“Well, I just…” my mom said.
“I’m doing fine right now,” Westin said. “Thank you for setting up the appointment.”
An awkward silence fell over the room, only broken by the sound of the front door.
“The party has arrived,” my sister shouted out. “Are they all here?” Rose walked into the living room wearing dark pants and a white button-down. Her large diamond ring sparkled on her hand.
“Oh my goodness,” she said, locking eyes with Westin. “Henry did not do you justice. You’re just stunning.”
“Apparently, Henry needs to improve his skills of description,” Gray muttered. I rolled my eyes and Westin snorted, elbowing him in the ribs before standing to greet my sister.
Rose pulled Westin into a hug. Westin looked a little stiff as she returned the hug, and I wondered how much physical touch she’d gotten in the past few years. She sat back down and I put my arm around her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head when she relaxed into me.
“Congratulations on your wedding,” Westin said. “How was it?”
Suddenly, visions of Westin walking towards me down an aisle in a wedding dress danced through my mind. Weddings were much more of a beta thing—omegas and alphas had private bonding ceremonies. Although sometimes they would throw a sort of bonding reception to celebrate with friends andfamily afterwards. I wondered if Westin would be interested in something like that.
“It was perfect,” Rose gushed. “Luke is pretty reserved, so we kept it on the smaller side. It was at the local botanical garden. The azaleas were in bloom, so it was just perfect.”
“I was telling Westin I wanted to show her around to some of our favorite spots,” I said. “Maybe we should go to the gardens.”
“Oh my gosh, yes. They’re especially beautiful now with the roses starting to bloom. There’s also the local winery and tons of great restaurants. We should go shopping together!”
“That would be great,” Westin said, a tentative smile on her face.
Some of the tension in my shoulders softened.
“What about the fair?” Mom asked.
“Oh, Henry loves the county fair,” Rose said.
I narrowed my eyes and she winked. She knew I’d hated the fair ever since my high school girlfriend had dumped me on the top of the Ferris wheel. We’d sat in awkward silence while the wheel went round and round for ages. I hadn’t been back since.
“A fair?” Westin asked, perking up a bit.
I sighed as I opened my phone and looked up the admission hours. Liam said I should be able to resist Westin’s omega charms, but it was no use—I was helpless against them.
“It comes into town every year. There’s always games, food, and lots of rides,” Rose said with a wide smile.
“We should all go together,” Westin suggested, looking around at us.
“We absolutely should,” Gray said. “Who knew Henry loved the fair so much?” He met my gaze with a shit-eating grin. Fucker knew exactly what he was doing.
“Luke probably won’t be able to join us,” Rose said. “He’s been working late at the office every night preparing for this upcoming trial. We didn’t even get to go on a honeymoon.”
“That sucks,” Westin said. “Do you have somewhere you’re planning to go?”
“I made him promise to take me to Italy once the trial is over, so at least I have that to look forward to.”
“Italy sounds amazing. Have you been before?” Westin asked.
“We went years ago on a family vacation. But you know how it is—you never appreciate a place fully when you go as a kid.”
Westin bit her lip and an awkward silence fell over the room. I wasn’t sure anyone in my pack had gone on many vacations. The bits of information I’d gleaned told me several of them had less than stellar childhoods.
“What about you?” Rose asked. “Ever been to Italy?”
“No,” Westin said. “I’ve actually never left Luna before this. But I used to love this book growing up where one of the main characters spends the summer in Greece, and I always thought that would be amazing.”
