Page 85 of Knot Convenient

I turned into the kitchen, jumping when I saw Emmett sitting at the breakfast bar, Tobias by the fridge. Emmett wore jeans and a tee instead of his usual suit, and Tobias wore shorts and a T-shirt, decidedly more colorful than what he’d wear to the pharmacy.

“Holy cheese!” I hissed, my free hand that wasn’t holding Milo flying to my chest in shock. I had been completely convinced I was home alone. I hadn’t heard any of them moving around. “What are you guys doing here?” I asked, still catching my breath from the fright.

With my heart pounding, my gaze settled on their clothes again. They definitely didn’t look like they were heading into work anytime soon.

“We happen to live here.” Tobias chuckled, closing the fridge and scooping the baby out of my arms, kissing my forehead as he did so.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You know what I mean. It’s a Friday. You guys are never home on a Friday!”

“It’s Friday?” Emmett asked playfully, furrowing his brows, and I kind of wanted to smack him for playing dumb—not really, though.

“I refuse to believe that both of you have simply forgotten how days work.”

“Really? Then you have more faith in us than we do, because honestly, they’re all so similar. They end with the same three letters, and it’s really confusing…” Tobias trailed off, taking the bread out of the bag and handing it to Milo, who pawed at it excitedly.

He knew where his toast came from.

“Sorry if we scared you,” Marshall said, standing up from the dining table and striding over to me. I had been so shocked to see Tobias and Emmett that I hadn’t even registered him sitting at the table.

“It’s a nice surprise, don’t get me wrong, but maybe make a little noise next time? You guys were being creepily quiet…”

Marshall smirked, snaking a hand around my waist and pulling me close so I was pressed up against him. “We just ensured that this house had good soundproofing when we worked on it.”

His insinuation made my face heat up.

“Anyway, the reason we are all here is that we decided to take a day off for a pack date,” Tobias explained as he situated Milo in his high chair. Marshall guided me over to the counter and the coffee machine and started making my iced latte.

“Where’s Noah, then?” I asked, looking around with a frown. He was the only one missing. It wouldn’t be a pack date without him.

“At the high school,” Marshall explained. “Every year, there’s a fair at the high school. There’s rides and food, and it’s a good time. Noah is there supervising some of the setup, but we’re going to meet him there.”

“A fair?” I asked, perking up.

“They always have the best candy apples and freshly made donuts!” Tobias nodded enthusiastically. “So many trucks of food that’s fried. Ugh. So good.”

“Remember what happened last time, though? Go on the rides before you eat the junk food,” Emmett said, giving his pack mate a firm look, even as he smirked.

“That’s a rookie mistake.” I laughed as Tobias grimaced at what was no doubt an icky memory.

“There’s tons of fun things for kids, like the Hook-a-duck games and bounce houses. We thought it would be a fun thing to do as a family,” Emmett said. “There’s this inflatable maze we could walk through with Milo.”

“It sounds amazing!” I agreed enthusiastically.

“In that case, do you want breakfast or food there?” Tobias asked, still intently watching Milo as he made a mess.

I thought about cotton candy and hot dogs.

“There. Definitely there.”

The fair was amazing. For something the high school was putting on, they went all out, sparing no expense on the games, rides, food, and music. I loved it.

Thankfully, it wasn’t too loud for Milo, and the warm sun settled over us as we walked through the cordoned-off parking lot and street in front of it. I felt light and couldn’t stop smiling as I looked over at Marshall, who was baby-wearing Milo.

So adorable.

I stopped in front of him as we waited to file in, holding out my hands in front of Marshall. “I can take him, you know.”

“Bah,” he shot back, grinning as he waved me off.