Page 48

“Ha,” Uriel said. “Baked beans. They put the extras in a different container.”

He laid out the four containers of beans and opened them all, topping each with a generous serving of strawberries and chocolate sprinkles.

Bruiser made a face. “That looks like a pregnant omega’s food craving.”

“Congrats, you’re pregnant. Eat some.” Uriel shoved a container at him.

Bruiser took the container reluctantly, knowing there was another waiting for him. To delay his suffering, he asked, “Did you get cravings when you were pregnant with Cassie?”

Uriel sighed. “Spicy pickles for days. Some days I’d even dip them in ice cream.”

“I’m not sure that’s any better than this.” Bruiser stared at his baked beans.

Uriel rolled his eyes and ate his own container of fruity, chocolatey baked beans. He didn’t even bat an eyelid, and he scraped the container clean.

“Seriously?” Bruiser blurted.

“It’s food. It’s good food, even. Tasty beans, fresh berries, melty sprinkles. Could be worse.”

Bruiser looked at Uriel’s scars, and suddenly he could only imagine what Uriel had eaten, while he was a captive being tortured. Food so terrible that even this insane combination sounded good.

He dipped his spoon into the container and shoveled some into his mouth.

It was... an odd contrast of flavors. Warm, sweet-salty beans, cold strawberries, and chocolate.

Bruiser swallowed. “It helps that the beans are a little sweet. Kind of fits, actually.”

“See?” Uriel picked up his second container of strawberries and beans, and ate it just as quickly.

“You have my grudging respect,” Bruiser said, picking up his second container. Best get it eaten and done with.

Uriel smiled again, a brief flash of brightness. Now that his beans were gone, he pulled out the box of fried chicken and dug into it immediately.

Cassie babbled at them from her playpen. “Wah bah goo!”

Uriel shook his head fondly. “Fine. You get some too.”

He left the kitchen and returned with his baby, picking over the chicken pieces for the biggest one.

Cassie looked at Bruiser though, and reached for him.

Bruiser showed her his baked beans and strawberries. “What, you want some of this?”

“Awh!” She closed her grubby fist around a strawberry slice and some beans, and shoved them into her mouth.

Uriel sighed. “Cassie!”

Then he shot Bruiser a gimlet stare and added, “That’s cheating.”

Bruiser shrugged. “I’m just winning brownie points with her.”

Okay, maybe it was cheating, a little, but Bruiser wasn’t going to stop Cassie from grabbing another handful of baked beans. It was kind of adorable, actually. And it gave him a jolt of satisfaction to realize that he was feeding her.

He kept one hand on the beans so Cassie wouldn’t accidentally smack the cup off the table. With his other hand, he grabbed a box of Belgian waffles.

The waffles came with a few packets of honey. To Bruiser’s dismay, he realized that he needed both his hands to open them. He looked at the baked beans with Cassie’s hand stuffed in them, and sighed.

“I’ll get those,” Uriel said.