Page 81 of All Packed Up

Wendy tried to imagine living all by herself. In the middle of nowhere. With no one around but her cat. In theory, it didn’t sound half bad.

“Wow, so you don’t have to talk to anyone. Ever?”

Griffith shook his head. “Not if I don’t want to. I don’t have a lot of people I would want to keep in touch with anyway. I like the quiet.”

Nic nodded. “It’s really nice here. No city sounds.”

Wendy chuckled. “I bet you’re loving it here, Nic. No nosy neighbors.”

Rolling his eyes, Nic chuckled and turned his attention to Griffith. “The two alphas that tagged along are my neighbors. They are—”

“Hilarious,” Wendy finished. “I got to stay with them before we left, and they are great. Really funny, kinda silly. And they were just nice. Genuine.”

Wendy shut her mouth before she kept going. Surely they’d be down any minute.

“You only say that ’cause they gave you free pot,” Nic teased.

“Lies. They also gave me free food,” she retorted.

“Ah, that’s right.” Nic glanced at Griffith and motioned to the plates. “Yeah, Grif, be careful what you feed this one or she might just stay.”

Wendy gaped, her gaze trailing from beta to alpha, and met Griffith’s dark gaze for a long moment.

They both shook their heads silently.

As if.

They both wanted the same beta, and that was probably the most she would have to do with him while she was there.

“Well, be careful out there or you won’t be able to find out what you’re having for dinner,” he drawled. “There’s a storm on the radar as well, so try to be back before then. If you need anything, I’ll be around.” Grif bid them adieu with a nod and left the kitchen after rinsing his plate.

The screen door was as loud as a gunshot when it slammed shut, and Wendy jumped.

Nic chuckled, and she turned a glare in his direction. The beta hid behind his mug, taking a long gulp of coffee.

“What was that?” she hissed.

“What was what?” Nic echoed, all innocently.

“You know what,” she accused with a roll of her eyes.

Nic speared a piece of her cantaloupe and pulled it off the fork, studying her. Wendy held his gaze bravely, waiting…

“It was nothing. We just don’t know what to say to each other yet.”

Narrowing her gaze, she studied Nic and found nothing to contradict what he said. No blushing, no wincing.

“Ready to explore?” he asked and stood from the table. He made his way to the sink, and Wendy ate her breakfast with a view of Nic’s ass.

By the time she finished, he’d just begun drying the dishes they’d made.

Wendy glanced up only for her mouth to go dry. Nic’s sleeves were rolled up, exposing his forearms, and he was wiping them dry with a dish towel.

She didn’t know why the simple movement was so sexy, but it was. Swallowing her reaction, she nodded. “Despite how we spent the evening, I can still walk.”

Wendy had packed for cold weather—but city cold weather. And half the stuff she had wasn’t even what she would have picked out for herself.

So no one could blame her for having to walk out on this… farm in designer tennis shoes, jeans, and a hoodie she’d stolen from the rack by the door. It smelled kinda like Arlo, and she breathed in his familiar scent with a wistful smile. She’d been an early riser this morning, and if the two alphas wanted to sleep the afternoon away, she would just have to tease them about it later.