I dozed most of the drive, and Arlo woke me with a gentle head scratch. “We’re here. Do you want me to go in with you?”
“No, it’s fine. Can’t leave the princess mobile unguarded for too long. Don’t miss me too much.”
“Won’t be a problem.” The edge of humor in his tone and the shine of his eyes assured me itwouldbe a problem, and I was relieved by that. They had chosen a life with Meadow, not me, and it helped knowing I wasn’t quite the invasive force I worried about.
Arlo helped me with my suitcase and waited until I was safely inside the airport to drive away.
I could do this. I had to focus on what was in front of me: tasks I could complete, people I could console,anythingexcept the ache in my chest over the people I was about to leave behind.
Chapter 23
Avery
Today was the best day. I wanted to cheer and scream from the rooftops. My pretty pink princess had worked her way through our entire pack with a skill that was to be marveled at. Fucking all of us wouldn’t have beenthatdifficult, even with Parker being a stick in the mud, but getting all of us obsessed? That was more of a feat.
Clover was it for us.
I had been sure of it before, but now I wasextrasure.
“Unfair that I’m the last to know Clover’s not a mom.” I couldn’t hide the whine in my tone. “I was already warming up to the idea of a kiddo running around here.”
Parker rolled his eyes. “Forest is too young for running, and anyway, the information wasn’t kept from you for long or on purpose.”
“Yeah.” Logan grimaced. “Pretty sure accusing Hunter’s clients of cheating on their omega was the most embarrassing way for us to find that out.”
“But this is good, right? Or, at least, less complicated. They didn’t cheat, and Clover doesn’t have a mystery pack she had a baby with to make things weird. We have a clean slate.” I wasalready giddy with the possibilities. “I’m going to convince her to come on a pack date.”
We’d all had a little bit of one on one time with her, but I maintained mysharing is caringphilosophy and wanted her with everyone. I bustled off to message my angel, pleased with all the new info about her I’d gathered.
Twenty minutes later, I had sent a considerable number of texts, and none of them had been answered. My calls all went straight to voicemail too. I sat in the den, pouting at my phone. Had she blocked me?
Had she seen my number pop up and decided to play with me? I couldn’t put anything past Clover—she was an enigma and kept me on my toes—but this didn’t seem like her style.
Either way, after a while it became clear that she wasn’t going to answer me anytime soon, so I clicked my phone screen off and tried to figure out what to do next.
Thankfully, I didn’t have any work to do right now, so I decided to do what would make me happy: buying Clover pretty things.
I had plenty of cars to choose from, so I simply jumped in the nearest one—the G-Wagon. It had plenty of space, so if I got lots of shiny presents, there’d be more than enough room for them. I pulled out of the driveway and made my way down to Rodeo Drive.
I had money to burn and an omega to please.
It had only taken me a few hours to make a considerable dent in our credit cards. Parker was probably going to yell at me later, but I couldn’t find it in me to care. I had purchased a bunch of items, including some jewelry that was extra sparkly—the pinkdiamonds were a nice touch, I thought—and some bath products that reminded me of Clover. Not that anything beat my angel’s natural scent. I got nesting supplies too. She’d need a proper nest, so I might as well get started stocking it, though I also had wild imaginings of turning my own bed into a nest for her. Maybe if I added enough fluffy blankets, she’d join me there.
I was cruising down one of the back, lesser-populated roads—mostly empty on the way to our house—when a bright flash of pink caught my eye.
I knew that car.
That sparkly pink work of beauty belonged to one person and one person only—my angel.
Now, I had two options: I could drive up beside her, wave enthusiastically, and get her to notice me…or I could be smart.
I knew she lived in our area, but I didn’t know what house she lived in.
What harm could there be in following her for a few minutes to find out exactly where my princess resided?
Some would say I was simply doing my due diligence.
Smirking, I steered into the lane behind her, surprised her driving was almost cautious. I didn’t know why, but I expected my angel to be a bit more chaotic behind the wheel.
