I don’t want that for her. I want her to be able to enjoy her wedding guilt-free, on both sides. Her loyalty to me shouldn’t get in the way of her relationship with Val, but I get the sense he wouldn’t let that happen.
“What?” She stares at me like I’m growing a second head as we speak, and I snort.
“It’s not official. I don’t know, but I wasn’t going to let him disappear into himself like my dad did.”
“Because of me? And my wedding?” she asks, eyes wide with horror, like I’m enduring torture for her sake.
“No?” I frown, thinking about her question fully before answering. “I want you to have an amazing wedding, and I want Val to have his best man by his side. However, I’m not sure that I could’ve done this against my will, even for you,” I tell her honestly.
“Okay.” She nods. “Good.” Another nod. “Last question, then. Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m good. It’s…” I trail off, trying to think how to explain without the awkward details before settling on, “It’s going well, I think.”
What I didn’t tell her was that Benson and Nick kept Kai’s mouth stuffed with some kind of fabric. He basically stayed that way from the time we got to the farm early Friday morning until just before everyone arrived on Saturday. I also didn’t share that we’re all sleeping in Nick’s room now. Allfourof us. Or that my relationship with her brothers started as a lie, but now we’re actually giving this dating thing a try.
Kind of. We haven’t done all that much of anything because I was so exhausted on Friday that all I did the whole day was sleep and eat. It’s crazy what being awake for twenty-four hours straight does to your body. I don’t think I’ve ever slept so much before.
Yesterday was the dinner, so I spent a good amount of time getting ready for that. Then, at the end of the night, after Stella and Val decided to go back to Kai’s for the night, I dove into Nick’s massive bed and buried myself under a mountain of blankets that were soaked in the scent of clove, orange peels, and cinnamon-toasted pine. By the time they joined me after cleaning up post-dinner, I was already asleep.
This morning, I woke up tangled in the alphas’ limbs before quickly escaping to the bathroom and passing Kai asleep on the three-seater couch that faces the bed.
“He hasn’t earned big bed privileges,”Nick had grumbled on Friday morning before setting up the couch for the beta to sleep on. This was right after he insisted we all sleep in his room. He said it was to keep Kai’s instincts in check, but I’m a little suspicious about that now. I’m not going to complain, though. I like it.
Kai seemed pretty happy as well. I don’t want to assume anything, but it seems like Kai prefers when the alphas are dicks to him.
I’m washing my hands when my phone buzzes on the counter. With a frown, I answer.
“Are you okay? What’s wrong?” It’s kind of early for her to call out of the blue, especially because she typically just texts me.
“Yes, I’m okay. I just… I have to be honest.” Stella sighs, and I brace for whatever she’s about to confess. “I don’t want to decorate the farm this year! Before you say anything, I know it’s one of my favorite things about Christmastime, but… Well, Val wants to stay in bed all day. His parents were a lot for him last night.” There’s a muffling sound, and I hear Stella say, “Even though I thought they were amazing!” at a distance.
“Okay,” I say, a little confused.She definitely could’ve texted this…
“I need you to tell Nick for me. He can’t be mad at me if you’re the one telling him, and if he does get upset, you can distract him!”
“Why would he be mad at all?” I ask because that seems very out of character for the big alpha.
“He’s strict about schedules, and I’m the one who told him we had to decorate today, since tomorrow is December first, butI don’t know! Now I feel like it’s all too much,” she murmurs, sounding sad, and I frown.
There’s something else going on here.
Stella loves Christmas almost as much as I do. Especially decorating. She had a ton of ornaments and other decorations delivered, according to Nick. Plus, Nick adores his little sister. He might be the closest she’s ever gotten to a real dad, but the man is her big brother through and through. They have that playful sibling banter that parents rarely share with their kids.
He’s a huge pushover when it comes to her. She’s also an adult, so I can’t imagine him scolding her or anything like that. Which leaves the one person who’s been raining on her joyful celebrations since Stella arrived. The same person Stella avoids as much as she can, while also searching for her face in every room she enters. Her mother.
“Right. I’ll handle Nick. Let me talk to Val for a sec,” I say firmly, eyes narrowing at my reflection in the mirror. I’m a bedraggled mess.
“Um, okay…”
“Plum?” Val asks, obviously confused as to why I demanded to speak with him.
“Just say yes or no until we hang up. Stella says she doesn’t want to decorate today because you asked her to stay in bed instead,” I say.
“Yes, and no…?” he says, and I nod, understanding. He probably said it teasingly, and she ran with it.
“Is she listening to me right now?”
“No.”
