My heartbeat picked up when I saw a picture of my best friend in a hospital gown, snuggling a bundled-up baby with the biggest, most tired, and most genuine smile on her face.
“Shit,” I breathed, staring at it.
Zed sat down next to me, looking over my shoulder. “Newborns always look like aliens.”
I smacked his thigh lightly, and he caught my hand and lifted it to his lips.
Finally, I navigated away from the picture and read the message. “Felix Ozzy Hughes, nine pounds, two ounces,” I whispered. “Mom and baby are doing incredibly, and Felix already shifted to wolf and back. Visitors are welcome, just text Elliot first to make sure no one else will be there.”
The thought of a tiny wolf in Del’s arms almost made me teary-eyed, and I navigated back to the picture.
It was so freaking adorable.
My phone dinged again, and I read the next text from Rocco aloud too. “Del says no one’s allowed in until you’ve met the baby. Get your ass over here so my mom doesn’t have to wait in the hallway.”
A snort escaped Zed. “Bastard.”
There was fondness in his voice, though.
I was on my feet, grabbing dirty clothes out of my suitcase in a minute. They smelled bad, but whatever. Who cared?
Zed snagged my shirt out of my hands and sniffed it, making a face. “You should probably wear one of mine.”
I made a noise of agreement. “Need to put a bra on, though.”
He stepped aside, leaning up against the wall. His eyes tracked me while I got dressed, and I wondered how I’d ever thought he wasn’t attracted to me.
The dude was obsessed.
And that thought had me fighting a smile.
I crossed the hallway to his room, wearing just my (slightly stinky) bra, and felt his eyes on my legging-clad ass as he followed me.
“Do you care which of your shirts I take?” I checked, glancing over my shoulder at him. He stopped near the doorway, leaning against that wall too.
“Not even a little.”
That made it easy, I guessed. “Why aren’t you getting dressed?” I checked, tugging a shirt over my head.
“I don’t want to intrude on your time with Del,” he told me. The response was simple, but a little surprising.
“Oh. Well, they’re your friends too. If you want, you can go alone later so it’s a bit more private, but you’re welcome to come with me.”
I headed for the bathroom next, and grabbed one of Zed’s scrunchies. My hair went up in a ponytail on top of my head, and then I was hurrying down the stairs.
Zed caught up to me on the way down, those damned long legs of his making it a piece of cake for him.
My gaze slid over the kitchen as I headed for the door. “We need to clean before we head out on the road trip,” I admitted.
“We’ll do it after the hospital. While your clothes are in the wash” Zed flashed me a grin and grabbed his keys off the counter, and I saw my truck’s keys next to them. I appreciated that he hadn’t made any snippy comments about the shitty state of my truck, because that baby was going to last at least through my lifetime if I had anything to say about it.
We slipped into his car together, and were off.