Chapter 10 #2
I nod and refuse to stare at Louis, but focus on everything else.
Then the room erupts properly because Betty and her husband appear in the doorway, glowing and breathless and gorgeous together.
Everyone calls out and whistles as they walk in, and for a moment, the ache in my chest is swallowed by the joy around us.
They cross the room to the long table set at one end of the hall, the only assigned seating in the whole reception, facing the dance floor with the bridal party spreading out on either side of them.
Once they sit, the noise rises again. People drift back toward the bar, toward the food starting to come out on silver platters—finger food.
The party resumes around us as if my heart didn’t just attempt to leave my body.
It’s going to be fine. I’ve shown my face, my dates, and I don’t need to stay too much longer.
Corey leans close to my ear, his voice low enough that only I hear it. “For the record, if that’s the new Omega, he’s downgraded massively.”
I glance at him. “That’s awful to say, but I love it.”
He’s smiling, nodding.
Brody and Jakob take it upon themselves to hunt down the food platters, returning with small plates piled high for our table.
In no time, we have more food than any of us can reasonably eat, from mini beef sliders, Korean fried chicken skewers, crisp arancini, pulled pork buns, little fish tacos, pastry rolls stuffed with lamb and rosemary, and roasted vegetable tartlets to a suspicious number of desserts Corey absolutely pretends not to have chosen himself.
Brody demolishes a slider in two bites, Jakob works through the chicken skewers with terrifying speed, and Corey eats as if every platter in the room has personally challenged him.
The worst part is that I know this is them being polite and pacing themselves in public.
These men are huge, and that means a lot of food.
Corey catches me watching and lifts one of the arancini balls between his fingers, his smile slow enough to make my stomach dip.
“You need to eat too, sweetheart,” he says, holding it out as if it is the most natural thing in the world.
“I can feed myself,” I tell him, even as I lean in.
His gaze drops to my lips. In fact, all of them are staring as he presses the food into my mouth. “Doesn’t mean I don’t like doing it.”
The arancini is warm and buttery when I bite into it, his fingers brushing my lower lip for half a second too long. Corey’s grin turns softer, more satisfied, and I hate how much I enjoy that.
Then the next twenty minutes become a blur of introductions, questions, and people pretending they are not interrogating me while absolutely doing so and gawking at the Alphas.
Some of my acquaintances from high school arrive in a bright, laughing cluster, smelling of perfume and champagne.
A woman I haven’t seen since graduation grabs my arm with both hands.
“Oh my God, Claire, when did this happen? How long have you been together?”
My heart trips. I glance at the men, which is my first mistake.
Brody smiles like he has never panicked in his life. “Long enough to know she’s hard to forget.”
Corey tips his head, eyes on me. “Not long enough to know all her secrets.”
Jakob just smiles, which makes it worse.
The woman’s eyes widen like she has just been handed premium gossip wrapped in ribbon.
I take another sip of champagne and pray for the floor to open as she heads off.
“How are you holding up?” Brody asks, leaning close, his voice low enough that it’s just for me. His forearm rests next to mine on the table, and his body heats me through the narrow space between us.
“Better than expected. Worse than I’m pretending.”
“You’re doing incredible,” he says.
“You know why married people live longer?” Corey blurts out, drawing all our attention.
Jakob sighs. “Here we go.”
“Why?” I ask.
“They don’t. It only feels longer.”
A laugh slips out at the terrible joke.
Jakob gives Corey a flat look. “You came to a wedding and chose to hate on marriage.”
Corey raises his glass. “Timing’s everything.”
Brody claps Corey on the back. “Come on. Drinks and more food. The waiter’s been avoiding us since you asked if the canapés were keto.”
Then it’s just me and Jakob at the tall table, surrounded by candlelight and fairy lights and the low hum of a hundred conversations. His scent floods me with toasted coconut and pine. Rich, earthy, layered with a sweetness underneath.
He pushes a blond curl off his forehead, and it falls right back. He picks up his flute of wine, and those steady brown eyes find mine. I push my glasses up my nose.
“Funny how things turn out sometimes,” he says, and on sometimes, his vowels stretch with a warmth that isn’t American. A softness underneath. New Zealand accent, which is faint, surfacing only on certain words, and I love it instantly.
“You’re telling me.” I lean against the table, closing the distance between us without fully deciding to. “So, what about you? Brody, I’ve been stalking through my window. Corey, I accidentally kidnapped. You’re still a mystery.”
He chuckles. “Met Brody at a food expo years ago. He was doing a live demo that caught fire, and we’ve been inseparable ever since. I handle operations, finances, bookings, fires, the boring stuff. Corey’s fitness brand online is growing fast, so there are two businesses now.”
“That sounds exhausting, and I had no idea Corey was doing fitness videos. I’ll have to check them out.”
“You should.” He studies me for a long pause. “Brody told me about your past,” he says. “The book. The boyfriend. Shitty on both counts.”
“Yeah. And here I am, still faking it because I can’t get my life together.”
His laugh is low and seductive, which shouldn’t leave me tingling all over, yet it does.
“You think anyone in this room has their life together? They just won’t admit it.
You’re honest about it, Claire. That’s not weakness.
” His voice drops. “And if your asshole ex were truly settled with his new Omega, he wouldn’t be staring at you every few seconds right now. ”
My eyes bulge. “He’s not staring, is he?”
“He hasn’t stopped.”
I stretch casually, glancing over my shoulder. Louis is at the bridal table, his Omega at his side, yet he’s staring directly at me with a jaw so tight I can see the muscle jumping from across the room.
“Oh my God, he’s furious.” A grin splits my face. “That makes me so happy. Is that petty?”
His eyes glint, that gorgeous smile of his with lips that make me wonder what it’d be like to kiss him. “Want to make it worse?”
“Yes!” I answer immediately with too much excitement.
He offers his hand, palm up, and I take it.
Jakob leads me toward the dance floor now that Betty and her husband have finished their first dance and the other guests are beginning to spill onto the polished wood. He positions us directly in Louis’s line of sight.
He notices us immediately. His gaze catches on Jakob, then drops to the hand settling at my waist.
A small, shameful thrill slips through me.
Jakob draws me closer until the space between us disappears, his palm firm at my lower back while his other hand closes around mine and holds it against his chest. Beneath my fingers, his heartbeat is steady. Mine is doing enough for both of us.
“Relax,” he murmurs. His mouth shifts at one corner. “You’re gripping my hand hard enough to stop the circulation.”
I loosen my fingers instantly. “Sorry.”
“I didn’t ask you to let go.” The words slide through me, and my breath catches. Jakob doesn’t grin or tease me for it. He simply begins to move, guiding me into the rhythm with such easy control that I only need to follow.
Unfortunately, following requires coordination.
I step the wrong way, catch the edge of his shoe, and stumble against him. My breast presses firmly against his arm before I manage to straighten, and heat floods my face so fast I’m surprised the fire alarms stay silent.
“Oh God. Sorry.”
Jakob’s hand tightens at my back, keeping me close instead of allowing me to retreat. His gaze drops briefly to where I collided with him, then returns to my face with a warmth that makes the embarrassment turn into something far more dangerous.