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Okay, now Uriel was tempted.

Bruiser handed over his phone, menu pulled up. “Order what you want.”

They had cakes. And pies. And cookies.

Logically, Uriel knew he wouldn’t be able to fit it all into his stomach. But he’d never had the chance to browse a menu and think, Someone else is paying for this. I can have anything I want.

He put some cake slices in the shopping cart, took a few off, and added some brownies and cookies. Then he saw some dishes for kids that Cassie might like, and he added those too. At the end of it, he added a beef pot pie for himself.

The order total was a little crazy, but when Uriel handed the phone back, Bruiser didn’t bat an eyelid.

Bruiser tapped on his phone, then set it on the counter. “I’ve placed the order.”

“Really? With all those cakes?”

“Why not?” Bruiser shrugged. “We’ll be here for a few days. It won’t go to waste.”

The thought of sharing this cabin with Bruiser for the next few days... It didn’t seem quite as unpleasant as before. Uriel didn’t know what to make of it.

“Thanks,” he said.

Bruiser shrugged awkwardly and turned back to the boiling pasta. “Hey, is this soft enough?”

He scooped out a strand with a fork and held it out; Uriel leaned over to bite off the dangling end. “Yeah, this is good.”

When he looked up, he found Bruiser staring, his eyes a little glazed over.

“Are you in there?” Uriel asked.

Bruiser snapped back to his senses. “Yeah. Sorry.”

He turned off the stove and grabbed a plate, scooping out all the softened noodles. Uriel went to get Cassie from her playpen and sat her in his lap.

Cassie smeared half the noodles all over her face.

Bruiser coughed. When Uriel looked over, he found the alpha biting down a smile. “She’s adorable.”

“She is,” Uriel said, his heart swelling.

Cassie continued to stare at Bruiser as she ate. The alpha seemed cautious around her; he smiled carefully, but Cassie didn’t smile back.

“It’s normal,” Uriel said. “You’d have to really surprise her before she smiles.”

“Ah.”

Bruiser and Cassie continued to eat. Or in Cassie’s case, sometimes she handed Uriel a noodle instead, and he had to eat some before she would take another bite. Bruiser watched them.

Bruiser perked up minutes before the delivery person knocked. It was a good thing, too; Uriel would’ve jumped in surprise.

Bruiser answered the door. He returned with two large bags, and Uriel’s mouth fell open.

“Did we really order that much food?”

“Looks like we did.”

Bruiser opened the boxes and laid them out on the counter. With Cassie still in his arms, Uriel peeked into each one. The pies and cakes all looked delicious.

Then he stopped at a box of fried chicken, which he definitely did not order, and drooled.