Holiday Surprise #5
Saint Patrick's Day was the best day of Avery's life, the day after was the worst.
Avery left home for Valle Granja at the insistence of his instincts, and the urging of his mama, who'd always supported him. When he meets his fated mate, Cam, at the Saint Patrick's Day Dance he understands why. But joy is soon replaced with grief when only hours later he learns that his parents were killed in a car accident—having never heard that he met his mate and leaving Avery's five-year-old brother behind.
Finding his fated mate was like a dream come true for Cam, but their bond is immediately put to the test.
Cam knew that Avery was his fated mate as soon as he saw him, and he was excited to begin their lives together. However an early-morning phone call shatters the peace of their new bond. Suddenly he finds himself as the surrport for his grieving mate and orphaned brother, a position which brings up memories of his own.
Can new love survive grief and loss, and can they come together as a family?
Bunny Hop Beau is a 23K word , non-shifter, M/M, mpreg, omegaverse romance
Content note: Loss and grief play prominent roles in this book.
Original Review March 2024:
First off I'm going to say I found Bunny Hop to be a companion piece to Lucky Dance Date(Holiday Surprise #3) as the first chapters are a recap of Lucky but from Cam and Avery's POV. If you haven't read Lucky, I highly recommend doing so, not because you'll be lost in regards to what is going on but to some degree I would say it has spoilers for Lucky, not word-for-word but enough that I would not enjoy Lucky as much knowing what we see here first. For those who think the first chapters are wasted as "rehashing" they aren't, I was excited to see those events from Cam and Avery's POV as the friends of the MCs, not something you often get to see.
As for Bunny Hop, it goes from unbelievably happy happy to devastatingly saddy saddy in a heartbeat, which life tends to do once in a while. As heartbreaking as the death of Avery's parents is, the flip of a coin change in emotional fortune for the pair was in a way refreshing because of the reality of it. Hard to think in terms of reality when dealing with mpreg and omegaverse genres & tropes but the heartache leaves you even more emotionally attached to the characters than one often finds themselves. Let's face it, Cam has been handed the perfect get-out-of-jail-free card(for lack of better phrasing) but he doesn't bite and he shows Avery just how all in he truly is, yet another reason Bunny Hop is a heart grabber.
Once again Lacey Daize has once again proven mpreg can be both realistic and fantasy all at the same time. Can't wait to read more of her awesome stories.
Chapter 1 - Avery
~January~
I side-eyed the fax machine as it picked up a piece of paper and started printing. The thing was a constant thorn in my side, but no matter how often I tried to convince my bosses that it was obsolete, they insisted that we keep it.
Apparently some people still preferred to fax documents, no matter how secure and convenient the web portals we offered.
I blinked as it picked up a second sheet. The spam adverts that it usually printed always fit on a single page, which meant that it was one of the rare real faxes. I snagged the cover sheet and noted the number of expected pages, and whom in the office I needed to hand it over to.
I smiled when I saw that José—a handsome alpha mortgage broker—was the intended recipient. It gave me an excuse to talk to him.
I’d met José six months earlier, when I first arrived in Valle Granja, and my instincts had immediately insisted that I get close to him. The urge was almost as strong as the one that had made me move there.
I didn’t question it at first. My mama had always stressed that the universe knew what it was doing, and that it guided us through our instincts. But after months of flirting, and him seemingly oblivious, I was starting to wonder if that inner voice had been wrong.
Once the fax finished printing I checked to make sure that it had all arrived properly, then took it to José’s office.
Unfortunately, several minutes—and even an invitation to lunch—later, he still seemed as immune to my flirting as ever.
I forced a smile as one of the other mortgage brokers, Morgan, headed towards me, and passed him as I walked to the break room.
I was almost there when I realized that I’d left my cell phone at the front desk. I turned around to grab it, but stopped when I heard something that stopped me in my tracks.
“...I ran into my old highschool boyfriend, and… I’ve still got it bad for him,” Jose said
“From high school?” Morgan asked. “Man, you’ve gotta move on. It’s been more than a decade, right? Why not give Avery a chance? He’s obviously interested.”
I plastered myself against the wall. Listening was wrong, but I needed to know.
“No omega should ever be an alpha’s second choice,” José replied. “They deserve a mate who looks at them, and knows that there could never be another. We owe them that much since all the consequences of a failed mating falls on them.”
“I didn’t say mate him, just date him.”
“That would be leading him on, and I’m not down for that.”
“Whatever man. Your loss, but maybe you should let him know so he can move on too.”
Jose sighed. “You’re probably right.” There was a pause, then he continued. “So what did you need?”
I stepped away and decided to return to the break room without my cell phone rather than walk past the open office door and give away that I might have heard the conversation.
I needed to think. How had my instincts been so wrong to lead me to a man who was in love with somebody else?
∞∞∞
I flopped on the couch and removed my glasses. I rubbed at a spot with the hem of my shirt until I was satisfied that whatever it was was gone, then I started to put them back on. It was then that a lock of blond hair decided to fall in front of my eyes. I huffed and smoothed it back into place, making a mental note to get a haircut, then put my glasses back on. Finally I picked up my phone. It was time for my weekly call with my parents, and I really wanted to talk to my mama.
José’s words had echoed in my head for days. “No omega should ever be an alpha’s second choice…”
There was a finality in the statement. He would always love his high-school boyfriend, and it would never change. Anybody else would be the backup option.
I knew in my core that the universe wouldn’t pair me with an alpha who would forever carry a torch for somebody else. But I still had a strong urge to be near him.
I blew out a breath and tapped my parents’ number from my contact list.
“Avery! Sweetheart!” my mama said as she answered. “How are you doing?”
I smiled. Somehow just hearing Mama’s voice always lifted my spirits. “I’m good, Mama. How about you?”
She laughed. “Busy as always. You know how it is.”
“I know. But you’ll have to slow down at some point.”
“Ridiculous!” she replied. “Only death itself can slow down your dad and I.” “Somehow I’m not surprised,” I laughed. “How’s Eric?”
Mama sighed happily. “He’s good. He’s at a birthday party for one of his classmates right now.”
I chuckled. “And you were worried that he wouldn’t make friends.”
“All the other parents are your age or younger!” Mama protested. “Your dad and I are in our fifties.”
“I don’t think anybody cares about that,” I argued. “What they care about is Eric, and what they see is a happy and healthy five-year-old.”
Mama sighed happily. “He reminds me so much of you at that age. Full of energy, and so kind to everybody. I bet he’ll even look like you when you grow up. He’s got the same blond hair and slight frame. Just missing the glasses, though the pediatrician’s keeping an eye on his vision. I just wish you’d have been born closer together.”
“Life does funny things. It just decided that I needed a baby brother to keep you busy until I have kids of my own.”
“That it does, and we’re happy to have him around.” Mama paused. “Did you want me to call in your dad?”
I licked my lips, trying to decide.
“Ave? Honey?”
“Mama?”
“Yes dear?
“Do you remember when I moved out here, that I felt that my instincts were pulling me?”
“Of course.”
“Did I tell you about the alpha at my work?”
Mama hummed as she thought about the question. “You mentioned that there was a handsome alpha there, but that was all. Are things going ok?”
I sighed. “I don’t know. My gut says to stay close to him, and I thought that meant that I was going to end up with him at some point. But I don’t know what to think anymore.”
“Oh honey, what happened?”
I took a deep breath. “I overheard him talking to another mortgage broker at the firm. Apparently he’s still in love with an omega he dated in high school.”
Mama hummed. “Ok…”
I paused. “Mama… he said something that I can’t get out of my head.”
“What was it?”
“He said that no omega should ever be an alpha’s second choice.”
Mama sighed softly. “He’s right.”
I blinked. “Mama?”
“He’s right. But it goes both ways. Nobody should ever be the second choice, alphas or omegas. You want a partner who looks at you and can’t imagine anybody better.”
“What’s it mean though? Why are my instincts insisting that I get close to him if I would only be second best?”
“Just because the universe says to get close, doesn’t mean they’re supposed to be your mate. I don’t think it’s ever really discussed, but if we can have fated mates, then surely we can have fated friends.”
“Fated friends?”
Mama laughed. “Why not? If the universe wants people to be close, it doesn’t have to limit it to romantic partners.”
I was silent as I thought about it. Was I meant to have José as a friend, not as a mate? Somehow it felt right.
“Did that answer your question honey?”
I smiled. “It did. I feel better now. Thanks Mama.”
“I think you already knew the answer, but sometimes it helps to talk things out.”
“You’re probably right.”
Mama laughed. “Only on good days. Let me call in your dad so he can talk too.”
“Ok.”
She set down the phone and I closed my eyes, running over our conversation while I waited for my dad to join her.
Mama always knew just what to say to make me feel better about myself, and I couldn’t imagine life without her.
Lacey DaizeLacey lives in New Mexico with her four critters. She’s a Jill-of-all-trades by day, but loves writing in her spare time. She dabbles in a variety of pairings, but jumped feet-first into the deep end of omegaverse the first time she read it. She loves the play on social expectations and the different ways to express romance.
