5. Ethan

Chapter 5

Ethan

I was grateful that Orsino was willing to lie about how we met. It would be mortifying for his family to know I sold myself to a stranger to protect my deadbeat father. But we never got a chance to test out our lie because, apparently, gossip traveled quickly in the Ferrini home, and his brother outed me the second he saw me.

A good-looking man who was clearly related to Orsino, but an inch or so shorter, bounded down the stairs with an omega at his side. “Hey, Sino. Is that the boy you bought?”

I felt the color drain from my face as Orsino stepped closer to my side as if shielding me. “Hey, Louie.” He cleared his throat. “This is Ethan.”

“Hey, Ethan.” The alpha nodded to me. “Good to meet you. Roland told me what happened with your dad. Tough break, kid. But what you did is pretty admirable. Selling yourself to a stranger to save your dad is not something just anybody would do. Good on you.” He clapped my shoulder. “This is my omega, Connor.”

Okay, I guess we were going with the truth. I straightened my shoulders and held my hand out to Connor first and then to Louie. “It’s nice to meet you both.… Yeah, Orsino really saved me.”

Connor glanced up at Louie. “Louie saved me too. I was part of the harem.” He looked slightly uncomfortable, but then he smiled. “Are you going into the harem? We can make room for you. There should be a single room open right now, and I can introduce you to the rest of the omegas.” He looked between me and Orsino.

I froze, not sure how to respond.

Thankfully, Orsino spoke up for me. “No, he isn’t going to the harem. He’ll be with me. Only me.”

I felt my lips pull back in a smile, but I was quick to hide it. I shouldn’t have been so thrilled that this man I had coerced into buying me was now stuck with me despite my obvious lower status.

Connor and Louie both seemed surprised but pleased by that answer. Connor quickly threaded his arm between mine, and we started walking beside Joey. “Oh, this is gonna be so fun. Orsino never shows any interest in anything. I thought he’d be a bachelor forever, but it looks like you’re the one he’s been waiting to settle down with.”

Orsino was obviously listening to every word that was said. “Don’t go getting all sentimental over there, boys. This was a business deal and nothing more. Cool it with the heart eyes.”

My heart sank a little, along with my shoulders, and the other omegas took notice.

Joey placed his hand on my shoulder, flanking my other side. “Ignore him. He’s very gruff sometimes, but he must like you if he wants to keep you all to himself.” He turned and waited for me to look him in the eye. “I mean it. Don’t let his exterior frighten you. He’s a good guy. Just as protective as our alphas.”

Connor nodded beside me. “Totally. These Ferrini men can be a little crazy, but in a good way.”

Joey patted his slightly protruding belly. “And they’re fertile as fuck, so I hope you want kids.”

I almost choked on my tongue at that. “Oh, I hadn’t thought that far ahead. This all just happened in the past few hours.”

Connor chuckled. “Just prepare yourself for the next few hours when you get back. If he’s anything like Louie… All I can say is, carbo-load at dinner.”

The two omegas at my side laughed, and I could hear some snickering from the alphas behind us, but I didn’t dare look back.

They were talking as if we were a couple, but that’s not what we were. I was a desperate loser who got myself into a bad situation and forced Orsino to rescue me. It wasn’t exactly a love connection, but I couldn’t shut down that little voice in my head that kept saying maybe someday it would be.

It was foolish. If I was going to survive this, I needed to keep a cool head.

Before we left, Connor lent me some of his clothes—expensive khakis and a simple white button-down that was soft. I didn't know where my scrubs would end up, but I was happy to be rid of them for the outing.

We traveled in two SUVs, and Orsino kept himself pressed against one side of the bench seat while I stayed on the other. I didn’t know if he was just distracted or actively trying to keep two feet of space between us—either for my benefit or for his family.

Either way, it sucked.

I liked the way he had been earlier, touching my arm and shoulder and keeping me close to his side. Now, I truly felt like a stranger sitting beside someone who low-key hated me. And not even that low-key.

Anybody who saw us would think we were enemies.

I sighed a little louder than I meant to and then closed my eyes.

“What’s wrong?” He placed his hand on my thigh and pressed his fingertips into my muscles. “Worried about your dad?”

Shit, I hadn’t even thought about my dad that whole time. We weren’t exactly close, but I should have been a little bit more concerned about whether he lived or died considering I just gave my life away to save him. I peeked over at Orsino and shrugged. “No, just not sure how to act around your family.”

He shook his head. “Don’t let those boys get to you. They’re a bunch of fucking gossips, but they’re good kids and will help you with anything you need to know. They run the house and take care of the children. Just don’t let them get in your head. Good or bad, their situations are different from ours. Don’t try to compare us to them. We’ll do our thing and they’ll do theirs, and we don’t need their approval for anything. Got it?”

I nodded at his reassurance and swallowed hard, grateful he wasn’t upset by anything they said. “Yeah, I got it. I won’t let my imagination turn this into something it isn’t.”

Orsino frowned as if I’d said the wrong thing, but we were pulling into a parking lot so he didn’t ask more questions. Then we were ushered inside a dimly lit restaurant and taken to a private room in the back.

Two men were already seated at the table.

Orsino pulled out the chair next to the younger man. An omega. “Ethan, you can sit here next to my brother, Jeremiah. Jeremiah.” He looked at his brother and seemed to steel himself. “This is Ethan, my omega.”

Jeremiah’s jaw dropped, and he stood up and jumped into Orsino’s arms. “Oh my god, Sino. Why didn’t you tell us sooner? This is so exciting.” He turned to me and pulled me into his arms too. “Ethan, right? OMG, I want all the details about how you and my brother got together. How long has this been going on?”

Louie chimed in before Orsino or I could say anything. “No, it’s not like that. Sino bought the kid to pay off some gambling debt. It’s only been a few hours, right?” He looked at Orsino, and I could feel my cheeks burning with embarrassment. Nothing like having all my dirty laundry displayed for the world.

The humiliation of basically being a prostitute was bad enough, but having to constantly be reminded that Orsino didn’t choose me and was being forced to bring me home was even worse.

Orsino placed his arm over my shoulder and heaved out a heavy sigh. “Look, everybody. I know this is unexpected. It’s unexpected for us too. But I expect you to treat Ethan with respect and kindness…and not make him feel like an interloper in our family.”

My eyes were locked on my fingertips in my lap, and I willed myself not to shed any tears.

“No, Ethan.” Jeremiah reached for my shoulders and hugged me to his side. “Please don’t feel bad. I’m excited to have you in the family. We all are. We’re just… Surprised. Pleasantly surprised. Please don’t take anything we say as disapproval or judgment.” He pulled back and looked me in the eye. “I promise, we’re happy to have you with us.”

Joey caught my eye across the table and smiled. “Ethan, my story isn’t that different from yours. I also came into the family for less than respectable reasons.” He glanced over at his mate and smiled. “And I couldn’t be happier. Sometimes things just work out the way they’re supposed to.”

I felt Orsino’s heavy stare on the side of my face, but I didn’t have the guts to look at him. Did he think this situation would end up being for the best, or was he already regretting his rash decision to bring me into his home?

“Thanks.” I cleared my throat and found a little more strength as I addressed the entire table. “I know this is a little unusual, but I appreciate that you’ve all been so nice to me.”

The alpha on the other side of Jeremiah spoke up. “Don’t worry, kid. Some of us were definitely not welcomed in the family at first, and now I’m one of the favorites. You’ll be just fine.”

Jeremiah rolled his eyes as he leaned against his mate. “Ignore Felik. I don’t know if favorite is the right word.”

There were chuckles around the table but it was obvious Felik was, in fact, one of the favorites.

I didn’t expect to be in that camp at any point in the future, but on the bright side, there were no more secrets I had to try to keep straight.

There was a prix fixe menu of six courses, so at least I didn’t have to figure out what to order. But I was unsure how to start with so many forks and weird knife things. I wasn’t even sure which water glass was mine, so I waited until Jeremiah and Orsino each took a drink out of theirs, and then I reached for the glass in between.

That was pretty much par for the course for the rest of my night. Stalling just a few seconds behind everyone else as they dug into their food so I could watch them select the right utensil and hold it in the right direction. I’d never considered myself to be uncouth, but I’d never really been to a formal restaurant before, and even though I was in a pair of slacks and a button-down, I felt underdressed at this table that seemed like it was set for royalty.

Fortunately, the food all tasted damn good. I didn’t usually have a big appetite, but I was starving after missing lunch to run around in search of cash, so I cleaned every plate that was put in front of me. Even the ones that I had no clue what they contained.

Connor was on the other side of Joey and waggled his eyebrows when I caught his eye. “Carbo-loading, huh? Good move.”

I smiled and shook my head as I kept my eyes down. But it got me wondering. What would happen when we got back to the house? Would Orsino claim me and get what he paid for, or was he uninterested in anything beyond keeping me alive?

Apparently sensing my mood change, his hand landed on the back of my neck and he cupped it. “Everything okay?”

I turned toward him and smiled. “Yeah, just full. I think I ate too much.”

He patted his flat belly and leaned back in his chair. “Yeah, this shit is good. Gonna have to spend a few more hours in the gym tomorrow.”

I was a little soft around the middle and tried not to indulge in such heavy meals very often, but now that I knew he was calorie-conscious, I’d have to be extra diligent about watching my weight. “Yeah, me too.”