“I’m good,” I murmur, and feel a throb of masculine satisfaction through our bond. It’s a little like the warmth that blooms in my chest whenever Leo reaches out for an impulsive hug, only this time there’s an added layer of need that makes me turn in his arms. I’m halfway off the step and across his lap when I remember our audience. “Crap. Sorry, Ellis…”
“Absolutely no need to apologize,” he chuckles, the huskiness in his voice making me peek over my shoulder. When he catches my eye, he gives a wicked grin. “In fact, if you could see inside my head right now…”
“Smelling you is enough,” Logan grunts, although he’s smiling as we all get to our feet. “How about we head inside, and Lily can take a bath while we’re on breakfast duty?”
“Ah, right,” Ellis snorts as he collects up our coffee cups, then bounds ahead to get the door. “The pancake toll for getting Leo to sleep last night.”
“Exactly. He’s currently downloading a manual for ghost hunting on his iPad, but I could hear his stomach growling through the bathroom wall.”
I smirk at the image, but then I’m grinning as the real thing hurtles down the stairs and throws himself into my arms. It’s a tighter hug than usual, and when he finally pulls away, I realize why. “Where’s your sling, Leo? Dr. Burns said you need to wear it over the weekend.”
“But I don’t need it anymore,” he whines, flapping his arm with convincing vigor. “Besides, Ellis said he’s taking me fishing today, and I can’t do that with only one arm!”
“You definitely can,” Ellis chides before I get a chance to argue. “You’ll sit back and relax while I row, and then when we’re set up, I’ll keep watch in case you hook a big one and need a hand pulling it in.”
“Ugh!” Leo’s entire body collapses in defeat, but then his eyes light up, bouncing between Ellis and Logan. “Okay, but it’s gonna be ahugefish, so both my dads should come and help.”
Now it’s the guys exchanging glances, and then Logan chuckles as he reaches out to ruffle Leo’s hair. “Sounds like fun, bud.”
“Woo-hoo!” Leo zips back up the stairs - hopefully to retrieve his sling - while the guys watch with nearly identical expressions of affection. It makes my heart skip with happiness, especially when Logan turns to Ellis with a cocked brow. “I’m cool. Are you cool?”
“Very cool,” Ellis confirms, and they fist bump as they head into the kitchen, already debating the best way to make blueberry pancakes. When their bickering over the merits of melted butter versus maple syrup doesn’t escalate, I leave them to it, heading up the stairs with a new spring in my step. I’m still smiling as I enter the bathroom, only to find Otley standing by the tub with a wicker basket hanging over his arm. He’s in the process of unloading bath products on the little ledge above the tub, and it’s such an incongruous sight, I’m tempted to rub my eyes to make sure I’m not dreaming.
“Can I help you, Mr. James?”
I’m mostly teasing, but he turns so abruptly, he knocks a bottle of bath wash on the floor. When I bend down to grab it, I note that its label is in French and the packaging is glossy and expensive. It’s definitely not something he picked up at the grocery store in town.
“I was just leaving you a few things that are recommended as healing aids. Tris swears by that one.” He nods to the bottle in my hand, his brow furrowing as he pushes his glasses up his nose. “Not that he has a lot of injuries, but he’s fussy about what he puts on his skin.”
I bite my lip, amused to see Otley so flustered.Cool, calm, and collectedmight as well be monogrammed on his expensive suit pockets. “Well, he says you’re fussy about what you put in your stomach. You know, you really don’t need to get food flown in, Otley. Tell me what you like and as long as it’s hearty country cooking that uses a lot of root vegetables, we’re all set.”
“You’re teasing me,” he murmurs, his lips curling up a notch.
“A little. I don’t want to get in the way of your plans to transform the Knotty Falls dining scene, but we probably know more about Michelin tires than stars.”
“Why can’t you have both?”
“Well, the risotto was definitely worth those air miles you used to get it here,” I tell him as I peek into his basket. “Ooh, is that the Silky Vanilla Honey Soak from House of Omega? I read about it inOmega Fair.” I lift the jar reverently from the basket, but as I glance up at Otley, I find his pupils blown and his nostrils flared. His gaze drifts over my face, but as he brushes my hair back over my shoulder, his scent is more sour cherries than sweet. “What’s wrong?” I ask. “You smell sad or something.”
“Not sad,” he counters, his eyes shadowed as he studies the bite mark on my throat. “Regretful.”
“That’s a shame,” I tell him softly, then tilt my head towards the basket. “But the good thing about regrets is that you can soak them away in expensive bath products.”
I expect him to flash me another of those rare Otley smiles, but his lips tighten. “Not this one,” he says grimly. “I’m sorry I misled you back in LA. I never should’ve let my trust issues get in the way.”
He told me as much before, but his voice is now tinged with shame, and I take a step back, placing the bath soak on the counter so I can give him my full attention. “Why did you? I was completely honest with you about who I was.”
“I know.” He curses softly, pushing his glasses up his nose in a move I’m starting to realize is a nervous habit, just like Ellis always cups the back of his neck. It’s surprisingly endearing to see this glimpse of vulnerability, but I don’t let myself soften towards him as he says, “At first, I told myself I was protecting Ellis. In less than one weekend, he was completely swept off his feet. He was talking about claiming bites and having your kids when a week before he was obsessed with skydiving in São Paulo and bull running in Pamplona.”
I nod, but there’s no denying the lump that’s growing in my throat. “We were young,” I tell him. “Before we met, I wasn’t thinking beyond enjoying my vacation and then going home to get ready for college.”
He gives me a soft nod. “I know. It’s just that I’ve always been Ellis’ voice of reason. I convinced myself that we needed to maintain some distance, at least until after your heat.”
“I suppose that’s fair,” I say with a sigh. There’s no denying the events of that weekend left me with trust issues of my own, but for most of my heat, I was only one version of myself. A horny, needy omega who would do anything to keep her scent matches in her thrall.
“Itwasn’tfair,” he says grimly, rubbing at his face and knocking his glasses askew. “I rewarded your honesty with distrust. I could blame it on the way I was raised – my family drummed it into me that I always needed to be on guard, and that no motive was ever as pure as people wanted you to believe it was. But this is all on me. Distrust and paranoia are choices, and I should have listened to my heart instead of my head.”
I take a moment just to breathe through the feelings coursing through me. I’ve waited a long time for an explanation from the guys, but I never thought it would pull at my heartstrings like this. “That’s sometimes hard to do.” I might not have hada traditional childhood, but I never doubted that Rosie wanted what was best for me. “I’m sorry they didn’t support you more.”
