Page 91 of The Omega Exchange: Omnibus (The Exchange)

“I don’t like not knowing the full scope of the issue.” I yank at my shirt sleeves.

Miller sighs. “Here they come. We can talk more about it later.”

“It’s interesting that you went for the pina colada pie,” Oliver says, holding a plate full of dessert. He’s got his other hand on her lower back and she doesn’t seem uncomfortable as they approach.

“Why is that?” Melody moves to slide into her side of the booth.

“Because you smell a bit like it,” Oliver says, taking a seat on the other side. He pushes the plate between them and Melody immediately goes for her spoon.

Miller and I join them.

“Mmm, this is so good,” she groans, flicking her tongue over her spoon.

I clear my throat awkwardly. Now I’m getting hard again. Christ, it’s like being a teenager all over again.

“I’ve still got your scent card in my back pocket. Do you think you could refresh it with your scent for me?” Oliver asks nonchalantly as he scoops up a bite of vanilla ice cream from the side of the plate.

I sigh, shaking my head at the ceiling.

I should have seen that coming.

Oliver doesn’t understand that some things are better approached with tact or not at all. The first time we met, back when he was creating tech for my fitness app, it was one of the things I found refreshing about him. It’s less convenient now that I’m concerned he might frighten off our omega.

“We were hoping to discuss putting in a bid to court you,” Miller says, turning to face Melody.

“Or at the very least ride out your heat,” I add because she’s looking a bit overwhelmed.

“I’m . . . Wait, are you serious?” she asks, twisting to face Miller.

“I’m very serious about needing to refill your scent card,” Oliver says. He truly cannot read a room to save his damn life.

“That’s very sweet,” she says, giving him a soft smile. “I’m really fond of your scent too.”

“That’s great,” Oliver says, laughing. “Does that mean you’d be open to us?”

“Don’t look at me,” Melody says, dropping her spoon and stretching back in her seat. “I have no clue how this stuff goes.”

Miller takes the opportunity to pull her into his side. It’s quite a smooth transition from where his arm was resting on the back of the booth.

I quirk an eyebrow, giving him a grin. I’m actually proud of him right now. The big bastard has zero game. I almost think he was saving it all up for the one day he’d need to use it, and apparently, that time has come.

“Are you interested in permanent matching or simply looking for a pack to ride out your heat?” I ask.

“I wasn’t pre-matched,” Melody replies, looking at her lap. “I came with pretty low expectations.”

“That just means you have the luxury of options,” I tell her, trying to figure out how to wipe that frown off her pretty face.

“I pulled up The Exchange rules on matching for owners,” Oliver adds helpfully as he scrolls through his phone. “You have the right to an advocate and we shouldn’t be having this conversation here. It needs to be in the office with her file and our file.”

“Oh,” Melody says, shooting a confused look up at Miller. He’s running his fingers through her hair and she looks content despite her confusion. “Wait, you’re the owners of the hotel?”

“Nik is,” Oliver mutters, still studying his phone.

I frown.

I don’t think he was nearly as helpful as he intended to be. Although, I do vaguely remember signing rules when my brother and I took over for our moms. Having three female alphas and a female omega in one pack is rare, but my moms make it look seamless. That’s neither here nor there.

The point is when we inherited the hotel and this location of The Exchange, there was some controversy due to both of us being unbonded. It didn’t affect me nearly as much as Nathan since he’s here doing the day-to-day stuff.

We were still in our twenties at the time. That, combined with neither of us having a pack, made the franchise coordinator uncomfortable, but we were eventually approved for ownership.

There’s every possibility that was only because separating the hotel from The Exchange would have been a logistical nightmare.

“How about we do a little research while Melody gets a good night’s sleep?” Miller suggests. “Does that work?”

“Yeah,” Oliver agrees without looking up. “I think that will give us time to buy courting gifts and plan for our declaration meeting in the morning.”

“Christ,” I whisper, trying to catch Melody’s eyes. “Please understand that we don’t mean for you to feel obligated or pressured.”

“Come on, Mel,” Miller says, sliding out of the booth and pulling her with him. “Let’s get you settled into your room and we can set something up to discuss this stuff tomorrow.”

“Real quick,” Oliver says, pushing himself up and grabbing the scent card from his pocket. “Would you mind?”

“For the love of God,” I grumble, shaking my head.

Melody shakes out of Miller’s loose grip and turns back to Oliver. She wraps her hair around her other shoulder and leans over the table while giving him an indulgent smile.

A dubious sound escapes my chest. “You really shouldn’t reward his questionable behavior.”

“Is it questionable?” Melody asks, chuckling softly. “All I know is it feels like a compliment.”

“It should. You smell beautiful,” Oliver says, running the scrap of fabric over her throat. “I mean you know you’re really pretty, but you smell nice, too.”

“On that note,” Miller says, carefully helping Melody out of the booth. “We’re leaving before this conversation can go south.” He puts her on the side with the wall, and I chuckle under my breath.

“Do you think you can think through everything that wants to come out of your mouth the next few days and try to say only half of it?” I ask, bumping my shoulder against Oliver’s.

He’s still huffing the scent card like an addict desperate for one more hit of her pheromones.

“On second thought, let’s go with, like, twenty percent of whatever crosses through that magical mind of yours. ”

Oliver gives me the side eye like he’s afraid I’m going to try to rip Melody’s scent away, and all I can do is laugh.

I’m pretty sure everything just changed.

My moms bought the resort almost forty years ago back when it was a dilapidated old hotel. It got a major facelift and a shit-ton of upgrades and a new life as a resort. There is golf on the island, hiking, fishing during the warmer months, and a whole host of other activities.

The locals still refer to it as the hotel on the cliffs, but it’s no longer the monstrosity I remember from my childhood years.

I’m sitting at Nathan’s desk listening to Kara, The Exchange coordinator, explain a million things about why there are stricter rules in place when it’s an owner’s pack bonding.

Oliver lies sideways on the couch, doing something on his tablet. I briefly consider telling him to find a local lawyer to draft the paperwork, so I can gift my remaining percentage of the resort to Nathan and his pack.

The more Kara drones on the less I care about my inheritance and the more I realize the absolute bullshit my brother has had to put up with for all these years. It’s very clear that I don’t know half the rules and regulations an owner is supposed to abide by.

I don’t consider myself an overly shady person, but I do think some of their guidelines are ridiculous. Why would we need to offer Melody the chance to meet other packs? We’re a compatible match. It’s highly unlikely she’ll find another perfect pack, especially when it’s winter in New England.

This is one of the larger Exchange franchises, but we aren’t even at forty percent capacity.

That’s partially due to the awful fucking weather and also due to the fact my brother took four supervisory members of his security staff with him on his honeymoon.

That’s likely because they’re part of his pack, but he sure did leave me with a clusterfuck in the making.

“Oli, do me a favor—find McAnders contact information. I think I’d like to give my remaining percentage of the resort to Nathan as a gift for finding his omega,” I say, raising an eyebrow at Kara.

“You didn’t listen to a damn word I said,” she says, swiping a hand through the air.

“You’re not barred from courting an omega, but you must abide by her contract.

Kiernan Daniels is coming into town. They need us to take six omegas from the New York location.

They had a pipe burst and we’re accommodating them—”

Kiernan is the regional director for The Exchange.

“Wait, is that a good idea with the Nor’easter on the way?” I ask, frowning. I guess I wasn’t listening.

“Christ,” Kara says, shaking her head. “Kiernan is bringing their security. All we have to do is feed and house them. Back to what I was saying. He’d like you to complete a personalized contract with the omega if it comes to that. It’ll give all of you the added protection.”

“Understood,” I say, eyeing Oliver. “What are you doing?”

“Researching courting gifts and buying them from the three of us. I’m not sure they’ll arrive before the storm,” he says without looking up.

“Your brother could not have picked a worse time to take a month-long vacation,” Kara grumbles, spinning around and heading out.

“Shit, sorry,” Miller says, slamming the door open as Kara goes to leave.

She jumps back, cursing under her breath. The two sidestep each other several times before Kara gets frustrated and simply elbows Miller out of the way. The door closes loudly behind her, and Miller makes his way across the room before tossing himself down in the chair opposite me.

“All right, let’s make a game plan.” Miller smiles so deeply his dimples pop. I don’t know what the hell changed when he met Melody, but I fucking like it.