“We’re at a coffee shop.”
“Oh, thank God,” she mumbled, her voice husky now that she’d gotten some rest. It was only a short nap, but at least it was solid sleep, something her body was desperate for.
“Books and Brews?” she questioned as she looked up at the sign, eyes lighting up.
“I’m surprised you guys haven’t added coffee into your shop,” Apollo teased as he unbuckled them both.
“We absolutely would, but the last thing the three of us need is another thing to add to our lists. We’re still fairly new and figuring things out, between forming packs and having kids, we’ve already had to hire help. I’ll leave it for the coffee shop down the street.”
“Maybe it’s for the best, I have a feeling we’ll have to remind you to drink water once in a while,” Corvin teased, his alpha side coming out.
“Don’t worry, Taryn’s alpha Holt already does that. He messages at least three times a day to remind her, and us, to drink water.”
Corvin let out a laugh. “That’s a good alpha. I’ll have to remember to thank him for that.”
“Don’t encourage him,” she groaned. “If it wasn’t for the food he wins me over with, I would never even humor him.”
We all climbed out, stretching and getting a breath of fresh air before heading in.
Corvin asked Bea for her order before sending her off to browse the bookshelves, Apollo following her like he couldn’t help himself.
The line went quickly, at least. I was over letting Apollo hog our omega. As soon as the barista greeted us, Corvin rattled off our orders. He already knew exactly what we would want.
“Can you add two extra espresso shots to all of those?” I asked.
She gave me a look like she thought I’d lost my mind. “Nothing like a heart attack to start your day,” she teased, giving me a teasing smile.
She might have been flirting, but I didn’t pay enough attention to find out. My eyes were already drifting over to watch Bea walk through the shelves with Apollo, the two leaning in close and whispering to each other. He was easing her into packlife so well I couldn’t fault him.
“They look good together, don’t they?” Corvin said, sounding every bit the satisfied alpha.
“They do,” I agreed, handing over my card.
The beta behind the counter was a little less talkative as she finished the transaction, gesturing for us to go down to the next window to pick up our drinks.
Corvin smirked but said nothing as we followed our pack into the stacks of books.
“Checking out the competition?” I teased Bea.
She rolled her eyes at me but didn’t lose her smile. “Just making a mental list for later,” she said. “But we shouldn’t linger. There’s too much to get.”
“There’s a department store nearby that I think has pretty much everything we need,” Corvin said. “Do you want to get something to eat first, or after?”
She thought it over for a second. “After. Let’s get everything we need in the car and then find a restaurant. I love trying new places. It’s been a while since I’ve been confident enough to venture out,” she admitted. “Just no diner food. I’ve had enough of that.”
“Is that the job you had before you came here?” I asked, curious to know more about my omega and her past. Usually, she was so tight-lipped about it that we had to gather whatever crumbs we could. It was fine by us, we could be patient for her.
She nodded. “Yeah. It wasn’t my favorite job, but it was okay. There’s only so much greasy food you can smell before it turns your stomach.”
“I get that,” Apollo said. “I worked in a movie theater as a teenager. I still can’t stand popcorn. I cleaned so much of it off the floor that I just can’t.”
He gave a playful shudder that had us shaking our heads.
As soon as we sat down in the car, Bea snatched Corvin’s phone, turning on a playlist of her choosing this time. He didn’t bother complaining, just shook his head as a pop song came on.
Apollo and I bit back smiles, sharing a look. We knew our alpha secretly found moments like this amusing. It meant she was letting her guard down.
We pulled up outside The Pack Connection, a few minutes later.
