Chapter 26
B eing upset that Bryce got the chance to defend Ava was stupid. It was good he’d done that, and I was glad he cared enough to do it. I would’ve done the same if I hadn’t gone no contact with my own years ago. Micah’s mom had taken me under her wing upon finding out my situation just like she’d done for Bryce.
I tried to refocus my thoughts. Bryce was going through something and he wasn’t trying to move into all the spaces I’d claimed when I’d moved here. He was still annoyingly confident despite everything. It was a far cry from the fucked-up and scared kid I’d been when I’d fled at eighteen. Bryce had benefits I never did when I’d left, not only materially, but he was pushing thirty with a hell of a lot more life experience to get him through this.
I parked myself next to Callie so I wouldn’t start pacing while I waited for Bryce and Ava to return.
“You okay?” Callie asked. “You’re looking high-strung.”
“’Cause I am .”
Her alphas joined us, dragging up chairs so we could all sit together.
Kai set a hand on my shoulder. “What’s going on in your head?”
“Nothing good,” I replied.
“Micah told us you’re having some issues adjusting to the new pack structure,” said Amir.
“Oh, did he?”
“I know it’s not always easy,” Amir continued. “Is there anything we can do to help?”
I shrugged, trying to wrestle down my insecurities. “He just gets under my skin by existing and I don’t know what to do about that.”
“Go out together, just the two of you,” suggested Diego. “Figure out what you guys have in common.”
Miles nodded, crossing his arms and stretching out his legs. “You owe it to yourselves and to your omega to figure your shit out. And quick.”
I knew they were right, but I wasn’t at all excited about the prospect of spending time with Bryce. I could achieve peace without liking him.
Pain zinged up my arm and I yelped, turning a glare to Callie. “Did you just pinch me? Why are all the omegas prodding me lately?”
“Maybe you need prodding. You really think I haven’t learned what your stubborn face looks like by now? Trust me when I say it’ll be better for everyone if you don’t let whatever this issue is go on for too long. There’s gonna be a baby in the house soon. Get your shit together before that.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything to anyone.”
Callie narrowed her eyes. “If you think Ava won’t notice you stewing, you’re an idiot.”
“Not going to deny that,” I said with a sigh. “I’ll invite him out, get things sorted.”
I excused myself to the kitchen, hiding away and eating mini sandwiches. Bryce found me there, and I couldn’t help but notice how thick Ava’s scent was on him.
“Curious choice of activity after getting into a shouting match with your dad,” I commented.
His cheeks flushed. “We all cope in different ways.”
“You doing okay?” I asked. “Did she work enough omega magic?”
Bryce shrugged. “I feel better, but she can’t fix what’s broken.”
“I know all about parents who prefer to break the things they should be taking care of.” I swallowed hard. “I’m…I’m sorry you’re going through it. It sucks.”
“Thanks.” He raised an eyebrow like he couldn’t quite understand why I was saying any of this to him.
“Have you ever fucked up before?” I asked.
“Lots of times. Why?”
“I need examples. Because from where I’m standing, you’re a filthy rich golden boy who’s never done a damn thing wrong in his life, and I can’t coexist with that. Tell me something that’ll turn you into an actual person.”
“I can’t disregard the rich part,” he said slowly, “but I’m only the way I am because I’ve been desperately trying to make my dad proud of me. After my mom died, it was like he couldn’t be bothered. If I came home with straight A’s or a first-place ribbon, I could convince myself there was pride in his eyes when he looked at me. I didn’t really care about any of the accomplishments; I just wanted him to approve of me.”
Well, I felt like a dick now.
“How old were you when your mom died?”
“Ten. Dad never recovered from losing her.” Bryce tilted his head, examining me. “Where’s your dad?”
I could only shrug. “Fuck if I know.”
Bryce nodded carefully and poured himself some sparkling cranberry juice, probably wishing it was something stronger. “We both have a chance to do things right for the next generation. I won’t pretend I’m not fucking terrified about screwing it up, but no kid of mine will ever have to wonder if I love them.”
I picked up my own glass and clinked it against his. “Cheers to that.”
We stood in awkward silence for a few minutes before Jesse joined us. “You two okay in here?” he asked cautiously.
“Yep.” I took a sip. “We’re good.”
He gave us a speculative look and loaded up a plate with desserts before departing.
“Have you done any of the fun stuff in Vegas before?” I asked.
“Not really. I’m usually only here for conferences. Not much time for anything else.”
“How do you feel about zip lines?”
“Never been on one.”
“Obviously that has to change.”
“Is this you inviting me to hang out? Are you planning to push me off the platform and make it look like a gear malfunction?” He asked it with a slight smile, so I wasn’t entirely worried about him believing I would actually do that.
“And open up a Vegas landmark to a lawsuit? Absolutely not. But I will tell everyone if you chicken out.”
Bryce laughed. “I’ll take that challenge.”
“It’s open late if you’re feeling brave tonight.”
“Sure.” He nodded. “As long as Ava doesn’t want us at home.” Bryce refilled his juice and poured a second glass. “Let me know when we’re ready to go. I’m trying not to be too socially awkward at this thing so I should probably not hide in the kitchen for too long.”
“Way to call me out, dude.”
I caught his smile as he slipped out into the main room. I let out a long breath and prepared myself to socialize. Bryce was still pretty perfect, but the more I dug, the more human he became. He still kind of had priss vibes, but I was willing to excavate. I would definitely have to shake him loose before I could count us as friends.
The shower was a pretty quick wrap up after that. Ava opened her mountain of presents. She was cute as hell, getting excited about all of the baby supplies and clothing and accepting at least a hundred hugs before the evening was over.
We were well stocked on food since Micah’s mom had ordered extra catering, leaving us with a hefty portion of snacks for Ava to work through over the next few days. Once everyone headed out for the night, we got all the presents loaded either into the nursery or wherever they would be used, and I announced to everyone that Bryce and I were going out for a few hours.
“Did I step into an alternate universe?” Ava asked.
“I’m trying to make him feel welcome,” I defended.
Ava turned it to Bryce. “You actually want to go?”
“I’m willing to give it a chance” was his reply.
I guess that was all I deserved. I booked the tickets before we left. It wasn’t too hard to find availability considering it was off-season.
Bryce changed into jeans and a long-sleeved tee before we left. It was still weird to see him in casual clothing. I was pretty sure suits and Bryce were permanently joined in my brain.
We took my car since Bryce didn’t have one.
“Are you planning on getting a car at some point?”
“I suppose I should. I didn’t need one in the city.”
“We’ll cart you around, but if you’re gonna be bougie and hire a fancy car service out here, I am going to judge you.”
“In fairness, hiring a car service wasn’t much more expensive than car payments and parking fees.”
“Gross. Parking fees are such a scam.”
“No argument here. Any places around here that won’t try and drag every single dollar out of me for a car?”
“Hell if I know. I’ve never bought a new car before.”
“Ever?”
I shrugged. “Didn’t seem that important. I can get where I’m going just as easily with a used one.”
“How much would you hate me if I offered to buy you a new one?”
“If you’re trying to shed the rich bitch image, you’re doing a piss-poor job.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Look, I don’t know how good I’m ever going to be about you having that much money. I know you can offer Ava a fuck lot more than I can and you can take care of this pack in ways I will never be able to. Pisses me off more than it should.”
“I can’t help how much money I have.”
“I know. I can’t even tell you to give it all away because then how is our omega supposed to live in the lap of luxury like she deserves?”
“Would be pretty difficult,” he conceded. “Offer’s there if you change your mind, though.”
Since we were at an impasse on that front, we mostly lapsed into silence for the rest of the drive. I parked as close to Fremont Street as I could get and we walked together along the palm trees and neon lights until we got to where the zip line started.
“Nervous?” I asked as they fitted us with our vests and made sure we were both a safe weight to ride.
“Heights aren’t my favorite,” he confessed.
“It’s nothing scary like a bungee jump. You won’t feel a drop.”
“Good to know.”
We rode the elevator up and waited our turn to get strapped in. Bryce’s eyes were wide, and his scent had an extra layer of smoke to his cranberry and rum.
I clapped my hand onto his shoulder. “You’ve got this, man. I promise it’ll be fun by the time you hit the other side, and then you’ll be able to tell Ava how awesome it is so we can take her post-baby.”
“Yeah…yeah, I can do that.”
“Hey, you faced down Dadzilla today. No reason in the world you can’t kick this zip line’s ass now.”
“You didn’t know I hated heights when you booked this, did you?”
“No, I just thought it would be fun. How would I even know that about you? Didn’t you live in a skyscraper?”
“That’s different .”
“How the fuck is it different? Jesse said you were basically in the clouds.”
“I have a floor under my feet and I’m not hurling myself out of my windows at home. Besides, they only have penthouses at the top, so you get used to it.”
I snorted. “You’re ridiculous. Fine. We don’t have to do this.”
“I’m not letting you tell everyone I chickened out.”
“Lips are zipped,” I promised. “We can go back down to street level, grab some monstrously sized margaritas, and walk.”
“I can do it,” he insisted. “There are scarier things coming.”
“All right. See you on the other side.”
They hooked us up and sent us off, gliding through the air beneath the massive screen that had us plunging through a tunnel of blazing colors.
Halfway through, I glanced over to see Bryce grinning ear to ear.
“Told you it was fun!”
“I’ll believe you next time,” he yelled back.
I had only done the zip line once before, years ago, and I liked being able to share it with Bryce since he was woefully underexperienced with his new home city.
“I almost want to ride it again,” he said when we arrived at the other end and they freed us from our safety harness.
“You can ride it as many times as you want, Mr. Moneybags.”
“I’m gonna buy you a car out of spite now.”
I barked out a laugh. “Don’t waste your money on me. Buy us a van to fit everyone and all the baby stuff if you really want to.”
“Well, I’ll buy that too, but you can’t stop me on the frivolous purchase. I’m going to make it something really expensive and douchey too. We should get you a custom plate.”
“I think I might need the margarita after all.”
Bryce laughed and we went down to street level so he could explore. I didn’t actually drink, not after dealing with my mother, but I did get a slushy, and no one could tell from the outside that it wasn’t full of liquor.
I nicely bullied Bryce into purchasing a What Happens In Vegas T-shirt for my own entertainment, and we stayed out until his shiny loafers started to hurt his feet.
“Thanks for inviting me out,” he said as we slipped back into my car.
“Anything for Ava. I want this pack to work. I need it to. I had more fun than I thought I would.”
“Are we good?” Bryce asked.
“Depends on how douchey the car you buy me is.”
“Mortal enemies forever it is, then.”
I laughed. I could kind of see the allure now that we had spent some time just the two of us. I could adapt. For everyone’s sake.