“Please sit,” Kev says. His voice is gentle. Careful. “We don’t want…” He takes a deep inhale. “We just want to be near you.”
They are being so careful. As though they think we might shatter, which, to be fair, hasn’t been far from the truth. Aubrey rests beside me, close enough that our thighs press together, the heat of him bleeding through fabric. I can do this. With him, I can do this.
Someone put flowers on the table. Purple and white and green, arranged in a small ceramic vase. There’s salad. Garlic breadin a basket. Plates set out. Cutlery laid straight. So… ordinary.Thoughtful.
Ezra sets a glass of water near my elbow. “In case you're thirsty. The risotto's rich, so water helps. I'd offer wine but I don't think it would be good for your system just yet.”
“Thank you, Ezra,” Aubrey says quietly, a pulse of Aubrey’s awareness steals into me.
Ezra's bright gaze drifts over both of us before he moves away. The vice between my shoulder blades eases. Not much. A bit.
He brings the risotto out in a big ceramic bowl. Steam rises and threads up. Parmesan is thick in the air. My stomach makes a sound I can't suppress.
“There's plenty, so don't be shy. Kev's already tried to steal a few bites while I was cooking, so consider this your warning that he has no restraint around carbs,” Ezra says.
“I have excellent restraint,” Kev says as he takes a seat. “I waited until you weren't looking.”
“You waited until youthoughtI wasn't looking. I have peripheral vision, Kev.”
Ezra slides the salad to Kev. His hand lands briefly on Kev's shoulder, a squeeze of wordless thanks. Lex refills Ezra's water, and a moment later, Ezra tops up Lex's wine. I'm staring. Lex's eyes lift and meet mine across the table. He gives me a soft smile and a small nod toward my plate.
Eat.
Aubrey lifts his spoon. Takes a bite. He moans. Every alpha at the table stills. Kev's hand stops halfway to the bread basket. Lex's shoulders go rigid. Ezra's jaw twitches. Sera's wine glass pauses an inch from her mouth.
“Glad you like it,” Lex says.
“I do. This is delicious,” Aubrey says, oblivious to their reaction or pretending to be. He swallows another bite.
“Then I’m glad,” Ezra smiles and my heart gives a little kick because Ezra ishandsome.
Kev shakes himself. The whole shoulders-and-head shake. He picks up his spoon. Picks up his bread. Starts eating like the front of his jeans isn't tenting beneath the table.That would have to be so uncomfortable. But then again, it’s there because of us.
The risotto hits my tongue and my body breaks open around it. Saliva floods my mouth. Ezra’s risottoisdelicious. Creamy. Rich. Warm. Aubrey's thigh stays pressed against mine, his pleasure a slow steady warmth under my ribs.
“What do you think of my risotto, Espie?” Ezra asks, his intense gaze trained on me as though there aren’t five other people at the table.
His gaze is intense, but also a little unsure. As though my answer matters to him. And I want to make him feel good. “I like it.” My words aren’t much but Ezra beams.
“That’s good. That’s really good.” His voice is thick.
There’s a moment of awkwardness around the table, and I feel myself start to crumble when Lex speaks. “Did you know that garlic bread is absolutely not a vegetable? I don't care how you try to rationalize it.”
“It has garlic in it.” Kev tears a piece of bread in half and gestures with it for emphasis. “Garlic grows in the ground. Things that grow in the ground are vegetables. Ergo, garlic bread contains vegetables and therefore has nutritional value.”
“That's not how nutrition works. That's not how anything works. By that logic, cocaine is a vegetable because coca leaves grow in the ground.”
“That's not the same thing and you know it.”
My chest loosens by a notch. Aubrey's amusement laps at the edges of my ribs. Every alpha in the room eases with us.
We matter. We really do matter to them.
Sera snorts into her wine. “This is genuinely the dumbest argument I've ever witnessed, and I once watched two patrol officers debate whether a hot dog was a sandwich for forty-five minutes.”
“What do you think, Espie?” she adds, voice light. “Vegetable or not?”
“Um. Vegetable,” I manage. She sends me a bright smile as though I’ve done something momentous.
