Page 35 of The Omega's Fake Mate

“I suppose we should head in after all.” Did I want to see my parents? No. But I wanted to see Nick shiver in the cold even less. That simply went against all of my usually-ignored alpha instincts.

Throwing off my hesitation, I walked up to the front door and rang, Nick following close behind me. I grabbed his hand and we exchanged a glance. Partners in crime.

Time to get this show started.

My mother opened the door with a smile as fake as my relationship. “There you are, boys! So glad to see you two! Nicholas! I haven't seen you since you were a child. I see you've... grown up a bit.”

He had indeed. I eyed Nick the same time my mother did. As we stepped inside, he took off his coat and I could see that he'd gone to some effort to dress nicely for tonight. He wasn't wearing formal evening wear, no, but his sapphire-colored shirt fitted him very nicely—and it brought out the color of his eyes in a way that made me want to kiss him again.

I'd always loved Nick's eyes. They had this way of dancing with excitement any time he was happy. It was downright infectious. I liked how he'd grown up, but I was also glad that this particular part of him hadn't changed at all.

“It's lovely seeing you again, Mrs. Kerner,” Nick said, hanging up his coat. “I see you haven't aged a day!”

I had to stop my eyebrows from going up. Nick sweet-talking my mother?

“Very kind of you to say,” my mother gave back, one hand going to her black hair. I was sure she'd had the gray dyed out mere hours before. She turned to me. “Come on through to the dining room. Your sister's already here with her boyfriend.”

Of course she was. Always playing nice with Mommy and Daddy to stay out of trouble.

When we got to the dining room, my father was seated on the far end of the table, glancing at his clock. “Isn't it about time for us to start?” he asked.

Dinner had already been served. It seemed they were only waiting for us to arrive. My sister waved at me from where she was sitting with her boyfriend at the other end of the table from my father. Her boyfriend looked as if he'd rather not be here at all. I couldn't blame him.

“Peter, please,” my mother admonished my father. “Say hello to our guests.”

My father gave me and Nick a cursory glance. “So you caught yourself an omega, huh? That's my boy! Sit down and have some food.”

It was clear where his priorities lay tonight.

I couldn't deny, though, that the food smelled tempting. Gravy and cooked turkey and pumpkin pie all mixed together to make my mouth water. This dinner probably hadn't been cooked by my mother—which meant it stood a good chance at being edible.

Nick and I sat next to each other across from my sister and her boyfriend. “Would you introduce us?” I asked her.

She perked up. “Oh, of course, this is Samuel Waterstone. As I told you, we've been going out for a while.” She held her hand in front of her mouth and shot me a conspiratorial look. “Maybe he's the one!”

I forced a smile, knowing my sister was just putting on a show, same as I was. “That's nice. My date is—”

“I recognize your date,” she cut me off, glancing at Nick with a smile on her face that waswaytoo wide. “Good to see you again, Nick. Didn't you model for a while? My brother had a magazine with your picture in it under his bed.”

“I...what...How did you know that?” As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them. It was as good as an admission of guilt, wasn't it?

“I had to get you back for reading my diary, fair's fair.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that I never—”

“You kept a picture of me under your bed?” Nick cut in, expression unreadable.

I looked at him, mouth open, and didn't know what to say.

“Isn't it sweet?” my sister spoke up. “He never stopped loving you, even while you were apart.”

It took me an insane amount of self-control not to glare at my sister for that comment, but that would have looked suspicious. Everyone at this table believed we were a happy couple, so there should be nothing wrong with what my sister said. Nick's face was just as blank as mine, but under the table, he kicked me.

Well, I guess I deserved that.

“Now, now,” my father said. “Let's start dinner, shall we? Everybody dig in!”

I started loading turkey and mashed potatoes on my plate, if only to give myself something to do. So what if Nick found out that I'd kept a picture of him? Was that so bad?