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When Uriel looked up, he realized that the rescued omegas were watching them, some of them looking accusingly at Orrin.

Orrin made a face. “Sorry.”

Only then did Uriel realize that the omegas had been listening to his entire conversation with Bruiser. “Oh gods.”

His face burned. He hadn’t meant for some of his most vulnerable moments to be put on display.

“We’re happy for you,” Orrin said earnestly.

“But if you don’t want Bruiser, we’d be happy to take him,” Yves added.

The thought of Bruiser going to someone else... That felt wrong, in a way Uriel couldn’t explain.

“Sorry, I’m off the market,” Bruiser said with an apologetic smile.

Relief bloomed through Uriel.

“You’re adorable when you blush,” Bruiser murmured in his ear.

That only made Uriel blush harder. He wriggled out of Bruiser’s arms, turning away. “I’m not.”

“You are,” Orrin whispered loudly.

“I’m going to buy you food,” Uriel grumbled. “Hush.”

“Actually, why don’t I place the orders on my phone,” Bruiser said. “Same places as yesterday. The food should be ready when you arrive—just pick it up when you’re there. It’ll save you some time.”

“That’s... a good idea,” Uriel admitted.

Bruiser gave him a half-smile. He was more handsome than Uriel would like to admit, and it made his stomach squirm. Uriel hurriedly unlocked his phone so he could look at the omegas’ requests, and not deal with the surge of feelings in his chest.

When the orders were placed, he kicked off into the air, feeling an alpha’s heavy gaze on him.

The order pickup went a lot more smoothly today. Since Uriel didn’t have to place any orders at the counter or double back to the restaurants, it shaved off a good third of the time he’d taken yesterday.

The omegas were delighted when he returned and unloaded the bags of food. Uriel and Bruiser let them have the first pick; who knew when they had last seen a decent meal? Uriel didn’t want to remind them.

Bruiser bumped his arm lightly. “Want something? I’ll get it for you.”

Uriel opened and closed his mouth, shrugging. “Maybe.”

“You must be starving. You’ve been doing a lot the past few hours.”

“Yeah.” Uriel sagged. His weariness was catching up to him; the odd warmth in his body continued to linger, and he felt heavy all over.

Bruiser poured him some water first. Uriel downed most of it before unstrapping Cassie; he held the plastic cup to her mouth to help her drink.

When he looked up, he found Bruiser watching them. His heart thumped.

Bruiser gave a tiny smile and didn’t move closer. It was only when Uriel had set aside the empty cup, that Bruiser came forward with some pizza slices and burgers.

Bruiser didn’t ask about Cassie. Uriel caught him watching their daughter though, little peeks here and there.

It made him warm inside, knowing that Bruiser wanted to know more about her.

“How’s the pizza?” Bruiser asked. “You like that?”

“I’ve never had ranch dressing on my pizza before,” Uriel admitted. “It’s amazing.”