Chapter 12
My kitchen was utter chaos and I was freaking the fuck out. I’d spent a little time with the guys but I’d never cooked for them before. Everything up until now had been surface level, and I was feeling the pressure.
I had steaks seasoned and prepped for the grill, along with some of my best sides and fresh bread. I was thankful for my bread machine that made it possible to look like I knew what I was doing.
My phone pinged as I put the bread on the cutting board to cool.
Cy
We’re on our way now! Hope we aren’t late
Dani
Right on time, I was waiting to hear before putting the steaks on the grill.
Griff
Steak? I swear we’ve hit the omega lottery
Dani:
Don’t say that yet, you haven’t tasted anything
Cy:
We brought dessert, though I still stand by the fact that you’d make an even sweeter dessert
Jackson:
We’ll be there in thirty minutes, sweets. Can’t wait to see you.
A smile spread across my face as I tucked it away and got to work cleaning up my disaster of a kitchen and hitting the shower.
By the time I saw headlights pulling into the driveway, I was clean and so was my house, and I’d put on the cutest little dress I had.
It was an above the knee black bohemian style dress.
It rested off the shoulders and had short sleeves to combat the summer heat.
A cute knit overlay exposed a strip of skin over my torso and the bottom few inches of the dress.
I loved this one and it was cute, but casual enough to feel like I wasn’t trying too hard.
My red hair was falling around my shoulders in soft curls and I brushed on a quick, but natural, makeup look.
I felt confident and cute, plus I had a solid feast waiting for my pack. The pride my omega was radiating told me I was doing something right.
Taking care of them felt good. There was a deep, omega satisfaction in showing off my skills for my pack.
I met them on the porch, breathing in the evening air as they climbed out of the car. My entire being melted at the sight of bakery boxes, gorgeous flowers, and wine in their hands.
They’d taken tonight seriously and put in the work, they didn’t just make a quick stop to grab whatever, there was true thought put into it.
That effort made me fall a little deeper for my pack. It wasn’t love, I barely knew them beyond their public personas, but it was the beginning of a bond that could turn into that one day.
Jackson was the first to reach me, his dimples flashing as he leaned in and pressed a kiss to my forehead. My body flooded with warmth, the soft, protective kiss something I needed more of in my life. He smelled incredible and freshly showered, his scent a bit stronger because of it.
“Hey, sweets. You look… incredible,” he said, voice dropping to a deeper octave as he took me in. Then a smile took back over. “You painted your toes to match. I love it.”
The fact he noticed blew my mind. They soaked in everything about me when we were together.
“She’s gorgeous,” Griff agreed, reaching out and pulling me in with his free hand, brushing a kiss over my cheek. “We come bearing gifts.”
“I see that,” I said, taking the flowers he was offering and inhaling their sweet scent. Even better, the scents of my alphas were already mixed in, so I knew my house would smell like them, too.
“Hey there, peach,” Cy greeted, pulling me into a soft hug that warmed me from the inside out. His fresh, citrus and herb scent covered me as he gently ran his cheek along mine, scent-marking me. My omega preening happily as she basked in it.
When he released me, I gulped in fresh air to try and clear my head.
“Come in, I’ve got dinner almost ready,” I said as I padded back inside, my alphas in tow. Jackson dropped the boxes on the counter where I’d left space. Griff put the wine in the freezer to chill, and Cy helped me carry out the steaks.
It was natural. Fluid. Not a hint of awkwardness in sight as we all moved around each other.
“Hopefully, you guys can handle spice,” I said as I lifted the lid on my grill. It was one of the biggest purchases I made for my home and was a multi-purpose one. I could grill, smoke, pop on the griddle when I needed it, and the lid was domed and had a secondary window to act as a pizza oven.
“This is nice,” Cy whistled. “We’re going to have to run extra at practice to make up for all the goodness you spoil us with, peach.”
“My dad taught me to grill. It was one of the only times I felt like I belonged with them,” I admitted.
“Were they hard on you?” he asked as he held out the tray so I could transfer the meat to the hot grill.
“No, more… overlooked, I guess? My family was all betas, so I was expected to be, too. They didn’t know what to do with an omega and I swear half the time they thought I was a ticking time bomb, about to hit a heat even though I’d barely come into it.
Not to mention, between doctors and school, I knew how to handle all that. ”
I felt the others join us as I was talking. It felt nice to let them in a little, tell them why I was so independent.
“They all seemed ecstatic when I left for college, then never checked in, so I simply didn’t go back. They don’t reach out or anything like that and haven’t since I left. Which is fine, I don’t need anyone in my life who thinks I’m less for things I can’t control.”
Jackson moved forward, tucking a loose curl behind my ear. The look in his eyes told me he knew this feeling far too well.
“I know how that is,” he said softly. “We’ve got you now, Dani. I can promise you with my entire being that we’ll never treat you that way.”
“Never dull your shine for people like that, gorgeous. You’re confident, sexy enough to bring us to our knees, and are kind hearted. We’ve only known each other for a short time, but I can already see all of that in you.”
Griff’s words sank into my bones, settling there like armor, ready to protect me when I needed it.
Who knew jocks could be so damn sweet and down to earth?
I may have thirsted after these men, I mean, could you blame a girl? Most of the time they were shirtless, sweaty, and had more moves than I realized any alpha could.
“My family is big and boisterous enough for all of us,” Cy said when the moment felt a bit too serious. “They’re going to absolutely love you. My dad, Allen, especially. He lives for outdoor cooking.”
Cy pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of the grill, sending it with a grin on his face.
“My family is small, but they try to watch all the games. Mom got into an accident and doesn’t get out much but they support me how they can,” Griff explained.
“Don’t let him downplay it. We take care of them, Griff especially. He’s their rock,” Jackson said. The pride in his voice as he beamed at his packmate was just another way I knew I’d found the perfect pack.
Just like that they heard one of my biggest vulnerabilities, shared their own, and validated that I was enough. Not just me, that we all were enough.
"So," I started to change the subject. It was getting a little too deep at the moment. "How do you like your steaks cooked?"
"Medium rare for Griff and I," Cy spoke up and then he pointed to Jackson. "He likes his practically burnt."
"Burnt?" I questioned in horror.
"Unlike these two, I prefer my steak not to be mooing as I chew it," Jackson smiled at me. He wasn't the least bit repentant.
"I like mine somewhere in the middle," I said. "Two medium rare, one well done, and one medium. Got it."
"Do you need help with anything else?" Griff asked.
"No, but I wish I’d thought to buy some extra chairs. Then we could hang out here and talk as the steaks cook," I told them.
Cy's face lit up and he ran back around to the front of the cabin.
"Where's he going?" I questioned, taking a peek at the steaks and pulling two off the fire to rest.
"You'll see," Jackson winked at me when I looked back at him for an explanation.
I just shrugged and Griff spoke up this time so I didn’t overthink it.
"How was work?" he asked.
"It was great. I'm lucky to have a job that I love and partners that are more like family," I told him truthfully. "How was camp and practice?"
"So much fun. I loved seeing the kids' eyes light up for the game and they were eager to learn more about it. Practice was an intense workout but it's what we signed up for," Griff said.
His entire face lit up, body relaxing like I’ve never seen it before. He loved baseball, I’d seen that, but with the kids there was no pressure.
"Yeah, I need to ice my knees. We need to get you a plunge tub," Cy said as he reappeared with his arms full of chairs. "We thought these would come in handy but didn't want to assume anything, either."
"That's really sweet of you," I smiled at him.
It was great that they thought about my space and didn't try to overstep. I don’t know if I could have handled it if they were the type of alphas to bulldoze my life and demand my space.
My pack respected it and that made me respect them even more.
"What about a dip in the lake after dinner? Would that help with your knees? It’s cool this time of night. "
"I bet so. Playing catcher is hard on the knees, but I love it," he admitted as he handed the other two a chair before setting his up next to mine.
"It's amazing that you guys get to do what you love, too,” I said softly, a smile ghosting over my lips. In my eyes, that was yet another sign this was meant to be.
"And what about you? Killing it with the bookstore and helping the town?" Jackson smirked at me.
"I had a smaller bookstore before. Taryn came into town and I knew her the moment she mentioned her boxes… the rest was history,” I explained. “It’s crazy how one chance meeting can change your life.”
“Crazy,” Cy grins at me. He was right, the man fell into my lap at a game. What more of a chance could there be?
I hopped up to check the steaks. The medium ones were ready to come off, though Jackson’s would be going for a bit longer.
No one said anything else until I took a seat.