28. Sunny
Sunny
Breakfast is quiet. Everyone keeps shooting me furtive glances, and it's grating on me.
After the third glance from Jess, who is by far the most obvious, I break.
"What?" I ask. My voice definitely has an edge. A temper. That's what my grandma always said I had.
"Sooo… courting now?" Jess asks. Always so direct.
I glance at Cole because, apparently, that's my default now.
He nods, clear approval in his eyes. Ever since the "Daddy" incident, as I'm terming it in my head, I feel more inclined than I ever have with anyone to follow his lead.
That submission touched something deep in me that I've never examined before.
I'm not sure I can look at it now, but I need it.
I understand that, at least. I'm not new to that world, I've just never thoroughly explored it outside of a screen or books.
Part of me is excited to explore it with Cole, and part is very intimidated.
"It looks like it," I admit. I'm so stubborn that even when I change my mind, it feels somewhat like a defeat until Cole's hand brushes over my knee under the table in silent approval. Something deep in my core melts and turns to slick between my thighs.
I'm going to need more heat suppressants. The problem is that I'm at my max dose.
My phone buzzes on the table, and I pick it up.
I freeze before remembering that every alpha at the table is watching me, and I should school my expressions better.
Not to mention my scent, which has gone bitter.
The shitty part about being an alpha or an omega was that you can't hide your feelings.
They're written in your pheromones. Cole reaches over and slowly but firmly takes the phone from my hand.
It's already opened to the texts from Craig—every one of them wishing me a good morning or good night.
"Who's Craig?" Jess asks. He doesn't look jealous or mad that a male is texting me. Just curious. He's leaning over to peer at the screen in Cole's hand. Luca's hand covers my right thigh, and his thumb begins stroking soothing circles over my pants.
"My cousin. He's been texting me these innocuous little messages every day.
He's trying to intimidate me. I never respond.
Just swipe them away." Now, my scent isn't the only one that's gone bitter.
Cole's is burnt and cracked leather. Hunt's is too much soap and not enough water.
Luca's is rotten oranges, and Jess's is dried-up grass.
Cole simply opens his own phone and starts dialing. "Hey, Dom. I need a number traced and tracked."
My mouth falls open, and I gape at him but say nothing.
"Thanks." He hangs up. To me, he asks, "Is this the phone you use for your business?"
I snap my mouth shut and shake my head. "No, Sally runs the company phone. She takes the calls and directs me to anything I need to know."
He nods. "Good. You'll have a new personal phone with a new number by the end of the day."
I almost argue, but then I stop. I don't want to see those messages anymore. I nod, and he pockets the phone. At the same time, Cole slips something out of his pocket. It's a box with a Dandy Stuff logo on top. It's long, rectangular, and thin. He slides it to me.
"What's this?" I ask, not touching it.
"Our first courting gift for you. You were so upset with us that first dinner, I feared if I gave it to you you'd have thrown it in the trash."
I roll my eyes but really, I might have.
I open the lid to find a charm bracelet. My eyes shoot to Cole's and then around to the others.
"How did you know…?" I trail off.
"The shopkeeper may have suggested the bracelet, but we picked out the charms," Luca explains. A bee for my farm, my favorite flower from my garden, my birthstone, and a beautiful heart symbol. I touch the last one, unsure of what it was.
"It's a Claddagh. It's a symbol from my mother's homeland—Ireland.
" As Cole talks, he takes the bracelet out of the box and clasps it around my wrist. My skin tingles everywhere he touches.
"The hands mean friendship, the crown means loyalty, and the heart means love.
If you choose to accept us, it's what we'll show you every day as long as we breathe. "
My heart is pounding in my ears, and I take a deep breath to steady myself. I look around the table to find them all staring at me with serious, yearning eyes.
"This symbol was on my mother's wedding ring. The one to my father before he passed,” Cole says.
My gaze whips back to him. "I'm sorry," I say automatically, and then kick myself because what good does that do? He doesn't say anything but lifts the hand he'd begun holding after he placed the bracelet on my wrist and kisses the back.
"What are you up to today, Sunshine?" Jess asks, breaking the tension. And although it's somewhat interrupting, I'm glad to be brought back to familiar ground conversation wise.
The question launches us into a normal conversation about my plans for some new shipments around the farm.
Their plans are for meetings with construction crews and design teams today.
How someone will always be around the farm in case anything happens.
By the time we're done eating, the entire thing feels domestic.
So easy. I'm not sure how to think about it.
Now that they're living in the house, they've slotted into place like a missing piece that was always meant to be part of the whole.