I paused before stepping into the bustling kitchen. Was it weird for both of us to show up simultaneously? Would my brothers make annoying, obtuse comments about it?
While I got tangled up in my doubt, Poppy forged ahead. He was greeted by an uproar of friendly voices. My family, all welcoming him with open arms.
A tiny, hopeful voice in the back of my mind whispered:It could be like this all the time.
Meanwhile, I hesitated behind the kitchen doorway. I felt like I couldn’t join in right away. Like if I did, I’d shatter the peace somehow. As if Poppy’s presence was a blessing and mine was a curse.
While I battled my own moodiness, I heard Muzo ask: “Where’s Viol?”
“Huh?” Poppy said. “He was right behind me...”
I ground my teeth. I figured I’d better make an entrance before I caused a scene. Keeping my head down, I slunk into the doorway and made a beeline for Poppy’s side as if I wasn’t late. Maybe if I was quick and subtle, nobody would make a big deal out of it.
“Well, look who decided to join us,” Aurum quipped loud enough for everyone to hear.
My eye twitched. I wanted to punt that stupid golden asshole into the sea.
Deliberately ignoring him, I faced Poppy. “D’you want a drink?”
He blinked gratefully at me. “Sure. I could use some water.”
I nodded, then grabbed him a glass. When I returned, his friends had already floated over to surround him in a ring of omegas. Taylor, Muzo, and Alaric were already there, but Matteo and Mylo had joined, too. The only one missing was—
Poppy gasped. “Rorik!”
I turned to see Saffron and Rorik walking into the kitchen with their twins Andri and Jaki in tow.
I stilled, clutching the water glass harder.
Out of all the omegas, Rorik was the only one I’d had a semi-difficult relationship with. We’d worked it out when he moved in, but that was without Poppy around. With him present, it threw a wrench into things... At least, I worried it would.
When the huge polar bear shifter locked gazes with Poppy, his eyes widened. “Poppy? You’re really here?”
He crossed the room to hug Poppy, who laughed as he disappeared beneath the other man’s bulk.
“What are you doing here?” Rorik asked.
“It’s a long story,” Poppy said sheepishly. “Basically, Jade called and...”
He launched into the tale while his omega friends clung to his every word. Their tight-knit circle was like a physical barrier protecting Poppy from the world.
Hell, they were doing a better fucking job than I had.
I hung back, feeling awkward and out of place. Like things would be easier if I wasn’t around. But at the same time, I didn’t want to be the annoying dickhead who caused an incident by running away and drawing attention to myself. I’d already done that this morning and it was embarrassing enough. So, I gritted my teeth, swallowed my discomfort, and slowly joined back in.
Since Poppy was busy with his friends, I slunk over to Jade instead. I would’ve sidled up to Cobalt, but he was outside on the other side of the sliding door, manning the grill. I figuredI should at least stay in the room, lest Aurum loudly and annoyingly demand to know where I went.
Jade sipped an evening tea in one hand while unfolding the full length of the dining table with the other. We didn’t often use the whole thing due to our mismatched schedules.
I grunted. “Let me help.”
Jade arched his brows, apparently pleasantly surprised. “Sure. If you could unlock that hinge there...”
I worked wordlessly. In a minute, we’d unfurled the entire table, but amid the chaos, it still felt too small for everybody.
I snorted. “There’s too many of us. We should’ve just eaten dinner in the restaurant.”
Jade shot me a knowing glance. “We could have,” he agreed. “But this feels more... intimate, don’t you think?”
