"Right?" Harper sat next to her on the couch and gave her baby girl a gentle kiss before she smiled up at Kira. "I'm so glad you're here, Kira. It's like things weren't complete without you and now that you're back … " Tears welled in her eyes. "Well, I'm just so glad you're here and we're all together."
"And you can finally get married." Ella laughed as she set the tray down. "But you're going to need to get those emotions in check if you're going to make it through the ceremony."
Harper accepted the tissue Chloe held out to her and wiped her eyes. "I can't help it. I'm just so happy." She broke into another sob and Kira and Chloe exchanged glances.
"You'll see." Harper pointed her finger at Ella. "If you're not all hormonal yet, you will be."
Ella rubbed her belly, which was definitely popping out in a cute round bump, and smiled. As soon as they'd arrived home from Yellowstone, she'd told the rest of the family that they were expecting their own cub in a few months. Kira couldn't help but be secretly pleased she'd known first. It helped her feel even a little bit more connected with everything she'd missed while she'd been gone.
"Okay, okay," Chloe said, drawing their attention back to the cakes. "Let's start tasting. I didn't think I'd be so into this wedding thing, but it's super fun."
"I told you!" Harper clapped her hands together. "I don't know why all shifters don't get married. You're missing out on so much." Harper took the baby gently from Kira's arms. "Let me go lay her down so we can eat cake."
She was sorry to see the gentle weight of the baby go, but more than happy to indulge in some cake. Kira had been absolutely ravenous since arriving back at the Ridge.
Ella reached for a cupcake and passed it to Kira.
"Maybe you're on to something, muy hermana."
"What do you mean?" Harper sat down next to Ella. "Weddings?"
"Si."
"She's right," Chloe said. "Weddings are a human thing, but maybe that's only because we never thought they could be a shifter thing?"
Kira nodded. The idea of having a wedding wasn't totally unappealing. In fact, the more she helped Harper with the details of hers, the more she could imagine herself doing it, too. Which was crazy, because weddings were a human thing. The only reason Axel had agreed to it was because it was important to Harper, who had only recently discovered her shifter side.
"It could be a business, Harper," Kira piped up. "Organizing shifter weddings. It could be the next big thing. A service people didn't even know they needed."
"As if we don't have enough to do." Chloe chose a cake of her own. "But I do like the idea," she admitted.
"Well, maybe we're too busy to do it." Harper tapped a finger on her lips. "But I know the perfect person for such a thing."
"Bree."
"Bree."
Chloe and Kira said at once. The name popped into Kira's head immediately. She'd been a long-time resident of Boulder Creek, the town next to the one she'd grown up in. She wasn't a shifter herself, but she was one of the few humans who knew all about them. And she definitely had a sense of style. She ran a store, Bree's Knees, that catered to the curvy girls that shifters often were, or preferred to mate with.
"She's perfect," Harper agreed. "I'll call her in the morning and tell her our brilliant idea."
The women spent the rest of the morning giggling over cake choices, talking about Harper's wedding and Ella's pregnancy. It was perfect, and Kira had never felt happier. Except for her time with Nash. But at the Ridge, she had it all, and when lunch time drew nearer and the women all scattered to their various duties, Kira packed up a picnic basket and snuck off to meet her own lunch date in the woods.
Nash didn't waste any time getting to their meeting spot, tucked back in the woods next to the creek. Ever since they'd arrived on the Ridge, they'd been kept busy. Not that Nash minded. He liked to be busy and Kira's brothers had all been very welcoming. Except for a few tense moments with Luke, who, from what Nash could tell, was just trying to test Nash's worth as his sister's mate, things had been good. He liked the guys, and he enjoyed the physical labor.
But there was another type of physical labor he enjoyed more.
Nash's cock stiffened at the sight of his mate, who was laid out, naked, on a picnic blanket, her eyes closed, the sun warming her creamy skin. Kira's arms were tucked under her head, exposing the now silver mark of his mate bite. Her breasts, fuller now with the pregnancy, stood lush and ready for his attention.
He moved slowly and silently toward her, shedding his clothes as he went.