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“Do you want to go home?” Mable asked, her brow furrowed in concern. “You really don’t look well.”

“I don’t want to leave you short-staffed.”

Mable shook her head. “You won’t be,” she said sweetly. “Luke is on shift today, and he’s also going to be training the new guy, so we’ve got plenty of staff. You’ve started phasing yourself off shift now that you’re babysitting, anyway.”

I looked at her, trying to decide what to do. If I was completely honest with myself, I wasn’t feeling well enough to work a full shift. If there was plenty of staff, what was stopping me from going home? It wasn’t like I needed the money now that Pack Noble was paying me so well for looking after Joey.

In a few days, I was going to be babysitting again, anyway, so maybe it would be best to take that time to rest.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

Mable nodded eagerly. “Go! We’ll be fine. I’ll grab you a tea and some food while you take off your apron.”

“I don’t need—” I started weakly.

Mable shook her head. “I made too many cherry scones and club sandwiches. There’s no way I can sell them all, so you’ll be helping me, really.”

Shaking my head, I smiled to myself as I pulled off the apron. Before I could even finish taking off my hat, Mable was back with a takeout cup of tea and a brown paper bag full of food.

“Make sure you get plenty of sleep,” Mable instructed softly.

“Call me if the shop gets busy. I will come and help.”

She shook her head. “No, you will not. You look like death warmed over. You’re going to go home, turn off your phone, and sleep, okay?” She gave me a stern look, which, coming from her sweet, soft face, was hard to take seriously.

“Okay.” I nodded, biting my lip while taking the food and drink from her. Between her and the food Cullen had sent, I was going to be well stocked.

Chapter 18

Jensen

“Iknow we made an agreement, but we’re all attracted to Bethany, aren’t we?” I asked as I took a swig of my beer. We were sitting around the kitchen table, each with a drink in hand. It had been one day since Bethany had gone home, and the house felt oddly empty without her.

I’d been lost in my own thoughts for the last two days and had decided to call a pack meeting. We needed to discuss what was happening as a pack. As a family.

“We’ve said that before,” Gideon pointed out, rubbing his temple. True, it felt like we were constantly having the same conversation—we liked Bethany and we wanted her, but we had to put our daughter first.

We knew that Cullen was obsessed with her. He was the one who hadn’t been able to resist kissing her at the restaurant. We teased him about it on occasion, but if I was honest with myself, I likely would have done the exact same thing in his shoes.

“Are we really going to be okay with watching Bethany date other alphas?” I asked. “Cullen lost his shit when he saw it. Let’s be honest with ourselves—she isn’t going to stay single forlong. She’s stunning, she’s sweet, and there’s no way in hell that people aren’t taking notice of her.”

Gideon looked a little green. None of us liked that idea, but if they thought she was going to remain single, they were being delusional.

“It’s not a good idea, though,” Gideon said. “Think of Joey.”

“Joey adores Bethany,” Cullen replied. “We can’t keep using her as an excuse.”

“But what if she leaves her? I don’t want to risk our daughter being heartbroken again.” Gideon growled.

That was the last thing I wanted as well. Joey was the light of our lives, and we had to do anything we could to protect her.

“Do you really think Bethany would just leave and never look back?” I asked. “It’s not fair to compare her to Joey’s mother. Bella was a monster.”

Cullen grunted. “That’s an understatement…You guys know I’m attracted to Bethany. It’s not just her scent or her looks. She’s generally so sweet and kind and warm and everything that Bella wasn’t.”

I nodded.

“At the same time, she’s fiercely independent and takes care of herself. Unlike Bella, Bethany doesn’t demand or even want the princess treatment.”