Chapter 31
THIRTY-ONE
Delilah
Today’s horoscope said that long-standing obstacles may be overcome, and seeing the Stellas in a room with Jagger—let alone having them actually get along—is definitely something I never foresaw happening.
The room is full of laughter and cheering as Sabs takes a dramatic bow. Nash claps Tae on the back in condolence. “Nice try.”
“I know when to admit defeat,” Tae groans. Sabs has kicked his ass four times in a row. “Where did you learn to play like that?”
“I grew up with three brothers.” Sabs flashes him her pearly whites and shrugs. “We were pretty competitive.”
Faye grimaces. “You don’t want to see her and her brothers together. Trust me.” She shakes her head. “We still haven’t heard the end of it since Laz and Sabs’s last Mario Kart game.”
Sabs jumps in to defend herself. “Hey! Laz should have—”
“The less said about that, the better,” I interrupt before she launches into another breakdown of the play-by-play. “Why don’t we mix up the teams?”
We play a few more games, forming a variety of teams, before Tae proclaims that we should take a seat while he and the guys are going to get dessert ready.
“I don’t think I could eat any more if I tried.” Faye pats her stomach as we head back to the living room. “I’ve eaten my body weight in pizza.”
Jagger raises an eyebrow. “Even if there’s chocolate involved?”
“Well…” Her brown eyes twinkle. “Maybe I can make a small exception.”
Despite the intense interrogation when we first arrived, everyone relaxed as the evening progressed. While Kady and Sabs are still acting a little cooler with Jagger, seeing him and Kady work together to try to beat Sabs was hilarious. Even when it was two against one, Sabs triumphed.
“So?” I ask as we sink into the comfy sofas. I have a sneaking suspicion they want to give me some alone time with the girls to check in. I extend my legs, the crackling fire warming my socks. “What do you think?”
Getting them to agree to come was one thing, but now I realize how desperately I want the Stellas to actually like them. Their approval means everything to me. As an only child, they are the sisters I never had, and I can’t imagine being with a pack they disapprove of.
“They’re great.” Faye is the first to talk. “Nash is such a cutie. He obviously adores you, even though he’s more reserved. Tae is loads of fun, and Jagger… Well, he’s obviously made mistakes, but he really does seem genuine about making amends.”
Faye was always going to be the easiest to win over; she sees the best in everyone. However, Kady and Sabs are going to be much harder to impress.
“Kady?” I wait with bated breath. “Sabs?”
“As you know, it’s going to take a lot for me to fully forgive Jagger for what he put you through.” Kady steeples her fingers. “Probably years. A whole lifetime, maybe. But Faye’s right. The way he looks at you, it’s—”
“He looks at you like you’re his fucking sun, Del,” Sabs cuts in.
“The sun?” My insides warm. “Really?”
“Look, I fully admit that I came here expecting to hate him.” Sabs shows me her palms. “And a part of me still does for what happened last year, but he doesn’t seem like a total grade-A asshole.
” She reclines back. “Wherever you are in a room, he’s always watching you.
And not in a creepy stalker way, but in an I’ll jump in front of a car to save you way. ”
“I see it too.” Faye nods. “Not just with Jagger, but with all of them. They really care about you, Del.”
“That may be the case, but I still can’t bring myself to trust Jagger,” Kady mutters.
My stomach drops in disappointment, then Kady reaches for my hand, her voice softening.
“But I trust you, Del.” Her blue eyes seek out mine.
“I trust your judgment. If you think Jagger is good for you and believe that he’s your scent match, I’ll support you.
If you can learn to trust him, we all can too. ”
Emotion swells up in my core, and a happy tear slips down my cheek. “Thank you.” I scrub my face with my sleeve, laughing while sniffling. “So you don’t think I’m a total idiot for believing what he says?”
“You could never be an idiot, Del.” Kady smiles at me. “You can’t help who your scent matches are, and for what it’s worth, I do believe they want to make you happy.”
Having their approval feels like I’m jumping over the last hurdle to muster the courage to start opening up again.
I’ve been fighting my connection to Jagger because of my fear of getting hurt, but in doing so, I also haven’t allowed myself to truly feel any of the joy.
Finding your scent matches and courting is supposed to be a fun and exciting time, so maybe I can start to enjoy it now.
“Plus, no one will ever hurt you with Nash by your side,” Sabs snickers. “I can’t believe the size of his hands! They look like they could crush someone’s skull like a bug. How do you even fit those fingers in your—”
I’m spared from answering Sabs’s question by Jagger calling out that dessert is ready.
Kady sniffs the air. “I can’t smell any burning this time, so that’s a good sign.”
We head in to see that they’ve laid out cakes, tarts, a variety of fresh fruit, and cream puffs on the table.
“We didn’t attempt to make anything ourselves this time,” Jagger informs us.
“Wise choice,” Kady scoffs.
“Oh!” Faye squeals, gravitating straight to the massive, six-tiered chocolate fudge cake with a perfect mirror glaze.
“That cake looks like heaven on a plate.” As Nash hands her a mammoth portion, she looks like she’s about to pass out from sheer excitement.
“Cole keeps trying to swap out chocolate for healthier snacks, but mmm…” She groans as soon as she takes a bite.
“How can dried nuts and kale chips ever come close to this?”
Kady selects a lemon tart. “These are my favorite tarts at Springflour Bakery.”
“Haven’t you heard? It’s not Springflour Bakery anymore,” Tae remarks.
“Don’t tell me it’s closing!” Sabs almost drops a cream puff. “Where else will we get our cookie fix when Delilah is too busy to bake?”
“I’m never too busy to bake.” I chuckle.
She winks. “You may be now that you’ll have a pack taking up more of your time.”
“Don’t worry, the bakery is not closing.” Tae appeases her worries. “But it has changed its name.” He retrieves a cardboard box with the bakery’s new logo, putting it down proudly.
Sabs’s eyes bulge. “Delilah’s?”
Jagger looks at me. “You didn’t tell them?”
“It must have slipped my mind.” I look down at my nails.
“There’s a story here!” Sabs is practically jumping up and down. Perhaps feeding her sugar isn’t such a good idea. “Spill it!”
“Jagger bought Springflour Bakery,” I confess shyly. “And changed its name.”
“You bought her a bakery?” Kady gapes at him.
“Well, kinda. I… Well…” Jagger flounders. “I helped out a struggling business owner and negotiated a name change as part of the deal. That’s all.”
“That’s the kind of grand gesture you read about,” Faye swoons, licking chocolate fudge off her top lip.
“Any omega from Stella House will never have to pay for anything there either. Now or in the future,” Jagger declares. “I’ve already made sure Dora knows.”
“You arranged that?” I gasp.
He shrugs like it’s nothing. “I know how important your sisterhood is to you.”
“So you’re blackmailing us into liking you with desserts.” Sabs sinks her teeth into a cream puff, then says with her mouth full, “Damn, they’re so good, it may actually work.”
Kady rolls her eyes, but I see her resolve softening as she tucks into her tart.
“I may have replaced the neon sign with a less flashy one too,” Jagger tells me. That sign totally didn’t go with the charming bakery. “Even though you should have your name up in lights, I could tell you didn’t like it, so I picked out something a little more… authentic.”
“Thank you,” I breathe. “Neon definitely doesn’t match the vibe of the place.”
“You’ll have to visit again soon,” he says before helping himself to a slice of watermelon.
Watching him bite into it and seeing the pink juices drip down his chin sends tremors between my thighs. I quickly avert my gaze. Who knew him eating some fruit could be such an arousing experience?
“We’ll all have to go!” Sabs declares, and Tae hums in agreement.
My heart does a little happy dance as I gaze around, surrounded by all of my favorite people.
“We’re so lucky to have found our matches.” As if she can sense what I’m thinking, Faye wistfully leans her head on my shoulder while Nash fusses around with plates and Tae makes a drink for Kady.
“Yes.” My eyes mist over. Tonight has been everything I didn’t know I needed. “We are.”
It could be the earlier cocktails messing with me, but I’m starting to see these guys as mine. Jagger, Tae, and Nash. The tortured artist, the grizzly who is a secret softie, and my sunshine beta. Being in their presence just feels right, and I can finally see what a life with them could be like.
“I didn’t realize how late it was.” Kady glances at her watch. “I asked Hale to pick us up at ten. I need an early night before classes tomorrow.”
“I’ll open the gates for his car.” Nash disappears into the hallway to tap a few buttons on a panel on the wall.
Faye stretches her arms, stifling a yawn. “Tae’s amazing cocktails and all that food have made me pretty sleepy.”
“Do you want to take the rest of the cake with you?” Jagger offers.
“Oh…” Faye plays with the hem of her dress. “I don’t know if I could…”
He’s already stuffing it into a box and handing it to her before she can say anything else.
“Thanks, Jagger.” She beams up at him. “I’ll share it with my guys.”
“I bet they’re all waiting up, pining for you,” Sabs teases. “They’re like lost puppies when you’re not around.”
Faye swats her shoulder but doesn’t argue.
“You should take some back to Stella House too.” Jagger grabs boxes then stuffs them full of treats for the others. “Here you go.”
The girls head for the exit, but I hang back.
“Del?” Sabs pauses. “Are you coming?”
“I think I’ll stick around a little longer.” My cheeks heat, turning to the guys. “If you don’t mind?”
“Mind?” Tae is practically bouncing. “Of course, we don’t mind. You can stay as long as you’d like.”
“Our home is your home.” My skin tingles in response to Nash’s growly voice.
“We won’t wait up.” Sabs pulls me into a one-armed hug while she balances the bakery box in the other. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“Remember what I said.” Kady points a finger at the guys. “Hurt her, and you’ll have us to deal with.”
Their heads bob up and down in agreement.
“Thank you for a lovely evening,” Faye says. “You’ll have to come over to ours for dinner soon.”
“We’d love that,” Tae beams.
“I think you’ve already met Damon?” Faye questions.
“I don’t think he was my biggest fan,” Jagger mumbles.
“Oh, don’t worry about him. Damon doesn’t like anyone.” Sabs flicks her wrist dismissively. “Grumpy is basically his middle name.”
“Hey!” Faye objects. “He’s not grumpy!”
“Maybe not to you…” Sabs sticks out her tongue as a car beeps outside.
“That’s Hale.” Kady grabs her purse. “I better go before Janice dies in the driveway.”
“The name of Hale’s car,” I supply as Nash’s eyes widen in alarm. I put my hand on his forearm. “He and his dad fixed it up together.”
“And it’s safe?” The concern in Nash’s voice is clear, and I remember the conversation we had the other day about his brother.
“Of course, it is,” I assure him.
“He needs to do more work on it soon.” Kady groans. “None of the others want to help him, though.”
“What about Calder?” I ask. “He has a fancy car, right? I thought he’d enjoy it.”
“Calder?” Kady laughs. “He loves driving cars, but he’d hate to get his hands covered in oil.”
“Maybe I could help?” Nash offers. “I know my way around an engine.”
“If you’re as good with cars as you are with radiators, I’m sure he’d love that.” Kady grins. “Delilah can give you his number.”
“Thank you again for coming tonight,” Jagger says as they reach the door. “I appreciate you all giving me a chance.”
“Don’t fuck it up this time!” Sabs playfully punches him on the arm.
“If you need anything, just call us, okay?” Kady hugs me before they leave.
“Thanks.” When I lean back against Nash, he wraps his arm around my shoulder, and I feel like I’m cozying up next to a warm campfire. Right now, I’m exactly where I need to be.
The heavy thud of the front door closing echoes through the hallway as Janice’s low rumble fades into the distance, taking the chaotic, high-energy of the Stellas with it.
“We survived.” Jagger runs a hand through his hair and breathes a long sigh of relief. He looks like a man who just survived a battle.
“Toward the end, I think they were actually starting to like us,” Tae chirps.
“And Kady didn’t throw out any more death threats,” Nash utters. “I’m counting that as a win.”
I laugh. “The Stellas can be pretty intense sometimes, but it’s just because they love me.”
“I’d let Kady Sinclair interrogate me a thousand times if it meant getting a second chance with you.” Jagger’s husky voice vibrates through me, making my toes curl. “Although, I’d rather not have to.”
“It sucks that the lasagna didn’t work out.” Tae screws up his nose.
“Don’t remind me,” Jagger groans, cupping his forehead in embarrassment.
“You can leave the cooking to me next time,” I say. “Maybe I can even teach you.”
Jagger steps up to me, closing the gap between us. “I’m a fast learner.”
“Okay, no more talk about burnt lasagna!” Tae declares. “Let’s just enjoy the rest of the evening. The four of us.”
The four of us… I could get used to that.