Stacey can stay here, and I’ll do what I can to help her rest and recover from whatever she’s been through, but it looks like it’s been a lot.”

The group looked at me expectantly, but I kept my lips firmly shut. I only knew a fraction of the trials and tribulations that Stacey had gone through to find me, and I wasn’t about to blab that around my family without her consent. “That would be great,” I said finally. “And I’ll see what I can do to work on David.”

“And get her in for that ultrasound,” Nancy added, grinning at me. “You never know. Hers might show the same thing mine did.”

I laughed, not sure which way I wanted the results of the ultrasound to go. “It’s possible. But she’s on the smaller side for thirty weeks, so I’d guess she only has one baby in there.”

Nancy pouted. “Oh, no! I forgot about my belly. I’m going to be huge, aren’t I?”

The rest of the family went on to tell her how beautiful she was and that she didn’t need to worry about her body, while I let my mind drift to my brother and Stacey.

Did I want them to be together in the poly family I always thought we would have and share? I should, I knew it in my heart, but there was an unsettling, niggling sensation lurking in the back of my mind that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

David and I’d grown up knowing we’d probably share the same wife, but we’d never tried it until now. Always dateing separate women, we’d never even tried to love the same one.

Can we share a woman like Tanner and Wade do? Will we have issues like Markus and Oliver did in the beginning? Surely, there has to be teething issues with this sort of arrangement?

I stayed another hour or so, hoping to catch another glimpse of Stacey, but in the end, I headed home to an empty house. David wasn’t there and neither was his car. When I tried his cell phone, it went straight to voicemail and the Bailey’s was closed, and I wasn’t going to disturb my parents this late. So, with nothing else to do, I heated up some leftovers and turned in earlier than usual, wanting the time to pass quickly so I could see my mate again.

Instead, I ended up lying on my back in bed unable to sleep, just listening to the soft sounds of cars and people around our neighborhood. We were close to town, too close in some ways. The house had worked for the past ten years while we were single and wanting to get to the restaurant and medical clinic running quickly, but now... maybe a larger property would be better for my child?

My child...

Those two words hadn’t been ones I’d thought I’d be saying or thinking about really for a long time.

Would Stacey’s baby be a girl or a boy? Would she want to breastfeed? I was a huge advocate for a woman’s right to choose from a doctor’s perspective, but something primal—the shifter in me—yearned to see our infant at her breast.

She’d lost a lot of weight since I’d last seen her, which meant her pregnancy hadn’t been easy on her. So even if I couldn’t get David to go and see her tomorrow, I’d get her into the clinic for an ultrasound, just to be safe and make sure she and the baby were okay. There wouldn’t be anyone there on a Sunday, but I had keys to everything, and I’d let the clinic manager know in case she came running in. Agatha was a great manager, but she ran a tight ship.

I stayed awake well into the early hours thinking about where we’d live after the baby was born. I resolved to go straight to the real estate agents in the morning to get a jump-start on our future.

When I finally fell asleep, I sent up a little heartfelt prayer of gratitude. I was going to be a father, and it was all thanks to Stacey. She had conceived my child and kept it safe even when she didn’t know where I was.

She could have lost the baby or chosen to terminate...

And I never would have known, but against all odds, she’d found me, and I would forever repay that strength and courage with kindness, and the love I knew was destined to grow and blossom between us. And I just had to trust that our perfect pairs bond would make itself known when the time was right.

I’d been around long enough to know that the path to lasting love was not always a straight one. Sometimes it was fraught with curves, kinks, and broken pavers along the way. And regardless of what we might face moving forward, we’d do it together.