“Tony.” Gage’s deep voice sounded almost sad, despite his enthusiasm only a few moments before. “Knox has the kind of money that doesn’t run out just because you buy a friend some nice clothes. He already gives a shit-ton of it away to charity every month, and of course there’s the work we do on the down-low with the omegas. That doesn’t come cheap—but even so, what’s left over could keep someone in luxury for adozenlifetimes, even if his business never made another dime.”
“C’mon, Tony. This pack isrichrich,” I said, hoping to close the deal. “How they think about money isn’t the same as how you or I think about money.”
We are not the same.
That universal truth had been rattling around in my head since I first walked up to Knox in the hotel bar and tried to seduce him. It wasn’t any less true now than it had been back then.
Tony wavered for a moment. “You’re sure Knox is okay with this?” he asked Gage.
“Ofcoursehe’s okay with it,” Gage said, like it was obvious. “Here. Tell you what. Think of it as the pack’s thank-you for staying with Knox at the hospital and bringing him home when we were... um...otherwise occupied. Does that help?”
I winced at the reminder of exactlyhowwe’d been occupied. But Tony took a deep breath and nodded.
“Okay. But only this once,” he said uncertainly.
Gage’s face brightened again. “Cool. Get dressed, Jez, and we’ll go spend some money.”
The clothing Tony had picked up for me after Gage brought me to the pack house was still the nicest I’d had access to since I was a little kid. My ‘alpha hunting’ outfits had always, by financial necessity, been cheap, low-quality dresses and shoes from dodgy Chinese shopping sites—stuff that looked okay when it was brand new, but wouldn’t have lasted a month under regular use.
The wardrobe Tony had gotten me didn’t include fancy dresses or shoes, but it was well-made and most of it fit me. At his suggestion, I went with stylish jeans, a classy scoop-neck blouse, and comfortable shoes.
“It says, ‘I just mated a pack so rich that I don’t have to dress up to impress you,’” he told me, frowning as he fussed with my wayward hair until he was happy with it.
It was strange, having people touch me casually. I wasn’t completely sure Tony had even realized what he was doing.
Before everything else that had happened between us, we’d sometimes ended up slumped together on his ratty sofa late at night, leaning against each other as we shared microwave popcorn while watching a movie or TV show on his laptop. I’d cherished those evenings for the sense of safety and belonging they’d given me at the time.
After I set fire to my friendship with him, I’d had to lock those feelings away. Otherwise, I’d have missed them so badly that their absence would’ve eaten me up inside. My loneliness after I’d run away from Tony was my own damned fault, and no one else’s. I couldn’t afford to open myself up to that kind of loss and disappointment again.
So, I hadn’t.
And now here I was, back at the beginning, sharing space with the boy who’d wormed his way past my defenses with his kind eyes and clever guitar pick. I’d come full circle.
Once I was dressed and groomed to his satisfaction, we rejoined Gage in the kitchen. He was scrolling on his recovered phone, all his attention on the screen. At our entrance, he looked up and smiled.
“Ready to go?” he asked. “Okay, first things first. Dinner plans—something with burgers, or something fancy?”
“Burgers,” Tony said immediately
“Fancy,” I said, almost on top of him.
Gage’s lips twitched. “Fancy with a burger option on the menu, coming up. Just a sec...”
He went back to his phone again, tapping and scrolling.
“It’s gonna be like, rhinoceros burger with gold leaf instead of lettuce, or something,” I teased Tony, relishing the feeling of ease that seemed to have settled between the two of us.
“It isnotgoing to be a rhinoceros burger,” Tony said under his breath. “They’re endangered. And you can’teatgold.” He hesitated. “Can you?”
“Hello?” Gage said into his phone. “I’d like to make a reservation for three, at seven p.m. tonight.” He paused as the person on the other end spoke. “Yes, sorry, I know it’s last minute—”
I blinked. Huh? Since when was letting a restaurant know that you were coming eight hours ahead of time consideredshort notice?
“—but I’m with the Knockley pack,” Gage continued. “We would take it as a personal favor if you could find a table for us tonight.”
More unintelligible speech from the other end.
“Thank you,” Gage said. “I appreciate the accommodation, and we’ll make sure to give you some positive press in return.”
