“I’m headed for the kitchen. Would you mind answering the door for Jasper and Adam? They should be here soon.”
“I’m on it.”
With a smile, I return to my cooking.
It isn’t long before Jasper enters the kitchen, kissing me on the cheek from behind, then peering over my shoulder. “Smells amazing,” he hums. “And the food, too.”
I spit a laugh in spite of the corniness, just as my first timer goes off.
“Pasta.” He almost sings the word, his voice filled with a great deal of amusement.
“Who doesn’t like pasta?”
“Definitely not you.”
Huh. I don’t know what he means by that, but I have a heavy pot to strain.
Adam arrives shortly afterward, placing a kiss on the back of my head while I stand at the tiny island cart, wrapping garlic bread in a towel and placing it in a little basket. “Hey. Can I help with anything?”
I grin at him, shaking my head. “We’re about ready.” I gesture at the opposite counter with my chin. “There are glasses and wine over there, and there are regular glasses beside the fridge. There’s also beer and soda in there.”
“Everything smells amazing, Adley.” Adam smiles kindly, and those two dimples of his poke his cheeks. I just want to lick them.
But, I have to behave. For now.
We all sit down after I feed the dogs and cats in their bowls all around the perimeter of the kitchen. We dig into rotini with homemade red sauce, meatballs, sausages, and garlic bread. I keep little dishes of grated Parmesan cheese around the table with tiny spoons in them.
The kitchen is silent aside from clanking forks and the occasional moan, all the humans wolfing down food, all the pets sitting around the table and staring longingly at us with big, adorable eyes. It’s enough to break my heart.
Or, it would be, if they all hadn’t just feasted on their own homemade meals just minutes ago.
And each was paid a cheese tax, Nikki and Crooze a little more than the others because they’re wily and in cahoots, I swear.
Once dinner is finished, I rise from my seat to clear the table.
“Oh, no.” Jasper places his hand on my shoulder and presses me gently back down to my seat. “Let us handle this.”
“Uhh…” I inwardly cringe. I appreciate them wanting to help, I really and truly do, but my Control Freak is screaming inside me. “I was just going to load the new dishwasher. It won’t be too much work.”
Jasper’s gaze narrows, and a flicker of humor twinkles in his gray eyes. “If you ask nicely, we’ll let you put the leftovers away however you want it done.”
I press my lips between my teeth, suppressing a cringe that turns into a smile. “May I please put the leftovers away?”
“Tell me why you want to do it.”
I think my eye twitches. “Because I’m very particular about how I store things in the freezer.”
His smile is victorious. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” He gives me a wink before clearing my plate from the table.
With the help of my Alphas, we clean up the kitchen, load the new dishwasher I bought at the same time as the oven, and I putthe leftovers in the “People Freezer” in the garage. We let the animal pack out back, and our unofficial pack follows.
The night air is crisp and cool, the moon is full, high up in the star-scattered sky. I turn the outside light off, and the moonlight bathes us all in silver.
The dogs and cats rustle around, do their business, as we all take to the old patio chairs, forming a semicircle on the opposite side of the yard where we can watch the fur-babies.
A small meow rings out, and I know before I even look at Jasper that Odin is going to be laid on his shoulder, flopped on his belly like a beanbag plush. What I don’t expect is to find Dini in his lap, making herself comfortable there.
My jaw drops on a silent squeal of joy.
