Page 78 of My Three Hometown Alphas

“You don’t need to thank me.”

“Yeah, I do,” he says before pulling his hand back to rest on the edge of the table. He gives me a subtle smile before taking a bite of egg.

I look down at my plate, lost in my own thoughts. When I look back up, I find Shana looking at me once again.

There’s a glimmer in her gaze as she moves her eyes between Will and me. She smiles, looking back down at her plate.

Damn… that woman is perceptive as fuck.

How would she feel if she knew what was really going on between me and all three of her sons?

I try to shove the thought away, but it’s not going anywhere. For the rest of the meal, I keep wondering how she would feel about it, what she would say.

It probably shouldn’t matter to me. She isn’tmymom. But it does matter to me.

It really does.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Miles

I lean back,my head hitting the siding on my parents’ house with a thud.

Today’s been a lot, and I just needed a minute. Being the one to lighten the mood for everyone else is exhausting.

It’s only in moments like this when I’m alone that I let the pain fully settle over me. It takes just a few seconds for tears to spring to my eyes.

For once, I don’t tamp them down. I let them fall as I silently cry in this small hideaway against the side of the house.

I’m so lost in my feelings I don’t even hear anyone approaching.

“There you are.” Owen’s deep voice startles me from the faraway headspace I was in.

I quickly swipe away the wetness on my cheeks, trying to pull myself together.

I don’t even get a chance to say anything before he’s stepping right in front of me, gripping my shoulders. I can’t seem to make myself look him in the eye.

I should have waited for the breakdown until we were home tonight, and I could lock myself in my room where no one could find me.

“Why are you out here alone?” Owen asks. I half-expect his voice to be angry, but it’s so gentle I can barely make out his words.

Owen’s a few inches taller than me, so with him standing this close, I have to tilt my head back to meet his eye. I raise both my shoulders before quickly letting them drop.

“Miles,” he says, tightening his hold on me. His eyes are locked in, and I know there’s no way I’m getting out of this without telling him something.

“I didn’t want to do this in front of everyone,” I say, motioning to my still slightly damp face and sure-to-be-puffy eyes.

“We’ve all been crying all day… all week, actually,” he says. “I get if you needed some space, but you didn’tneedto be alone for this.” The softness in his tone makes my heart physically ache.

Yeah, I did.

I want to scream.

He cocks his head to the side, studying me intently. I want to disappear into the house behind me.

The way he’s staring at me is intense, and I know without even speaking a word all my secrets are going to be his soon.

I’ve always loved his ability to read people, but right now, I really hate it.