Page 72 of Galaxy Between Us

Chapter XXXI

“I’m not cleaning this up,” Jaimie complains as soon as he gets a whiff of what occurred in Knox’s office for the last twenty-four hours.

I laugh at his wrinkled nose, already picking up pillows and tabletop items that came crashing down during my heat.

“Don’t worry, I don’t expect you to. Can you even pick things up off the ground at this stage?” I nod toward his pregnant belly wrapped in a tidy red turtleneck.

“If I do a slow squat,” he admits, clearly bored without his usual cleaning tasks. Another cleaner has been assigned to help him out during his term, and he hasn’t been easy on her.

“What are you up to? Shouldn’t your helper be coming in soon?” I ask while cleaning up most of my own mess anyway before Knox gets back. He went home to pick up Luna from the nanny. My poor mate really misses her when he’s at work and wants to try bringing her with for the rest of the day.

“Yeah, she’ll be in shortly. I’m just bored. Walking around,” Jaimie shrugs, leaning against the sofa with something suspicious about his attitude. I let silence fill the space between us until he says whatever else is on his mind. It seems like he came in here for a reason.

“You know I was just jealous, right?” he whispers with trepidation through the tension. “I never actually had feelings for Knox; I was just upset watching you have the workplace romance I wanted.”

Pausing my cleaning, I meet his vulnerable gaze, a pitiful expression forming on my face.

“I know, Jaimie. I’m willing to put it behind us and start fresh.”

He swallows and nods, hands rubbing his baby bump in a self-soothing manor that makes me miss being pregnant.

“Okay, but… I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I just thought I better apologize now while I’m hormonal and capable of saying sorry.”

I laugh lightly at his bluntness.

“If there’s anyone who understands being an emotional wreck, it’s me. That baby is going to alter the way you view the world even more once it’s in your arms.”

“Good to know,” Jaimie grins back at me. “Hey, could you open the curtains? Maybe let some light in here.”

I blink at the switch in topics, but oblige, walking over to the tall windows along the wall behind Knox’s desk. Pulling the thick fabric aside, harsh sunlight warms my skin and floods the room with golden light. The view is stunning, overlooking the front lawn of Comet XI which appears to have an event going on. Looking closer, a gasp escapes my lips when I see what’s happening on the vast yard below.

Giant heart-shaped balloons. Roses everywhere. Tables of food and space-themed attractions. And my mate standing in the center of it all with Luna in his arms, gazing up at me as if he can see right through the tinted window. He picks up our daughter’s tiny wrist to make her wave at me and I feel her joyous recognition along our family bond.

My hands float to my mouth, cupping my shock. Eyes wide, I turn to Jaimie who is smiling with excitement. Now I see why he came up here.

“Is that for me?” I whisper.

Jaimie’s eyes roll, but his smile remains.

“Who else would Knox do all that for? Come on,” he offers a hand and I accept it as we hurry down the hall. “I picked the cake design by the way. Knox wanted to do one that looked like the earth because you’re his world or something cheesy like that. But I thought my idea was better. More extravagant.”

Before I can ask what it is, we stroll out of the elevator on the bottom floor and out into the front yard where many others have already gathered. White lab coats flutter around, including my proud group of Omega operators. It’s refreshing to see them integrated in the mix.

“Surprise!” the crowd shouts in sync making me shiver under the immense affection. Music from a speaker picks up and a few confetti canons go off, creating colorful, fluttering rain.

“Wow… I don’t even know what to say,” I murmur as Jaimie walks through the party with me. The cake he mentioned is in the shape of a telescope, miraculously standing on three edible legs. I don’t even know how they did that, but it looks amazing. Like I could just go up and take a bite out of the lens. And I’m thinking I just might.

Finally, we spy Knox through the crowd, and I can hear happy babbles from Luna. My mate’s handsome smile reaches mine, and we meet between the balloons and flowers.

“Knox…what is all this?” I ask while scooping up my daughter from his arms.

He leans in for a quick kiss, whispering against my lips.

“Happy birthday, Ari.”

My eyes blow wide and I lean back to gawk at him.

“Oh my gosh…it’s our birthday!” the realization hits me and he chuckles. I thought this was about my Omegas getting a promotion, but nope. Knox and I are just another year older! My excitement falls into a pout. “I completely forgot about it, Knox. I didn’t get you anything.”