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“In Nebraska with my brothers.”

Joey’s eyes widened. “That’s far away!”

“It is, but I really like the school here. I go home a lot to see them. I’m even going this weekend! I leave tomorrow morning.”

In fact, my fathers had texted me several times throughout the day, expressing their excitement over my impending visit.

Joey nodded. “That’s good,” she said, her face a mask of seriousness that made me bite back a smile.

Before we could say anything else, the doorbell rang, and Joey paused the movie while I dashed to the gate to grab the pizza.

Returning moments later with a large pizza and a box of cookies, I placed them on the little fold-out table in the theater room. I wasn’t sure if we were allowed to eat in the fancy room, but Joey didn’t seem bothered, so I would just ensure we didn’t leave a speck of food behind.

“What did you get on your half?” Joey asked curiously.

“Peppers and sweetcorn,” I said, opening the box. We had split the pizza in two, half cheese for her, and half with my toppings.

“I don’t like peppers….” Joey trailed off, her face confused. “But those smell nice…”

“You’re welcome to try it,” I said, pushing my plate toward her.

For a moment, she looked at it like the slice of pizza was going to attack her, before gingerly picking it up and bringing it to her lips. I had to resist the urge to giggle at her facial expressions. The last thing I wanted to do was scare her off from trying something new.

Taking the tiniest bite, she chewed it for a while, her face deeply concerned. Slowly, her face broke into a smile. “This is good!” she declared, taking another, larger bite.

“Good! I’m glad you like it. Sometimes, trying new things is thebest!”

“Unless it’s mushrooms,” she said solemnly.

“Unless it’s mushrooms,” I agreed.

Chapter 4

Cullen

Normally when the restaurant was busy, I wouldn’t be so distracted. I wouldn’t even have a chance to think about what was going on at home. There were dishes everywhere, meals that needed to go out, tables that needed to be bussed, and staff members who needed to have breaks—it was never-ending.

For some reason, though, all I could think about was the fact that the pretty, petite blonde omega was in our home. When she had insisted on taking the bus to our house, a visceral rage had overtaken me. I knew it was best to keep my distance from her, but there was no way in hell I was going to allow her to put herself in danger, especially when she was doing something to help us.

She was pretty. Actually, she was beautiful. It was almost painful to look at her, in a good way, and I don’t think she realized it. Anytime I picked up Joey from skating lessons, Bethany would be sweaty from her workout, wearing that sweatshirt that clung to her like a second skin, her hair up in its perky ponytail. The first time I’d met her, I struggled to find my words, which was unlike me.

None of my pack had dated seriously since Joey’s mother had left, but we all had our flings every now and again. I was pretty sufficient at wooing ladies for a night. Not to sound conceited, but I knew I was good-looking. Not to mention, I owned a successful business, and women liked that.

But when I’d met Bethany, she had smiled at me and my throat had closed up in a panic. It felt like the alpha inside me was bashing at the walls of my chest, desperate to get out. That first hit of that crisp apple scent, and I’d wanted to pull her into my arms.

There was no way I couldactuallydo that. I was a great deal older than her, and she was my daughter’s ice-skating teacher.

At first, I’d said nothing, merely stood back and watched and ignored the feelings rolling around in my chest. But as I watched my pack mates near her, it became apparent that they also weren’t unaffected by her.

Once we realized that, a conversation happened, and we all agreed that it was a bad idea for a whole litany of reasons.

That didn’t change how we were drawn to her.

Just the knowledge that she was in my house had me itching to run back there.

Jensen:

The pizza just arrived. Saw it on the doorbell camera.