“Oh. Well I for one say let’s bring her in. As long as she’s not another Livia things should work out fine.”

“I agree. I’m pretty sure we can figure out a way to protect her if her ex shows up.”

The two men began quietly discussing how to make Sheridan part of the Pride while minimizing the danger. Emma and Becky watched and listened quietly. Becky was a little alarmed to hear of some of the things the ex had done in the past to Sheri to try and get to her. He sounded really sick. She just hoped they’d be able to keep the poor girl safe.

Becky turned to Emma as the two men continued to discuss Sheri long after they’d completed their main course. “So I’ve been thinking about painting the walls in Simon’s kitchen purple. What do you think, Em?”

“Go for pink.” Emma grinned slyly and slanted Simon a sideways look.

“Pink? Really?” Becky saw Simon and Max grinning at one another. “I was thinking I might use the same wallpaper we used in the store. What do you think?”

“Please don’t.” Simon threw his hands up in surrender. “We’ll be good. No more Pride business over dinner, I promise.”

“Don’t you like the wallpaper in the store, Simon?” Becky batted her lashes at Simon.

“Do the terms ‘ick’, ‘yuck’, ‘ew’ or ‘gag’ mean anything to you?”

It was Emma’s turn to choke, and Max’s to pound her back. Becky just crossed her arms over her breasts and raised her brows at Simon. “And just what is wrong with the wallpaper in the store?”

“Where to begin?” Simon began stroking his chin thoughtfully. “It’s pink. And flowery. And frou-frou.

And pink. Mostly pink. The flowers just up the blech factor by about ten.”

Becky glared at him as Simon shuddered theatrically. “I picked that wallpaper out.”

“In that case, thank you, God, my home is already decorated.”

Becky gasped in amused outrage as Simon clasped his hands together in mock-prayer. “I’m putting a patch of that wallpaper above the bed.”

“I’ll never have a hard-on again,” he muttered. “Couldn’t you put Jessica Alba up there instead? Ow!”

Simon’s hearty laugh rang out when Becky smacked his arm.

“Ass wipe.”

The waiter came back and took their plates. Emma and Max chose to share a cheesecake slice, while Becky went with the tiramisu and Simon just had coffee.

Becky tried to enjoy her dessert, but Simon was staring at her over his coffee cup. The heat in his gaze sent her pulse racing. She made a face at him, hoping he’d laugh and turn back to Max. Instead, he winked at her over the edge of the cup, his smile so happy she didn’t have the heart to be snarky with him.

Chapter Five

Becky opened her apartment door and sighed. After being at Simon’s for two nights and all day yesterday her tiny apartment above Wallflowers seemed even more cramped than usual. But she seriously needed some clothes and the rest of her makeup if she was going back to work today. He’d brought her the bare minimum to survive on at his place. Why he thought one pair of jeans and a pair of panties was enough clothing…no, wait. Male brain at work. He’d probably thought she’d run around his house naked all the time, or she’d wear one of his shirts or something. She practically swam in the damn things. No way could she work like that.

Simon had wanted her to take a few days off, just until after her change occurred. He’d been worried that what had happened to Emma would happen to her as well. Emma had also insisted on going to work and wound up changing in one of Max’s examination rooms. Luckily for the Pride it had been after closing and no patients were in his practice at the time.

But she didn’t feel the same itchy sensations Emma had warned her about during their shopping trip. No fur had sprouted on her arms. Claws hadn’t appeared. True, her vision had changed in the car Sunday night, but so far that was the only sign of the change she’d experienced. She’d promised both Emma and Simon that if she felt any of the symptoms Emma had mentioned she would immediately call Emma to cover the store and she would go to Simon’s house to wait for him.

In the meantime, she needed clothes, makeup and something to hold back her mane of hair.

She stepped into her tiny kitchenette and felt her heart melt. There on her counter was an eight-piece box of Godiva truffles with a note attached: Think of me while you enjoy your treat.

She had to swallow the lump in her throat as she picked up the note. Damn, Emma, you go, girl. The only way Simon could have known about her near obsession with Godiva truffles was if Emma told him.

She popped one of the delicate confections into her mouth and moaned. That is so good. She picked up the box with a greedy grin. And nobody is getting any of this but me. If Emma knew Simon had picked her up a box of Godiva chocolate anything, she’d try and wheedle a piece out of her, but no way was Becky sharing. Just call me the Godiva Grinch. She snickered and put the box in her bedroom closet for safekeeping while she was at work.

Of course, she brought it back down and popped another piece in her mouth before forcing herself to put the box back. She changed clothes quickly, ran a brush through her hair and decided not to bother with makeup today. She was already running late, and her hands were shaking. She was feeling a little off. Everything around her was starting to swirl. “Damn. Should have eaten more than the chocolates.” If Emma or Simon discovered that she’d gone to the doc about the dizzy spells she’d never hear the end of it, especially if they found out they occurred more frequently when she’d forgotten to eat. Sort of like this morning, when she’d dashed out of Simon’s house. She’d planned on stopping at a fast food place for breakfast, but the accident on Twelfth had slowed everything to a crawl and she hadn’t had the time. The last thing she needed was the two of them hovering over her while she waited for the test results to come in. It wasn’t like she even knew for sure what was wrong, and until she did? She wasn’t saying anything.

The dizzy spell was getting worse. Better have a quick bite before I head downstairs. She weaved her way into the kitchen and grabbed an apple off the counter.

A pair of bright green eyes peeked out of the apple and blinked up at her sleepily.

Becky screamed.

Simon was so proud of his mate he could burst. Last night she’d acted like a true Beta, helping make decisions that would ultimately affect the entire Pride. He didn’t think she even realized she’d done it, it seemed so natural. And the fact that Emma and Becky already worked well together could only benefit the Pride as a whole, and Simon and Max’s interactions as well.