Nash smiled and shook his head just as his twin arrived with a platter of succulent meats and crisped potatoes, and Sasha with a stack of plates and a utensil caddy.
“Bon appétit, guys,” Nolan said, with a flourish of his hand over the beautifully-browned fare.
“Thank you, Nolan.” Liam laid one forearm on the table. “Do all of you cook in the family?”
“We all know the basics.” I speared a plump chicken thigh and put it on my plate, then shrugged out of my cardigan, the heat of the nearby fire and steaming food finally catching up to me.
“But Nolan and Dad are the ones with the crazy kitchen skills,” Niall said, helping himself to three extra thick slices of lamb.
I reached past Liam to grab a fork and knife, my arm inadvertently brushing his. “Do you know how to cook?”
My Alpha’s throat dipped with a swallow even though his beer was nowhere near his mouth and he hadn’t taken a bite of food. “I can heat milk and boil pasta, so Storm’s all set.” After chugging down a glass of water, he loaded up his plate and dug in, polishing off his food at record speed.You’re staring again.
I popped a potato inside my mouth, taking my time chewing it. After I swallowed, I pointed with my fork around the timbered space. “So are at least thirty other shifters.”
He didn’t glance around him to check, just plucked his beer and took a pull.But why are you?
“I was trying to decide if you were starving or in a hurry to get home.”
Nash, Niall, and Adalyn had fallen into a discussion about Bea and Nate. They were presently discussing the odds of them getting back together.
“I skipped lunch,” Liam finally said, out loud this time. Then, “Were you hoping I’d vacate the seat you reserved for yourfriend?”
I snorted. “You’re all good, Kolane. Having my brothers around isn’t very conducive to making newfriendsanyway.”
He didn’t reciprocate my good humor, just skated those dark umber eyes of his over my face, taking slow drags of his beer.
I placed my forearms on the edge of the table and scooted forward. “You made your point.”
His eyebrows bent. “And what point would that be?”
“That staring is intrusive.” And yet, I was still doing it. I averted my gaze. “Look at that. It finally stopped snowing.”
Liam glanced toward the moonlit pond.Your staring doesn’t bother me, Nikki.
Our eyes locked for a millisecond before mine flitted toward the roaring fire behind Liam. It might not bother him, but it bothered me, because I’d never been so fascinated with a male before.
The thought made me think of Adalyn’s party. I wasn’t actually going to go through with my threat, but we did need to discuss logistics since the original plan had been to throw it at Seoul Sister. We’d have to find a new venue and probably delete Bea’s email address from the list of invitees.
At least, the party planning took my mind off Liam. I stayed hyper-aware of him for the next hour we spent sitting next to each other, but I proudly didn’t look his way again. I seriously deserved a pat on the back, because his body, his smell . . . his entire aura was magnetic. To the point where I wondered if a mating bond had developed between us. But Adalyn had explained the sensation was akin to a fiery rope jutting from your navel, tying you to your intended, and my navel felt cord-and-fire-free.
My attraction to my Alpha was purely hormonal.
Damn.
Here I’d hoped I could put the blame on magic.
Chapter 12
On my way back from the supermarket with the baby formula Mom had sent me to buy, I drove in front of Seoul Sister. Hoping I wasn’t sticking my paw where I shouldn’t, I parked and headed inside. I’d been hoping to find Bea but got her brother Miles instead. He was standing by the front door, cell phone wedged between his shoulder and ear, tapping on his reservation tablet.
“Hey,” I whispered. “Is Bea here?”
Miles raised one finger, exchanged a few more words with whomever was on the phone before hanging up and giving me his full attention. “Bea’s out. Caught a bad stomach bug or something.”
More like a bad breakup . . .Was it a good sign she hadn’t told her brother?
“Anything I can help you with?”
