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“Yeah, he has!” Skylar yells from the stockroom. “Butsomeoneis being stubborn about it.”

“Devyn? Stubborn?” April walks out from the back, wiping flour off her apron. “I couldn’t imagine.”

I make a face. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I mumble.

But Tammy’s kind eyes see right through me. “You know I won’t ever tell you what you should do,” she says softly. “You can ignore the girls if you want, but you should do what’s best for Devyn. And I think after the conversations we’ve had, it wouldn’t hurt to just say hello to him.”

I’ve had a lot of heart-to-hearts with Tammy, especially while Skylar and April were gone. Those continued after my friends were rescued, and I’ve learned to come to Tammy for advice.

She knows I want a pack.

Everyoneknows I want a pack.

So, what am I so afraid of?

What are you afraid of, Dev? What is so frightening to you that you won’t take a chance to make your life better?

The door chimes and swings open, interrupting my train of thought.

Connor’s here.

I see a flash of copper hair, then panic and turn to Tammy, who heads away from the counter.

“I’ll be in the back,” she calls to me, leaving me completely alone at the front.

Alone with Connor, the most handsome Alpha I’ve ever seen in my life.

It’s stupid. No one should look like that.

He’s supposed to be delivering coffee, but there’s nothing in his hands. He gives me a smile and a slight, awkward wave, and it only makes me like him more.

He’s dressed in a dark blue sweater, which makes the intensity of his green eyes pop.

My inner Omega swoons, practically drooling as I take him in.

“Hey, Dev,” he says, still smiling. “You got a minute?”

“I—”

A minute? I have hours. Days. Months.

Decades.

Eons!

“Sure,” I chirp, leaning against the counter for balance.

My legs areshaking.

He walks closer, and his scent fully hits me.

Chocolate, the slightest hint of bourbon, and…

Coffee.

Coffee, my lifeblood, myelixir.

Connor smells like freshly roasted beans, like sipping a latte next to a fireplace.