Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
OLIVIA
Courting. They’re courting me.
All week, I’ve been worried that somehow my brain concocted this whole scenario, and I’ll wake up from the longest, most perfect dream. I’m aware that it’s illogical, but things like this don’t happen to me.
Four gorgeous, attentive men want me. They don’t look at me like I have two heads when I talk, don’t laugh at me when I’m awkward, and they don’t attempt to diminish my work or goals.
I can’t help but compare the night they asked to court me with that horrible date with Pack Johnson my mom forced me to go on.
I’ve never felt quite as small as I did sitting at that table, surrounded by unfamiliar alphas who likely couldn’t even identify the six essential building blocks of life.
Conversely, I’ve never felt as desired as I did when Sawyer, Liam, Hayes, and Wilder declared that they wanted to court me.
Nigel took Mother to one of her society events tonight, but I don’t mind the drive over to the packhouse.
It gives me time to grapple with my new reality.
An omega in courting! How exciting. Parking in the driveway, I try to calm my breathing and heart rate.
They’re physiological stress responses. I can control them.
Besides, it’s only dinner. A casual night in with three sexy alphas and one sexy beta.
It’s not like they’re going to bite me tonight—that type of official pack marking won’t come until later.
We probably won’t even do anything physically intimate.
Not that I’m opposed. Still, my heart races, my hands are clammy, and a bead of sweat tickles my spine as it slips down my back.
“It’s just dinner.” I suck in a fortifying breath as Sawyer opens the front door, rests a hip against the doorframe, crosses his arms over his chest, and cocks one eyebrow at me.
Right. This is embarrassing.
Hoping the twilight hides my blush from the man I crushed on throughout my childhood, I force myself to get out of the car and walk toward the house.
“Hey, baby. Are you all right?” He’s trying not to laugh, the little shit.
“Fine,” I grumble as I allow Sawyer to pull me into his chest for a hug. I inhale deeply, filling my lungs with his scent. There are faint traces of the rest of the pack, and as I breathe them in, my shoulders relax.
“No need to be nervous,” he whispers.
“Can you read my mind?” I mutter, the words muffled by his strong chest.
Sawyer chuckles. He runs his hands along my back and rubs his cheek over the crown of my head before placing a kiss there, scent marking me. “No, but I know you. You have a tendency to overthink things.”
“No, I don’t.”
“If you say so.” His chest vibrates with silent laughter.
“Quit hogging my cute little smarty-pants.” Wilder’s face appears over Sawyer’s shoulder, and then I’m spun out of his arms and scooped up into Wilder’s.
His eyes crinkle in the corners, the well-worn grooves making it clear that Wilder spends a lot of time smiling.
I can almost picture him thirty years from now.
Wilder, with silver-streaked hair and deep laugh lines etched into his face.
To think, if things go well with them, I may have the privilege of witnessing those lines deepen and settle.
Wilder carries me, princess style, into the house, pressing a kiss to my temple as he walks. “Are you ready for the best dinner ever?”
“Are you cooking?”
“Not tonight. Hayes is.” Wilder sets me down on one of the stools that line the kitchen island, and I’m treated to a front-row seat of Hayes in action.
The massive alpha is wearing a pink apron that says Queen of the kitchen, and I can’t stop myself from giggling. It has Hayes looking my way. His lips twitch as he takes me in with an intensity that has my heart skipping.
“Are you laughing at me, vixen?”
“Me? Never.”
“Who’s laughing at you?” Liam bounds down the stairs, his eyes finding me before they bounce to Hayes. He doesn’t look surprised by the apron, so it must be a regular occurrence. “I told you we could get you a different apron.”
Hayes scoffs. “And I told you all to fuck off. Cici gave me this. It’s special.”
I giggle. Liam’s sister is probably close to eleven or twelve now. “That’s cute.”
“Isn’t he?” Wilder steps up next to his twin and pinches his cheek.
Hayes swats his brother’s hand away with a growl. “Knock it off, or you don’t get cake.”
The change in Wilder’s expression makes me burst out laughing. Hayes must be an excellent baker, because the idea of being cut off from the cake causes Wilder to take three steps back, his hands lifted in surrender.
“All right, it’s about done.” Hayes surveys the massive pot of pasta and a bubbling pan of chicken in cream sauce.
It’s full of sun-dried tomatoes, onion, mushrooms, and enough garlic to fill the kitchen and dining room with a sharp hit of the fragrance.
“You guys set the table while I put this in serving dishes.”
“I can help,” I offer.
Hayes shoots me a scandalized look. “Not a chance.”
“I’m perfectly capable of setting the table.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I glare at him. “I may be a little clumsy, but I’ve never broken a dish.”
Sawyer chuckles, kissing my temple as he walks past me into the kitchen to grab plates. “He wasn’t implying that you’re clumsy, Liv. But you’re a guest in our home and we’re courting you. There’s no way in hell you’re lifting a finger.”
“Then, how am I supposed to eat?” I sass back.
“I can feed you. Perch you on my lap and give you little bites.” Wilder waggles his eyebrows at me.
Liam chuckles, rolling his eyes. “She’s not a baby bird.
” He extends a hand to me. Suddenly, I’m transported back to the ballroom, Liam, younger and scrawnier, gesturing for me in the same way.
My heart had fluttered then, but I had confused it with general anxiety.
Now that I know what it feels like to really like someone, I understand it was always about him.
“Come on,” he says. “Let’s get you settled, and I’ll pour you a glass of wine.”
My fingers tingle when I place my hand in Liam’s.
I know it’s nothing more than a response due to my body’s heightened state of arousal and the pheromones that are filling the room, but for a moment, I let myself forget all that.
I’m just a girl again, taking the hand of a boy who looks at her like she’s his fate.
Sometimes, I like the idea of fate.
As if his mind has gone to the same place as mine, Liam lifts our joined hands and spins me before wrapping me in his arms, my back against his chest, and whispers, “I still can’t believe you’re here.”
“Those were some fancy moves,” Wilder says, his voice full of amusement.
Within moments, he and the rest of the guys have set the table with the practiced efficiency of a family used to sitting down at the table together.
One who enjoys the togetherness of a meal, not one simply fulfilling an obligation.
“Are you two going to tell us how you know each other tonight? I tried to get it out of Liam, but he was awfully tight-lipped.”
The beta in question rolls his eyes as he pushes in my chair and sits down beside me. “It’s embarrassing.”
That has me shrinking in on myself. I’m aware that ballroom dancing isn’t exactly considered cool, but I didn’t think he’d be embarrassed to have been there with me. My scent sours.
“Gorgeous, no.” Liam squeezes my hand. “Whatever just filled that brilliant head of yours, I promise that’s not what I mean.”
“Then, you better spit it out,” Hayes growls. “Before I punch you in the balls for making Liv frown like that.”
The sound of silverware clinking against ceramic fills the silence in the room, and a plate full of pasta, chicken, and the creamy sauce, as well as a large portion of steamed broccoli, is placed in front of me. I meet Hayes’s eyes and offer him a soft smile of thanks.
“If any of you give me shit for this, I’m moving out.” Liam runs a hand through his short brown hair. He glances at me and sucks in a breath, steeling himself. “Olivia and I met when we were barely teenagers, before our scents fully came in. We took the same ballroom-dancing class.”
“Ballroom dancing?” Hayes asks, eyebrows rising higher and higher by the second. “Like foxtrotting and stuff?”
“Oh, they both grew up fancy fancy,” Wilder mumbles, pushing his pasta around.
Sawyer studies his friend. “You never told us this.”
Liam shrugs. “I try not to think about all the etiquette lessons my parents forced me into, and the memories of Liv’s body pressed against mine? Well, I liked keeping those all to myself.”
“Liam was really good.” I spear a piece of broccoli. “He might’ve been the best lead on the floor.”
“We have to see this,” Wilder says quickly. “After dinner—”
“After we play some games,” Hayes corrects.
Wilder nods. “Right, after we play some games, you two have to show us your moves.”
I glance at Liam. It’s been a long time since I’ve danced. I’m out of practice, but I can’t be that rusty. Besides, with Liam leading me around, I’ll practically be floating. He’s that good. “I’m up for it if you are.”
The thought doesn’t seem to bother him, though he gives each of the men an appraising look. “Promise not to laugh?”
“I mean, if you suck, I might laugh,” Wilder says with a shrug.
Sawyer shakes his head. “We promise not to make fun of you guys.”
“Unless you suck,” Wilder says again, earning a few mild glares. “What? Is laughing illegal now?”
“You’d make them feel bad,” Hayes says, frowning at his twin.
“It’s all right,” I quickly cut in. “We don’t suck. Right, Liam?” In fact, Liam and I ended up getting one of the highest scores in our class. We perfected form and pace, and we didn’t fight one another for control.
He grins at me, sharing the secret, and nods. “Don’t worry, gorgeous, we’ll show them what we’re made of.”