Page 124 of Talk About… Dramay

Cameron moved in beside me, hand resting on my lower back as he placed a kiss on my cheek. “He looks happy, doesn’t he?”

“We all do,” I said, giving his hand a squeeze as the other went to my stomach again.

I just hoped they’d be just as happy when I told them our news.

Oriana

A Week Later

When I opened the doors of my brand new shop, I hadn’t expected many people to be waiting.

I guess when the people of Rockwood Valley heard I was offering a fifteen percent discount today only, they didn’t hesitate to show up.

In fact, the line was halfway down the block.

I certainly wasn’t going to complain, and I was more grateful than ever that Tate, Hudson, and Lane had decided to open the shop with me. Though, Tate had a small workshop in the back for his book binding. I was hoping he’d embrace it more now that he had time. If he did, I had the perfect place for him to display those gorgeous treasures.

Of course, Cameron and Roman were here today as well to show their support and help out in case it got crazy.

And crazy it was. The morning was a blur of customers. We went through enough inventory I had to restock my shelves twice halfway through the day.

Just after lunchtime, Mama Whitaker and Avery showed up, Charlie and her pack walking in behind them. The triplets were contained to their father’s arms, though they didn’t look happy about it when there were so many shiny things to touch.

I, however, was very grateful that they weren’t giving into their protests.

A few minutes later, Sidney showed up with her pack, quickly followed by Hailey and Grace. I felt a bit bad that I hadn’t been able to dedicate more time to my friends, but now that my pack was in place, my heat was over, and I felt like a human again, I promised myself that I’d make them a priority.

“There she is,” Avery squealed, rushing forward and giving me a quick hug. “The place looks amazing, Ori! We stopped by earlier, but I knew the babies would never make it through that line, so sorry for being here a bit later than we planned.”

“I’m just glad you’re here. In fact, I wanted to talk to you. Can we organize a girls’ night? I’m sorry that I’ve been kind of flaky since I’ve been to town, but...”

She cut me off. “Girl, we all know how it is. When you get packed up, everything revolves around your pack until it’s settled, and then real life starts to trickle back in. And you guys did that with a bang—first the community center, now this.”

She gestured around at the shop that was still packed.

“It has been kind of crazy,” I agreed. “But things are settling, and I need some girl time.”

“That’s all you have to say,” she promised before flagging over Sidney, Grace, and Hailey.

“This is actually perfect timing because I am in dire need of a girls’ night. I need somebody to talk to about the craziness that I left behind,” Avery admitted with a sigh.

Cameron told me a bit about how Avery came back. It was more of an angry rant than gossip. It still stuck with him and who could blame him. That was… insane and vile.

If she needed a vent, I was happy to listen, especially if they could help me find a way to tell my pack that I was pregnant.

In fact, I had two pregnancy tests in my pocket, wrapped in a plastic bag, that both said positive, loud and clear. There were no doubts now.

“How about tonight? A celebratory dinner?” she asked, the hope in her voice had me turning around to find my pack. Tate was already there, waving me on.

“Go, you celebrate however you want. You know we’ll be home waiting for you when you’re ready.”

Avery didn’t give me a chance to respond, clapping her hands excitedly. “Perfect. My pack will say the same.”

One of her babies started crying, so we hastily made our plans to meet up at closing time. Sidney said The Landing would be perfect, so she called her mate Taylor to set up a reservation for us.

With the idea of a girls’ night and figuring out how to tell my pack, keeping me going, I dove right back into work.

The crowd definitely slowed down after lunch, but there was still a steady flow of customers. We ended up with not just Rockwood Valley citizens, but people from surrounding towns, too. They had grabbed flyers at the Fair and were eager to see the rest of my antiques.