“When is she due?” Kareena asked.
“In a week.”
“Good thing we won’t be too far away if she should go into early labor.”
Miles put his arm around Kareena’s shoulders. “We also have our very own ER nurse if that should happen.”
“And it’s a good thing I started working in labor and delivery before I switched to the ER.”
“Then Jaden should be in good hands,” Saskia said before she opened the front door and stepped inside.
Kareena and Miles followed her. Miles noticed the suitcase near the entrance, obviously the one his daughter and her mate planned to take away. Only Leif was in the living room.
“Where’s Jaden?” Miles asked.
“Using the bathroom,” Leif said with a chuckle. “What else is new? And since you haven’t introduced me, I’m Leif,” he said as he smiled at Kareena.
“Kareena,” Kareena said in return.
“Sorry,” Jaden said when she came into the room. “I feel as if I spend half the day in the bathroom. Hi, Kareena. I’m Jaden.”
Kareena introduced herself before Miles had a chance to. Seeing his daughter and mate together, he had high hopes they’d become close. He also wondered how Kareena would take the news when she learned she was going to be a step grandmother.
Miles suggested they get on the road. Leif stood to go get the suitcase to take outside while Miles said his good-byes to Saskia. Once Jaden and Leif’s suitcase was in the trunk and they were all in the car, Miles pulled out of the drive.
During the trip, Jaden and Kareena kept up a steady flow of conversation, bringing Leif and Miles into it from time to time. And before Miles knew it, they were at the cottage he’d decided to buy with the thought of having a place for his grandchild to come and explore. It was secluded enough that going wolf and having mortals see wasn’t a problem.
They piled out of the car, and Miles opened the door for Jaden and Kareena to go inside while he and Leif retrieved the luggage from the trunk. Miles took his and Kareena’s bags up to the master bedroom and told Leif he could pick whichever guestroom he wanted to use. Even though Miles hadn’t yet spent much time at the cottage, he paid to have someone come in and clean once a week. Plus, the last time he’d come here he’d brought some nonperishable food and meat that he’d put in the freezer.
That done, both Leif and Miles returned to the main floor and to their mates. The two women sat on the couch with bottles of water in their hands.
“We raided the fridge for something to drink. I hope you don’t mind,” Jaden said.
Miles nodded. “That’s fine. You can help yourself to anything you want. I haven’t stocked up much so we’ll have to take a run to the local grocery store tomorrow.”
Jaden pushed to her feet. “Well, I want to go for a walk along the shore since your cottage backs on to Tomales Bay. Come with me, Leif.”
As his daughter and her mate walked out the back sliding door, Miles knew Jaden had given him some time alone with Kareena. Right now would have been a perfect opportunity to tell Kareena what he was, but he wasn’t ready to do that yet. And he wasn’t at all sure he wanted to do it without at least Jaden being there as well. Plus, they’d only just arrived. There was no point in spoiling what they had now.
Kareena closed the distance between them and took Miles’s hand. “A walk sounds like a great idea. We’ll go the opposite way they did.” She went on tiptoe and kissed him.
“They do say the sea air is supposed to give you an appetite.” She winked.
Miles knew exactly what kind of appetite she referred to. He guided her outside, thankful he had a small reprieve before he tested the waters of how strongly Kareena felt for him.
Chapter 7
Kareena couldn’t have picked a better place to get away than being at Miles’s cottage. Plus, she thought Leif and Jaden were great. It was obvious they were very much in love from the way they looked at each other. And they were constantly touching in some way.
“It’s really nice here,” Kareena said as she walked down the sandy shore, holding Miles’s hand.
“I’m glad you like it. I’ll have to take you here again sometime.”
“So you want me to stick around for a while then.”
Miles tugged Kareena to a stop and pulled her around so she stood facing him. He cupped her face in his hands and gently caressed her cheekbones with his thumbs. His face grew serious.
“I want it to be longer than just ‘awhile’,” he said. “I don’t think I’ll let you go any time soon.”
Kareena gulped. She’d known her feelings for Miles had been headed this way, but she’d never been too sure how he felt about her. Hearing him say he wanted her to stay with him made her heart beat a little faster.
“You want me to stay with you?” she asked in a quiet voice.
“Yes. If you haven’t already noticed, I’ve fallen for you. I haven’t always done the right thing in my life, but being with you is one of the best things that have happened to me. You make me feels things that at one time I thought I’d lost forever. That the wrong turn I’d taken made it so I’d never have what I have with you. I love you, Kareena.”
Kareena wasn’t a crier, but unshed tears burned the back of her eyes. She swallowed, fighting not to lose it. She reached up and placed her hands over Miles’s. “I didn’t think I’d ever be able to trust another man enough to fall in love again after what my ex did to me, but you have shown me I can.” She took a deep breath. “I love you too.” She paused.
“Just don’t make me regret it.”
“I would never hurt you. You own my heart, and always will.” Miles claimed her lips in a kiss that was so sweet and tender it had Kareena fighting back tears again.
He finally pulled away. “Let’s go back to the cottage. Maybe we can sneak upstairs before Jaden and Leif come back.”
Kareena smiled. “I’ll race you back.”
She took off running, not waiting for Miles’s response. She heard him take after her, but he let her keep the lead. It wasn’t until they reached the sliding back doors of the cottage that he closed the distance between them and caught her around the waist. They barreled into the house.
Kareena drew up short when she spotted Jaden and Leif in the living room, kissing.
The couple broke apart. She felt her mouth drop open at the sight of their eyes mutedly glowing. There was no mistaking what she saw. It slowly faded as she stared at them.
“Their eyes. They glowed,” Kareena said as she tried to back up. All she managed to do was press even closer to Miles, who stood behind her.
“It’s all right, Kareena,” he said. “That’s normal.”
She tore herself out of Miles’s embrace and looked from him to the couple and back to him again. “Normal for what? Not once in all the time I’ve worked at the hospital have I ever seen anyone’s eyes do that.”
Miles sighed. “It’s normal for werewolves, which the three of us are.”
“Werewolves? You honestly can’t expect me to believe that.”
“It’s true. I planned to tell you later today.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Very.”
Kareena found herself frozen in place as Miles’s body blurred and shimmered while it took on another form. One minute the man she’d come to love stood in front of her, and the next, a white wolf had taken his place. Her gaze shot over to Jaden and Leif just in time to see Leif change into a wolf as well.
Jaden gave her a small smile. “I’d shift as well, but I can’t because of the baby.”
Kareena kept frantically shifting her gaze between the two wolves. She felt herself panic as she breathed too fast, and her heart raced. This was not happening. Werewolves weren’t supposed to exist. And she shouldn’t be in a room with three of them.