“Is that so?”
“I’ve thought about climbing you like a tree since we met, and I’m not disappointed now that I have.” She purred, burrowing into my arms further. “The horses don’t mind being turned into voyeurs?”
“I think horses have been privy to a lot of moments like this over the centuries. We’re just the modern version of the maiden and the stableboy.”
She laughed and hugged me so tightly, my breath wheezed out. “I’ll be the maiden to your stableboy anytime.”
How was it possible to be both incredibly happy and deeply fucking annoyed at the same time? Life with my pack was shaping up wonderfully, but now I knew Tyler was out there spreading lies about me, had been cheating on me with one of my clients, and, if I had still been reliant on them, would have cost me a lot of business.
I’d thrown myself into work over the next week in a valiant attempt to avoid thinking too much about it.
Fucking Tyler.
Before everything went down, I had considered Jenna a friend. Not a close one, but I’d always liked her. At least I found out about the double betrayal when I was in a safe environment. I wasn’t sure what the hell I would have done if I’d found out while I was still with Tyler and had no way to really get out. Odds were pretty good I wouldn’t have been brave enough to approach any of my pack without a crisis to motivate me.
I checked another room off my list, moving to the next to make sure everything was in place. Painters were following along behind me, and once the paint had dried, a team would come in to hang curtains, install shelving, and give everything a cursory clean before we stocked up the kitchens with everything they would need.
Getting to choose tableware and appliances in the soon-to-be residents’ favorite colors, knowing that when they stepped inside this place would feel like home, scratched all my nesting itches. Many would be arriving with very little, and we made sure to provide for them.
Jude had gotten up corporate’s ass at Best of Nests so we could order what we needed instead of being forced into bulk purchases. It worked for some things, but certainly not all, and I was glad they finally saw reason.
“How are you doing?” Alve peeked in. “You can take a break if you need to.”
I bit down on my immediate guilt response. Every time I got irritated, Alve and Leo felt it.
“I’m fine, I promise. Just dwelling.”
“You do have a fair bit to dwell on.” He opened his arms in offering and I slipped between them, letting my ear press to hischest so I could listen to his heartbeat. “The first suite is all ready for your touch if you’re feeling up to it.”
“Sure, I’d love to see it.”
We navigated back down the hallway. The omega moving in there was a green girly, so I had designed her suite in varying shades of green with creams and browns to give her home a warm, earthy vibe.
“It doesn’t even feel like the same place.” The painters had done a great job and everything was ready for its new home. My first order of business was making sure that everything for the kitchen was sparkling. I sliced open the boxes of dishes and loaded them into the dishwasher for a sanitize cycle. No one wanted factory or shipping dust flavoring their food.
“You created a beautiful space, and I have no doubt that will be the case for every other suite in here.”
Alve’s pride filled my chest. I wanted to make him proud, and I adored being able to feel that accomplishment with my whole being.
I breathed him in, long and deep, releasing it with a sigh. “Okay, I’m ready to keep going. Props to Tiffany, because this is hard work.”
“The rest of the OHI team will be available soon. Once the painters get further along, it’ll be all hands on deck.”
The painters moved so quickly. I’d always taken way longer, but then it was just me, and I wasn’t a professional by any stretch of the imagination when it came to that particular task. The ones who worked with the OHI prepped the suites three at a time, painted the walls, and moved on to more prep while the paint dried, before cycling back to finish up.
I had to keep ahead of them. With a thousand things to organize, I was feeling out of my depth, but determined not to let anyone down. I spent the next few hours absorbed in makingsure the entire hall had things divided appropriately in each room, double checking every order.
“Quit working.” Nathan glided into the room and hoisted me off my feet.
“There’s so much to do,” I protested.
“You’ve been here for ten hours and it’s time to rest. Alve had to call us in after the fourth time you said you were almost done.”
“But—”
“No buts. The work will still be there tomorrow, and if you let yourself get too exhausted, you’re going to miss things and have to redo it later.”
I pouted, but he wasn’t wrong.
