I was grateful for the promise, but still uncertain. “We could do dinner with them, maybe? And if it sucks, wait a couple more days before trying again?”
“I would love that.” Dax’s hand slid up and down my arm.
We stayed in the tub for a few more hours before getting out and wandering to our bed, still naked. There would be no sex—we had agreed on that, despite our mutual attraction to each other.
We crashed into bed, ignoring our also-mutual horniness, and took a big ole’ nap.
When we woke up,it was time for the pack dinner, so we hopped in Dax’s car and hit the road.
I wasn’t nervous, exactly, but my stomach fluttered a bit.
Shit, maybe I was nervous.
Truthfully, I hadn’t made much of an effort to try to fit into the pack since the first few times I hung out with them. It had been awkward, and I’d wanted to avoid more silent pain when I didn’t fit in.
But… I was going to try.
Hopefully, I could move on. Leave the past in the past, and all that shit.
Honestly, I wanted to.
They were a big part of Dax’s life, and I wanted that connection he had with them. So, it was time to be social.
Sigh.
We parked in front of Del and Rocco’s place, which was where the dinner was that night. I could hear people talking inside, and nerves fluttered in my stomach.
I started to knock on the door, but it opened quickly, and a set of arms were wrapped around me, squeezing me tightly.
“Sab!” Tea exclaimed, pulling away to beam at me. “You look incredible. I’m so glad you guys got the wolf shit figured out; we were worried about you.”
The words made my throat swell.
How much of my issue with the pack was just because I personally didn’t feel like I belonged, and not because of anything they’d actually said or done?
“Something smells good,” Dax remarked, changing the subject.
“Zed’s cooking, so of course it does.” Tea grinned at him. Her arm looped through mine, and she tugged me into the house. Dax squeezed my hip lightly before he released me and headed over to join the guys in the kitchen. “You’ve got to see Felix. He looks even bigger than the last time you were here, and damn girl, I’m getting some serious baby hunger. You’re supposed to be the most fertile one of us, so I’m expecting you to pop out a little furball in the near future so my uterus can live vicariously through yours.”
A laugh escaped me. “Let me get right on that.”
“I told you she had our backs, Ebb,” Tea called to Ebony, who flashed a grin our way. “At this point, I think June is the only one of us who doesn’t want a baby, but you know how she is with Evan. They’re freakin’ adorable. She’ll be such a good mama if she ever changes her mind.”
“Gossiping about my uterus this time, Tea?” June teased us.
“Only a little.” Tea winked at her.
The girls were all sitting in the living room while the men cooked, with Elliot and Rocco wrestling the furry toddlers near the kitchen table.
“Lizzy won’t give us the deets about your coffee date with a certain b-i-t-c-h,” June said, spelling out the word to avoid cussing when the toddlers were in the room. Her gaze was focused on me. “What happened?”
I made a face. “Nothing good.”
“Don’t,” Lizzy warned, though there was humor in her eyes.
I flashed her a teasing grin. “She’s keeping it a secret because she doesn’t want you guys to know that she nearly got in a fist fight with said b-i-t-c-h.”
“I’ve got to hear this now,” Elliot yelled from the kitchen. He rolled out from under Evan, and teased the little guy for another second before jogging over to us. He scooped Lizzy up off her seat on the couch, and sat back down with her on his lap. Her sheepish grin was so freakin’ adorable.