“Easy,” I murmured, lifting my hands. He made a face and quickly looked away, as if ashamed.
I pulled out one of the adjacent chairs, then sat down. Sky stiffened up. This was out of the norm for us.
“I have a question for you,” I said. “Would you be interested in a job? We’re looking for a part-time dishwasher.”
He frowned. “I don’t know.”
“It would give you something to do besides sit here and wait for Jem to get home, plus it would give you some money, and you’d get free lunches every day. It’s up to you,” I told him. “Of course, I’ll have to talk to my partner, but I’m sure he’d be fine with it. We could use the extra help, and you’ve already proven you can show up every day.”
I grinned at him, and Sky actually smiled back. A real smile.
“Yeah. Thanks,” he said, and my heart absolutely soared. It felt like a win in the best of ways.Yes!
61
ADAM
Fletcher was oddlyquiet all evening at work, lost in thought. Uh-oh. I knew that look. That was usually reserved for when he was thinking Big Thoughts. He was probably going to drop a bomb on me later, but as for what? I hadn’t the slightest idea.
“Everything okay?” I asked him while chopping vegetables.
“Hmm, what?” He blinked a couple of times, then smiled sheepishly up at me. “Oh. Yeah. Just in my head, sorry. I’m fine.”
We went home to shower—but not together. Fletcher insisted I go first while he wound down with a little video gaming. So while he booted up the Switch, I grabbed a fresh set of pajamas and headed to the bathroom.
I felt…uncertain. In fact, that uncertainty had been growing since the day the blond-haired Omega started showing up on our patio and Fletcher began doting on him.
Was I jealous? Of an Omega? Maybe a little bit, because Fletcher seemed to be so damn invested in Sky DuPree—the Omega half of the Alpha-Omega twins that Gracie had warned me about.
Sky had a dark past, one that I was terrified would sweep Fletcher up in the tides. I wanted—needed—to protect my mate, and myself, from any more trauma. I wanted to warn Sky off, threaten him if need be, and tell him to stay far away from my mate.
The problem was, I knew Fletcher would be very upset with me if I did that.
Damn it all. I’d have to figure something else out.
That night, Fletcher cuddled close to me on the couch as we watched some sitcom on TV. He smelled freshly of cucumber-melon shampoo. I wanted nothing more to bury my nose in the curls at the nape of his neck and breathe him in.
I was about to do just that, when he pulled away, twisting around in his seat to look at me. The TV light flickered and cast a glow across his face. “Hey, Adam?”
Uh-oh.Here it comes…
“Yes?” I mused, trying to keep my tone light.
“What do you think about maybe hiring Sky as our new dishwasher since Amanda is leaving us Friday?”
Instantly, it felt like Fletcher had thrown a bucket of ice cold water over me, dousing me in a bitter chill. Anger surged to the surface before I could tamp it back.
“No.” The word was bitten out.
Fletcher’s face fell. “Why not?”
“Because,” I snapped back. “He’s dangerous, Fletcher?—”
“Yeah, you keep saying that, but I don’t see it,” he argued. “I talk to him almost every day. He seems lonely and maybe a little weird, but not dangerous. I don’t get bad vibes. Baby, he really needs something to occupy his time. Wouldn’t giving him something to do mean he has less time to do these ‘nefarious things’ you seem to think he gets up to?”
“No is no.” I held my ground, setting my jaw.
Fletcher stood up, his fists clenched at his sides. Anger was written in the frown lines of his face. “So that’s it? No?” He barked a harsh laugh. “Bixby’s is half mine, but I don’t get a say? Is it because I’m the Omega?”
