Page 17 of Twin Babies for the Silver Fox (Happy Ever Alpha Daddies #3)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Knox

She’s pulling back.

Ever since she left my home the other night, with a lot left unsaid, it’s been different.

I’ve felt it in the quiet spaces, between words, in the way her hand doesn’t linger on my arm like it used to over the last few days.

She still laughs at my jokes, still brings me coffee exactly the way I like it, still acts like nothing’s changed.

But something has. I can’t put my finger on it, but I know.

The warmth’s gone.

And it’s driving me insane because I don’t know why .

I stop inside the front entrance of the restaurant, Tuck’s leash in one hand and a coffee in the other, scanning the floor. It’s early enough that the lunch crowd hasn’t hit yet, just a few staff finishing setup.

I’m not here long. Just checking in, seeing how things are moving. But I guess I was hoping I’d see her.

She’s not at the host stand. Not in the kitchen either, from what I can tell.

Tuck lets out a soft whine, tail thumping the floor behind him. I ruffle his ears.

“Yeah, I know. We’re not staying long.”

I shouldn’t even be here right now, but I can’t keep away.

But I’ve felt this before.

Back when my life imploded. When secrets sat in the air like storm clouds and I ignored every warning until it all came crashing down.

I’m not doing that again.

She finally steps into the kitchen, causing my pulse to spike, and I toss the towel onto the counter and take a step toward the door, ready to pull her aside and ask what the hell’s going on, when the front door explodes open like a damn cannon went off.

“Knox fucking Knightly.”

My stomach sinks.

No. Way.

Before I can even turn around, a six-foot-four force of chaos barrels into the room, arms outstretched, wearing bright orange joggers, a tank top that might as well be painted on, and a grin the size of Texas.

“Tell me this isn’t real life! Is that an apron? And you have a dog? My man, what kind of domestic fantasy are we running here?”

“Shit,” I mutter under my breath, right before Jace Steele crushes me in a bear hug that knocks the air clean out of my lungs.

He smells like aftershave, protein powder, and poor decisions. Classic Jace.

“Nice to see you too, asshole,” I say, grinning despite myself.

He pulls back, holding me at arm’s length like he’s inspecting an alien life form. “You own a restaurant now? What happened to ‘no strings, no roots, only the road and the game’? Bro, you’re in flannel. You’ve got the look.”

“I don’t wear flannel.”

“You will. Just wait. One cold snap and you’ll be chopping firewood shirtless like it’s your full-time job.” He does a dramatic spin, arms wide. “Where’s the rustic dog with a tragic backstory? The girl next door who teaches you how to love again? Don’t lie to me, I can smell it in the air.”

I shake my head, laughing. “You’re a menace.”

“I’m your best friend,” he corrects, shouldering a duffel bag the size of a small boulder and dropping it at my feet. “And I’m staying. Timberline Inn, already got my room booked for a while . You can’t stop me.”

I raise an eyebrow. “You didn’t even ask.”

He grins. “Asking is for people with boundaries. I’m here to inject some chaos into your quiet little life.”

Mission already accomplished.

I glance across the room toward Josie, where she was just a minute ago, but she’s gone.

A hollow feeling settles in my chest.

Jace claps his hands once, loud enough to make the line cook flinch. “All right, Silver Peak! Where’s the nearest protein shake and hot yoga studio? And don’t tell me that bakery on Main has ‘protein muffins.’ That’s a lie. I can smell the carbs from here.”

“Relax,” I say, throwing the apron down and steering him away from the kitchen before he starts harassing the staff. “Come on. You’re gonna scare everyone.”

“Oh, please. They love me already. Look at that one. She’s smiling.” He points to one of the high school hosts who’s giggling nervously behind the hostess stand.

“She’s terrified,” I deadpan.

Jace slaps a hand on my back and lowers his voice. “So, tell me the truth, man. Who’s the woman?”

I tense.

“I knew it,” he says immediately, reading me like a damn book. “You’ve got that guilty domesticated glow. Don’t try to lie to me. I’ve seen guys fall. Hell, I’ve helped dig them out of the trenches when they thought a house and a smile meant happily ever after.”

I shoot him a look. “Maybe not everyone’s built to run forever.”

He pauses long enough for it to register.

“Oh shit,” he says, eyebrows raised. “It’s serious.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to. I’ve known you since you were nineteen and full of rage and bad tattoos. You’ve got feelings now. Actual ones.”

“Don’t make it weird.”

“Oh, I’m making it weird. That’s my job.” He grins, kicking back on the bench outside the restaurant while I lean on the railing. “So, what’s the deal? She's ghosting you already? You look like someone just took away your cheat day.”

I don’t answer right away. The wind’s picking up a little, rustling through the trees. Town’s quiet, the way it always is in the morning, before the lunch crowd kicks in. Peaceful. Or it would be, if not for the noise in my chest.

“She’s different lately,” I finally say. “Colder. Like she’s trying to smile through something but won’t let me in.”

Jace nods like he’s heard it before. “Classic. Woman with secrets, man with a savior complex. Did we learn nothing from Miami?”

My gut sinks at even the mention of that time in my life. “That’s not fair.”

“No, it’s not. But you didn’t come up here to be fair. You came to disappear. And now look at you, invested. With feelings. And flannel.”

I rub a hand over my jaw, suddenly exhausted.

Then, right on cue, thump, thump, thump.

He’s slipped out of his leash.

“Tuck!”

He’s like a freight train with fur, tongue hanging out, tail wagging like he’s mainlining caffeine.

“Holy hell, what is that?” Jace jumps up like he’s under attack. “Is that a dog or a damn mop with legs?”

Tuck barrels straight into Jace’s knees, then drools happily on his shoes as if he’s just discovered his soulmate.

“Shit, Knightly!” Jace shouts, trying to stay upright as Tuck launches into full-body wiggle mode. “Your dog is making out with my calves!”

“Tuck, down!” I laugh, grabbing him and yanking him back. He pants up at me with his goofy, dopey, I love you so much. What’s boundaries? grin.

“Let me guess,” Jace says, brushing slobber off his joggers. “Rescue dog. Abandoned on the side of the road. Won your heart with a sad whimper.”

“More or less.”

“Unbelievable. The story writes itself. You’re basically a Hallmark movie now.”

I roll my eyes, but I can’t help smiling. Jace might be a wrecking ball, but damn if it’s not good to see him.

Even if his timing sucks.

We head out front, Jace still wiping dog drool off his neon joggers and muttering about “biohazard protocols,” when the bell over the restaurant door jingles behind us.

I don’t need to look.

I feel her.

It’s ridiculous how just the sound of her walking near me changes the air in my lungs.

Josie’s laugh filters through the doorway a second later, soft, guarded. She’s talking to Gracie about some new order for cupcakes, I think, but I don’t catch the details as they walk by because Jace is watching me now.

His eyes track my face like a bloodhound catching a scent, and the second he sees the shift, whatever the hell just passed across my expression, his mouth falls open in exaggerated shock.

“Oh my God ,” he says, one hand to his chest like I just declared my love in sonnet form. “That’s her. You’re in it. ”

“Jace—”

“No, no, no. Don’t you dare look away from me right now. That face you just made? That was pornographic . That was a soft-core soul stare , Knightly.”

I grit my teeth. “You’re being loud.”

“I am loud. That’s my brand.” He’s already leaning around the restaurant, peeking around the side of the building like a middle schooler spying on a crush. “That her? Brunette? Killer smile, hips that could ruin a man’s week?”

“Stop it.”

“Oh, you definitely hit that,” he says, eyes going wide with wicked glee. “Holy shit, you really hit that. You’ve got that dazed, post-honeymoon, hot tub glow.”

My heart skips a beat.

“Wait a damn minute,” he says, spinning toward me. “Was it in a hot tub? Was it outside ? Tell me it was snowing. Tell me you did the full steamy cabin fantasy package. ”

“I’m not answering that.”

He throws his head back and howls. “I knew it! You dirty bastard! Mr. Broody Woodsman over here gets himself a small-town siren and suddenly he’s writing Hallmark erotica in his diary.”

I glare at him, but it’s useless. Jace feeds on this kind of shit like it’s pre-workout powder.

He leans in, dropping his voice with mock seriousness. “Did she whisper your name real soft while you were?—”

“Tuck,” I snap, cutting him off and pointing to the dog now gleefully chewing on one of Jace’s shoelaces. “Sick him.”

Tuck perks up like he’s been summoned by God himself and launches forward, nearly bowling Jace over again.

“I knew this was a revenge dog!” he yells, trying to fend off an onslaught of golden retriever affection. “Betrayed by my own protein twin!”

I should be annoyed.

I should tell him to stop being an ass and get serious.

But the truth is, I need this. The chaos, the teasing, the distraction. Because if I stand still too long, I’ll get lost in my head. Wonder what Josie’s thinking. Why she’s slipping away. Why I can still taste her kiss but can’t seem to reach her anymore.

Jace finally wrangles Tuck enough to stand upright, panting like he ran a mile uphill. He levels me with a surprisingly thoughtful look.

“You really do like her,” he says, no humor this time.

“Yeah,” I say, voice low. “I do.”

He nods. “Then you better find out what’s got her running. Before someone else does.”

I glance back toward the restaurant and see the two women back inside, clearly having gone back in through the back door.

Josie’s laughing at something Gracie said, but her eyes flick toward the window for a second, just long enough to see me standing there.

Just long enough for her smile to falter.

And my chest? It goes tight all over again.