Page 188 of Lyric & the Heartbeats

She beamed as if she expected a reward and nodded. “Yep. We can play with them later, but they’re smart watches, and they’re linked. You can send me reminders, and I can share my location, and we can share calendars.”

Henry’s lips twitched. “Easier to keep you on track.”

It was Lyric whose eyes took a trip around their sockets. “Yeah, yeah. I figured you’d like that aspect.”

Henry stepped close, wrapping an arm around her waist. “Thank you for this. It will give me peace of mind on the next tour that I’ll be able to keep a closer eye on you.”

Lyric grinned and stepped on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. “Can’t have my manager stressing about everything. Figured I’d help out a little.”

“Thank you,” he said again, quieter. His heart ached with the sentiment. She trusted him enough not only to bond with him—which hadn’t happened yet, but he was biding his time—but also to share her location with him. He was pretty sure six weeks ago, Lyric would have kicked his ass at just the prospect.

“Love you,” she murmured against his lips.

His breath caught, and he sat the box on the table to pull her close, to wrap her in his arms. He never wanted to let her go, and he would never be more grateful to Andi for letting him sub in for her than he was in that moment.

“I love you too, Lyric.”

She wiggled out of his arms and tapped the table. “Present?”

He nodded, lips twitching. “Present.”

She unwrapped the pink paper messily, and he held in his chuckles as her mouth dropped open. “You’re not serious.”

“I’m dead serious,” he said, holding in a laugh.

It was a water bottle, an expensive one with lines on it used for tracking one’s ounces. “It’s sixty-four ounces, which is the recommended daily amount of water intake. I—or one of the guys—will fill it up for you each morning, and I expect it to be empty by the time you crawl into bed. You’ll only have to empty one bottle instead of two now.”

“Or what?” Lyric challenged, the little brat.

He smirked. “Do you wanna find out?”

Her fingers tightened around the water bottle and she went a little breathless, her cheeks pinker than normal. “Hell yeah.”

Henry was two seconds away from scooping her up and carrying her to the back room for a demonstration, but the door to the bus opened.

“There you are. Finally,” Nohen grumbled. “You should’ve told me you were coming back to the bus so early, I would’ve beaten you here and—oh. Am I interrupting something?” He finally caught on to the tension in the room, holding a bag behind his back and taking a step backward.

Henry chuckled. “No, it’s probably for the best that you did.”

Nohen’s cheeks flushed. “Sorry, Henry.”

Lyric gaped and tapped the table. “What about me? You’re only sorry to Henry—oh, is that another present?” she asked, dropping her tease and sitting down on the couch before making grabby hands. “Nohen, you’re so sweet.”

“As sweet as our omega.”

Henry’s phone beeped, and he sighed before pulling the device out. “I have to go check on something, so I’ll leave you guys to it. If you need anything,” he said, pulling one of the matching watches from the box and slipping it over his hand, “beep me.”

It turned on with a chirp, and he grinned down at the digital box. “Thank you again, Lyric.”

He dipped down for a kiss, and she ran her hand through his hair before releasing him. “Go attend the crisis. I’ll be here.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he teased.

Henry left the bus with his heart more full than he could remember it being in a long while.

And all because of Lyric.

Damn, he was one lucky alpha.