The Alpha King Call Boy
Chapter 211

Alexander

I opened the passenger door and held out my hand, having hustled around the front of the car to do so after parking. Fiona gave me an amused smile as she slid her hand into mine and allowed me to needlessly assist her out of the car. I kept hold of her hand as we walked back to our room, intermittently bringing it to my mouth to place gentle kisses on it.

Fi was looking a little better, but I could tell she was still in her head. She had come out of the nursing home very tense and quiet. She'd quickly summarized the scene she had encountered at her grandfather's room before spending the rest of the drive home gazing solemnly out the window, idly moving her fingers back and forth in the valleys between the knuckles of my right hand, which I'd placed atop her thigh.

The sight that greeted us when we returned to our room was one I did not expect to see, and it made me smile.

I had left Nina alone with the baby, but apparently Kayden had joined her in here while I'd been out picking up Fiona. The two were together in the nursery when Fi and I walked in. It appeared Nina had been in the process of giving Kayden a tutorial on how to change a diaper, something I never imagined I would see my Beta doing, ever.

Neither Kayden nor Nina was a type of person I would expect to see settling down and having a family. But they looked so natural together as they passed the baby back and forth, both treating Lexi. with great care, and it made for a sweet picture.

And gave me a little hope. Hope that maybe the two of them would work things out at some point and find their way to a real relationship.

It had been a while since all four of us had been in the same place at once. Seeing the smile that broke across Fiona's face as she took hold of Alexis and welcomed a big hug from Nina, I had an idea.

"Why don't we all go enjoy some lunch together?"

I asked the group. "I'll have the staff set up a big spread in the dining room. I think we could all probably use a good break."

Kayden and Nina both brightened at the suggestion. Fiona gave me a nod and a grateful smile.

I looked at my watch. "How about... in an hour? I could use a shower and a change of clothes. We'll

meet you two then, in our dining room."

Fiona

"Did I just watch you trying to use my baby as an emotion detector?" I asked Nina quietly.

I'd seen her hand Alexis to Kayden and then watch the baby very intently while he held her Nina's entire face went red. "Don't be mad," she said, hanging her head guiltily. "Treally was just asking him for help with the baby. Only once he was holding her, and had his hand on her arm, I started thinking about the thing, and I just couldn't help but be curious..."

"I'm not mad. Curiosity can't really be helped."

The truth was that I was amused with Nina and her "empath baby hacks." She definitely had a different perspective on practical applications for Lexi's abilities than I did. I didn't want to give her

too much encouragement to keep experimenting with the baby, though.

My own curiosity had me adding, "Did you learn anything interesting?"

Nina busied herself tidying up the changing table while she answered. I got the feeling she was avoiding looking me in the eye. "Nah. Right before you guys got here he'd just said something to me about, he was impressed with how good I was with the baby. He had a kind of funny look on his face.

Looked kind of serious, and I was just wondering if Lexi could tell me whether he was thinking, like, positive-leaning thoughts, or what. She just looked' at him, though. Like she was curious, too."

I turned my attention to the baby in my arms.

Lexi met my eyes and smiled innocently, oblivious to our conversation about her. I stroked her soft little cheek and felt her contented energy.

I was a little distracted with looking at the baby and thinking about how cute she was. That was why I didn't think through my next words before they came tumbling out of my mouth. "Nina, if you really want to know what Kayden is feeling, maybe you should just ask him."

My friend froze, her body going completely rigid in an instant. She turned to square her shoulders to me and looked me dead in the eye with an unmistakably offended glare. "Seriously, Fi?

Seriously? You really think you have a right to say shit like that to me?"

I was stunned by this reaction. It was all I could do to keep my jaw from dropping open. "Nina, I didn't mean..."

She threw a pair of the baby's socks, which she'd picked up off the floor a minute ago, into the laundry hamper a bit more forcefully than was necessary. "Fiona, do you not remember the months-long standoff you just had with Alex, with the both of you scared shitless to admit how you felt about each other-while you were even already pregnant, living together, and engaged? Not once did I tell you to just get over it. Because I know it's not that easy." She hissed out a frustrated sigh, her chest heaving with restrained anger.

As startled as I still was, Nina made a very good point that I understood immediately, and I was embarrassed with myself. My best friend and I had a tacit agreement that we'd both honored for years.

To not give each other unsolicited advice, like everyone else in our lives seemed to want to do all the time.

"I'm so sorry, Nina, You're totally right. I shouldn't have said that. And I really do understand, honestly. I'm the absolute worst at talking about feelings. If there were an award for being emotionally stunted, actually, I think I'd be a contender for first prize. It's really, really not my place to tell you what to do about Kayden."

The frustration on Nina's face melted away. "No, it's fine. I'm sorry too, I know you didn't mean any harm. I guess the topic is just... I'm a little on edge about it already and being overly sensitive. I'm sorry I got so defensive." She groaned, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "Don't worry about it, Nina." I opened my arms and she came in for a hug, enveloping little Lexi in the middle of it. The baby squealed loudly, making Nina and I break apart and break into smiles.

Distantly, I heard the shower turn off in our bathroom and knew Alex would be coming out soon to get dressed.

Nina heard this too. "Lemme get out of your guys' way." She patted Lexi on the top of her head in goodbye, then paced backward toward the door." Love you, Fi," she said with an apologetic smile. Posted by FindNovel.net; visit us for more free novels. "Love you too, Nina."

She glanced at her smartwatch. "Yeah, I should run. I, uh, told Kayden to meet me at my room. He just went to grab a change of clothes."

"Oh, I see. We're getting dressed together, are we?" I arched a knowing eyebrow, making Nina cheese mischievously. "Should I tell Alex you two may be a little late to lunch?"

She pressed her lips against a smile. "Nah. We've got almost an hour, right? I'll only actually need a few minutes to get dressed."