Clio is wheezing, trying not to choke on her drink.
At one point, Aura gets a dumpling all the way into her mouth and throws both hands up like she’s won the Olympics. Luca slow-claps with his chopsticks, and even North is grinning now.
“So.” Clio wipes her eyes with the side of her wrist. “I’ve been waiting for a lull. Are we still doing the mystery murder club?”
Aura groans into her juice can. “Hell yes. Please. I need something to do on Tuesday nights that isn’t watching my sister text-flirt with her thirst trap.”
Clio just glares at her sister, and everyone’s watching them, as clearly the guys are not clued in to this insider information. It’s not my story to tell and seems Clio is tight-lipped about it too.
“Priya’s in,” Clio adds. “Says if we’re restarting, she wants a bigger whiteboard.”
“She’s so obsessed with her stationery,” Aura says.
Clio wipes her lips from her drink with a napkin. “It’s fair. I mean, you have an obsession with romance books.”
Aura cuts her a side glance. “Anyway, Adelaide, are you in?”
I’m shaking my head. “Nope, I think I’ve lived enough mystery for a while. Let me retire.”
“Just advertise for a new person,” Ace suggests. “And much better vetting on who you accept into the club.”
Clio puts her face in her hands and shakes her head. “Not sure I’m ready for that yet.”
I nudge her side. “I can help you.”
“A simple questionnaire,” Luca adds. “Have you ever pushed a young woman down a flight of basement stairs? Have you ever stolen from local organized crime? Do you have unresolved family grievances that might culminate in a home invasion?”
Ace is hammering the table with the flat of his hand, bursting out laughing, North joining in. Even Aura is giggling. A smile tugs at the corners of my mouth.
“Just a basic screener,” Luca continues serenely. “Five, six questions. Take thirty seconds. I’d be happy to draft it.”
“Oh, you would?” Clio lifts her face, and it’s clear she’s trying to hold back a huge grin.
“Happy to.” God, Luca is so cocky and adorable.
North has his hand on my thigh, and I’m leaning against him, loving our outdoor lunch. While they’re bantering, I’m staring up into his eyes. Then he kisses my forehead.
The bench is warm under my thighs, and Ace’s foot is against mine from across the table.
“So,” Clio begins, staring at me. “You four worked out if you’re going to live in Oahu or…?”
“We want to take our time,” North pipes in. “Something with more land. More privacy. Somewhere we can breathe.”
Clio points her dumpling at him. “All I’m hearing is ‘away from Clio.’?”
I loop my arm around her neck and pull her against me, and she lets me, the way she always does. “Wherever we end up,” I tell her, “you have a room. A key. Twenty minutes’ notice or none at all. You can show up with a suitcase and a grudge.”
Aura leans across. “I’d like a room.”
“Done,” I say.
“Sunset view.”
“I’ll put in the request,” Luca says, pretending to scribble in an invisible notebook, and he gets a piece of bread tossed at him. He catches it and chomps it down.
I used to be a person who came to a table alone, yet today I came to a table with five people, and there’s a seventh chair open because Priya was going to come but had to work. I havetwo bruises healing on my knee and a scrape down my arm, and none of that is what I’m thinking about. It’s about who I’m with.
Together with my three Alphas and friends on a gorgeous beach, just enjoying life without glancing over my shoulder or worrying if someone is after me.
