Page 149 of All Packed Up

Digesting his words, Wendy stared out the windshield for a moment. She still didn’t know what it was about Griffith specifically that made her feel so… strangely exposed. Like he could see right through her, see that past all her snark and attitude was just… Wendy. An omega who got in way over her head with no one to throw her a lifeline. She ground her teeth. I hate it.

She hated the thought of anyone thinking she needed to be… taken care of. Especially a beefy knothead like Griffith.

She huffed.

Beefy knothead or not, he wouldn’t be the worst person to take care of Nic. “I know we don’t know each other that well, and honestly, on paper, I probably don’t know Nic that well either. Falling in love? I’ve never experienced it, but even I can recognize that what you two have is… intense. It’s special, and I think it would be a shame if it didn’t get another chance.”

Wendy rubbed her chest, crossed her arms because she suddenly felt so vulnerable. She’d definitely given away more than she intended. “But you’re not going to get him back by being a wimp about it.”

Grif’s eyebrows took a little vacation north at her words. “Well, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but uh...” He waved a hand at her. “He’s been a little preoccupied with an omega.”

“Do I seem like I’m standing in your way?” she challenged.

Grif sputtered. “That’s literally all you’ve been doing since you got here. Plus I—uhm, I thought it might be rude. To try and seduce him out from under you.”

Wendy groaned. “Pl-ease seduce him underneath me!” she cried, her voice echoing around the truck cab dramatically. It made her laugh, and she wondered when the last time she’d been so loud was.

Don’t disturb them. Don’t make noise. Don’t bother them with your existence.

“Oh my god,” Griffith said, chuckling as he speared her with a look of disbelief. “Just say the word.”

“Pineapple,” she shouted with a grin, staring right at the alpha.

“Just—what?” he asked, absolutely dumbfounded.

Wendy shrugged. “You said say the word. You didn’t say what word.”

“You’re impossible,” he laughed out with a shake of his head.

Griffith was a good person, and Wendy knew Nic still cared for him. Grif clearly still felt the same way. If her presence and the unknown had kept them from tying up their loose ends, maybe they needed a little push in the right direction.

With a victorious grin, she started planning and shuffled in the seat again. She couldn’t wait to get home, mostly so she could see the looks on everyone’s faces when they saw the overalls. But Wendy also wanted a shower, because changing clothes so many times must have irritated her skin or something. She was itchy and restless.

A shower reset was just what she needed.

“You serious? About the Nic thing?”

Wendy startled at Grif’s voice. Had he been sitting there the whole time wondering, thinking about it? Dammit, she was gonna melt.

“I’m not in the habit of saying things I don’t mean.”

Grif chuckled, ran a hand over the back of his neck. “Well shit. I guess I need to talk to him, huh?”

The weight of Griffith’s nerves hung in the air like the weight of a storm. He was nervous about Nic, and Wendy found that so damned endearing.

The alphas had held onto her with an iron grip these years, holding her back, stopping her from finding someone who would really love her. It was just the tip of the iceberg of her contempt for them.

And Wendy had been standing in the way of Griffith and Nic, even if she didn’t want to admit it.

She huffed a laugh in the quietness of the truck. “I wouldn’t want to stand in the way of someone’s happiness. Even yours,” she said with an exaggerated sigh.

The weight of his glance carried through the truck. “Don’t start feeling guilty over something like that. I know what it’s like to want someone to yourself, trust me.”

Wendy knew that, of course. All the teasing they did with each other about Nic was different. There was no ill will behind the things they said.

The Sterling Pack lied to keep her around, pressured her into a space where she couldn’t say no, and then punished her when she wasn’t happy about it.

“For whatever reason,” Griffith continued, “you feel comfortable expressing irritation with me. I get the feeling you haven’t been able to express something like that in a long time, so I don’t mind. Plus your nose scrunches in the cutest way when you’re processing something that leaves a bad taste in your mouth.”