“No kissing,” I force out. “No touching unless absolutely necessary. No ownership displays. This is business, not pleasure.”
The words feel like lies even as I say them, especially when I remember how Beau’s lips felt against mine, how Jake’s almost-touch made my skin sing with wanting.
“We should probably go on some dates,” Charlie suggests. “If we’re courting, people will expect to see us together.”
I nod stiffly. “Fine. Four dates. One with each of you individually, and one pack date. But they’re public. Casual. Nothing that looks too… intimate.”
“Anything else?” Beau asks, and I can’t tell if he’s amused or hurt.
“No sex. No biting. No claiming.” The words are automatic. “This is fake. It stays fake.”
Charlie nods slowly. “Okay. We can work with that.”
“There’s one more thing,” Beau says. “We need to be very public about this for the next week or so. The board needs to see that this is real, that we’re serious.”
My stomach drops. “How public?”
“Town events. Meals at places where people will see us. And…” He hesitates. “You’ll need to come to Denver with us for the last leg of the season.”
“Denver?” I repeat faintly. I’m not sure which event APBRA was going to send me to next, but the idea of being with them makes me just as frazzled and antsy as not being with them. The war between my logic and instincts is making me crazy.
“It’s the championship round,” Jake explains. “If we’re courting, you’d be expected to be there. To support your pack.”
The word “pack” sends a shiver through me that I desperately try to ignore.
“Fine. I can request from the scheduler, but there is no guarantee,” I hear myself say. “If it happens, we’re driving separately. I’ll get my own hotel room.”
“People will talk if we’re not staying together,” Beau points out.
“Let them talk. I’m not—” I break off, shaking my head. “I need some boundaries that are just mine, okay? Some space that’s not… this.”
The three of them exchange another look, and I hate that they can communicate so effortlessly when I feel like I’m drowning.
“Okay,” Jake finally agrees. “Your own room. But you have to at least have meals with us. Breakfast, dinner. Be seen.”
“Fine.”
“And you’ll have to be with us at the publicity events if you can,” Beau adds. “The media is going to go crazy.”
The thought of publicly claiming affiliation with Pack McCrae makes my Omega practically purr. Which is exactly why I need to shut this down.
“This isn’t real,” I repeat, as much for myself as for them. “You need to understand that. I’m agreeing to this arrangement because I don’t have another choice, not because I believe in it.”
“We understand,” Charlie says, but something in his eyes suggests he very much looks forward to proving me wrong.
“Good.” I fumble for my car door handle, desperate to escape before I do something stupid like cry or beg them to tell me this could be real. “Send me the details for whatever public appearance you have planned first. I’ll be there.”
“Willa,” Beau says as I yank the door open. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I would have wanted to do this differently. We should have asked first.”
The apology threatens to undo me, so I just nod and slide into my car. They step back, giving me space, and I start the engine with shaking hands.
As I pull out of the parking lot, I catch a glimpse of them in my rearview mirror—three Alphas standing together, watching me leave. And despite everything I just said, despite all my rules and boundaries and insistence that this isn’t real, I can’t ignore the small, traitorous part of me that wishes it was.
The part that remembers summers spent trailing after Charlie, soaking in his steady presence. The part that can’t forget how Jake looked at me in that barn, like I mattered. The part that still feels Beau’s lips against mine, his hands on my hips, his whispered words in my ear.
You’re doing so well, sweetheart. Let us take care of you.
I want to let them. God help me, I want to let them take care of me, want to believe that this could be something real and lasting and good.
