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“You could help.” Sunshine opened her own lunch box. I noticed she didn’t get steak frites either, so Logan was still making her lunch special. “You love food.”

“Add more chocolate to the menu,” I said, relaxing in the chair. The chicken enchiladas were perfectly shredded and moist. I was going to die and go to heaven after eating something so good. “I like food, but I don’t know anything about it.”

“So? You know what the clients like. You have good ideas.”

“This is going to sound cold, but…” I paused to shove another churro in my face. “If I meet Alejandro and he stinks, you and Logan are going to be mad at me. I’ll stop getting gourmet lunches. I’ll have to go back to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Those were the dark ages.”

I gave a mock shudder. I was good at eating food, not so much making it. People said cooking was easy, to just follow the recipe on the back of the box. They were liars.

“First of all, no, we won’t hate you.” Sunshine took a bite out of her salmon risotto. “Second of all, if it doesn’t work out between you, West, and Alejandro, I’ll ask Logan to make you some lunches. I won’t let you starve.”

That was…surprisingly reasonable. Of course, Sunshine heard what I was really saying. I was afraid of change because it didn’t always work out in my favor. And that was her way of telling me if things changed and I didn’t like it, she would be there for me to find another way. It was sweet.

I still wasn’t sure I was ready yet.

“I’ll think about it,” I said, feeling more vulnerable than I should after a normal day.

Meeting Ben and Rian had thrown me off my groove more than I wanted to admit. I was ready to go home to the comfort of my omega partner and probably a bowl of ice cream.

Sexy chef alphas should stay the stuff of fantasies. Reality was usually so disappointing.

Chapter 6

West

Work had been one big slog, and I was so relieved to be back at the cottage I shared with Ember I almost cried.

I changed into some gray sweats and a light T-shirt, knowing my omega liked my biceps. I plopped down on the couch, and opened my laptop, hoping to catch up on work.

Computer programming was usually soothing. I could get lost in the strings of numbers, the mathematical equations that made programs work. But today was filled with a series of mistakes and mini emergencies, one after another, that utterly drained me.

I looked imposing on a good day, and most people didn’t bother to socialize with me. If my scowl didn’t turn them away, my short answers would drive the point home. But today that wasn’t enough; my coworkers were desperate for help.

Knowing Ember would want me to help our coworkers made it easier, but too much socialization had taken its toll. Ember only freelanced for Computer Solutions about once a month, but she made a lasting impression.

It still shocked me after all these years that someone as vibrant and outgoing as Ember loved me. But she did, and I tried every day to make sure I was worthy. Especially since she didn’t give her heart away easily.

The love of my life came through the door in a whirlwind of activity. After setting her purse and laptop bag down on the armchair, she curled up next to me. “How was your day? That annoying?”

I nodded, knowing I didn’t have to speak. Ember wouldn’t be offended. She rubbed her face along my shoulder, brushing her hand down my bicep like I secretly hoped she would.

I caught a small hint of scent on her, something smoky and woodsy. I turned my head, taking a deeper breath. The scent was faint, layered over her own sweet lemon vanilla. I pressed my face into her skin, breathing her in, her scent heightening every one of my senses until my cock grew hard.

She whimpered, and her lemon vanilla scent grew sweeter.

“What’s that smell?” I dragged my mouth up her shoulder, licking as I went.

“I had an alpha and an omega client today.” Her voice went breathless, her body relaxing into mine. I shifted so she could lie against my chest. She put my laptop on the coffee table. She crawled into my lap like she wasn’t sure if she wanted sex or comfort.

She could have both. I leaned back, so I was semi-reclined, and stroked my hands down her body. Some of the smoky woodsy scent rose, like a ghost, and my cock got harder.

“He smelled good. They both did.” She sounded so desolate at that.

I didn’t have to ask why.

She was tired of alphas playing games with us. They’d want her more, or sometimes me, depending on how our scents hit them.

Something would turn the alpha off. It would be my refusal to present and submit like a good little omega. Or Ember would get stubborn and they’d treat her like an idiot. It was always something.