“The only thing it’s missing is a pool,” Leo said with a laugh.
Nathan shrugged. “That’s just a good excuse to visit Ava and use hers. She won’t mind if we’re bringing the kids over.”
Madison honed in on Jude. He was content in the bond, but evidently, she wanted his verbal confirmation as well.
“I think it’s beautiful, Maddie.” His eyes got misty, but it wasn’t sadness in the bond I detected. “I can’t believe this could be our home, that our baby gets to grow up here. If you think it’s perfect, then it’s perfect. It won’t be hard to be happy in a house like this, but all I really need is you and our pack.”
“Should I put in an offer?” I searched all of them for any sign of hesitation and found none.
“Could we really have this?” Madison asked, perhaps convinced she was dreaming.
“We could.”
“Go tell her we want it.” She locked her arms around one of mine, already nudging me toward the door.
We took the elevator down, Madison’s delight like giddy bubbles in the bond.
Tanya knew our answer before I opened my mouth, her smile bright. “Let’s get you this house.”
“Igot you something.” I approached Madison with a wrapped package. We were a couple of weeks out from Tyler trying to win the award for worst human on the planet—for asecondfucking time. Things had settled down since, and we’d kept things as restful as we could, establishing a rhythm with each other again.
She looked up from her laptop, smiling at me. “What kind of something? Also, you didn’t have to buy me anything.”
“Listen, I’m nothing if not impulsive, and I couldn’t help myself when I saw it.” I slid the package toward her, impatiently watching her open it.
Her burst of giggles told me I’d hit the mark. She immediately stripped off her shirt and tugged the tank top on. I lifted my shirt to reveal the matching one. Hers readPack Princesswith our names emblazoned beneath in alphabetical order. Mine readPack Prince, also with everyone’s names beneath.
“I got them for everyone.”
Madison laughed again. “Of course you did.”
“I thought it would be perfect to wear to class together.”
“You’re so right.” She glanced down at her laptop. “Is it time to go already?”
“You bet. We’re doing fire dancing today. Hopefully they have aloe on standby.”
Madison worked on the drive over, making sure all of the final details for the opening of the OHI building were checked off the list. That made my task of ensuring she relaxed and had some fun during this process all the more important.
It was wild to think how quickly she had become my whole world. Well, that wasn’t completely accurate. The pack had become my world, but Madison was our center.
I lifted her hand when we parked, kissing the back of it. “Guess what.”
“What?” She blinked at me, tilting her head so her ponytail swished over her shoulder.
“I love you.”
Her mouth dropped open, prompting me to lean in for a kiss.
“You don’t have to say it back.”
No sooner had the words left my mouth did she clutch my cheeks in both hands. “I love you, too.”
“In perfect agreement, then. Good.” I kissed her again. “Let’s go kick ass and not get burned.”
I sprinted around the vehicle and opened her door, scooping her into my arms. She tipped back to grab our bags, holding them on her lap while she giggled the whole way inside.
Scarlett, Farrah, and our classmates were scattered around the stage.
