I step back, bracing my hands on the counter. This was a mistake. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking. Like I’m going to sit here and have a normal meal with her across the table. Like I’m notgoing to notice every little thing she does. Like my alpha isn’t already pacing just at the thought of her walking into this room.
Footsteps sound on the stairs. I look up. Graham appears first. Lark is right behind him. They both look rumpled.
I smell it before they even make it halfway across the room. Her caramel and salt, thick in the air, layered with Graham's dark chocolate and hazelnut.
My alpha howls. The sound tears through me.
And me? I’m fucking jealous. Which makes no damn sense. I don’t even want her here. I don’t move. Don’t even say a word. Just watch them walk in like nothing’s wrong.
Silas comes in a second later. His hair is damp, pushed back from his face, a few dark strands falling forward again as he scrubs a hand over his beard. He smells better, so he must have showered in the shop bath.
He takes in the spread on the counter, eyes widening just a fraction. Then his gaze flicks toward Graham and Lark. And away. Yeah. He smells it too.
Good.
At least it’s not just me.
We settle around the island. Food gets passed. Plates filled. No one talks. And I’m sitting here wondering why the hell I thought this was a good idea. I can’t relax enough to eat something. How am I going to say anything worth hearing with her sitting three feet away smelling like that?
It’s her that breaks the silence. “I know how you all met,” she says, glancing between us. “Graham told me earlier. But I don’t really know much about… your history.” Her voice is light and curious. Like this is normal. Like we’re normal.
Graham nods once, already halfway through his food. “She knows about me,” he says. “Knows that my parents are… difficult.”
“That’s one way to put it,” I mutter.
Lark smiles a little. “You said they were alpha-holes.”
He shrugs. “Accurate.”
She tilts her head. “Do you see them often?”
“No.” He doesn’t hesitate. “They retired to Italy a few years ago. Signed over my trust when I turned twenty-five and that was effectively the end of it. I hear from them on birthdays. Occasionally Christmas.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
He says it like it doesn’t bother him. Maybe it doesn’t. Or maybe he's decided it doesn't matter. Graham has the ability to care about the things that are important to him and forget the rest.
Silas sets his fork down. “You met my pops,” he says, looking at her.
She brightens. “I did. I liked him.”
He huffs a quiet laugh. “Yeah. Most people do.” He leans back slightly, rolling his shoulders. “My mom’s Karen.”
Lark’s lips twitch. “Karen Caron?”
Silas groans. “Yeah. I know.”
I huff a laugh. Can’t help it.
She glances at me. I look away.
“My sister Lucy’s living at home right now,” Silas continues. “Just until she’s back to full health.”
Lark’s smile softens immediately. “How was she today?”
He shrugs. “It was a rough day, but she’s tough.”
