Chapter Sixteen

Alex

“It just makes sense, doesn’t it?” I asked Talon. We sat in the empty club before it opened. We had a meeting that afternoon between the owners and while the others had gone their separate ways, we lingered.

“Who are you trying to convince, Alex? Me or you or your omega?” He sipped on his whiskey. He always sipped. Never known Talon to get drunk—ever. And we’d been friends a long time.

“I’m trying to convince West and getting your input.”

He nodded. At home, he already had an omega and a baby. The only reason he was hanging out here when he didn’t have to be was because I asked him to. “He admits that you’re his mate. He’s carrying your young. This is the next step, right? I’m pretty sure you’re not the only one who knows this. Maybe he’s biding his time, waiting for you to ask him.”

I blew out a breath. Since West admitted that I was his mate, there had been less tiptoeing around on my part. He was still sensitive and rightfully so.

“I’m making dinner for him tonight. I’m going to ask.”

Talon chuckled low and deep, loosening his black tie. “It’s hard, isn’t it? Sleeping without them. I know I slept before Rowan but gods help me, I don’t know how. I swear when he goes to the bathroom, I wake up and search the bed for him. It’s only a half-life without our mates.”

He wasn’t wrong.

“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” I agreed and finished off my whiskey in one swallow.

That night, I went to the organic food market and picked up a huge salad for two, a rotisserie chicken, and a fresh loaf of garlic and rosemary sourdough. It was a simple meal that made sure neither of us had to cook since I’d had a long day and my omega probably had as well.

The meal was nutritious, but West always wanted an after-dinner treat, so I stopped at my favorite bakery and chose a retro pineapple upside-down cake that looked amazing.

Balance, right?

When I arrived, West came out of his front door and nearly tackled me on the stairs. He wrapped his arms around my neck and his legs around my waist and kissed me until I forgot dinner, dessert, and even my name.

“I missed you,” he whispered in my ear as he slid down my body, revealing exactly how much he missed me.

“I can tell. Let’s feed you first.”

He smiled and took one bag after a small growl of protest from me. Once inside, we tossed the salad and cut up the bread and ate together in the backyard. If it were up to me, I could’ve lived on rotisserie chicken, salad, and sourdough.

“This meal was perfect,” West said, leaning against me as the sun set.

“It was. I brought dessert, but I wanted to talk to you about something first.”

My mate stiffened. His breath hitched. His scent went flat, losing all its sweetness.

“West, nothing is wrong. I’m not angry or upset with you. You did nothing wrong. It’s a good thing.”

“Okay.”

While he hadn’t revealed everything about Emile to me, I’d ascertained some things during the span of our relationship. He didn’t like secrets, which was fine, since I kept none. He assumed that every conversation was because I was upset with him. And sometimes he hesitated bringing things up about us because he thought I might be combative.

He didn’t have to tell me a damned thing about Emile for me to gather how he’d been treated during their mating. How had I not realized what Emile was truly like?

“You said you missed me earlier.”

He nodded. “I did miss you.”

I turned to him, wrapping my arms around his waist. “I miss you all the time, omega. I want you with me as much as possible. This living separate lives is killing me. What I wanted to ask you was…will you come and live with me?”

He blew out a long breath. I steeled myself for the negative response. To be turned down.

“I don’t know,” he said and hopped up from our sitting area and went inside. I paused for a moment, giving him time to breathe.

After I picked up our leftovers and brought them inside, I saw West, leaning against the counter, inhaling the pineapple upside-down cake. He’d said to hell with a knife and dug in with his hands. Nervous omega.

“You want me to sell this place?” he asked.

“I never said that. I asked you to move in with me so I can have you with me as much as possible and when our babe is born, have he or she with me as well. I want to see my pup grow up, West. Not just have visitation here and there. I want to be with you and them for it all.” I walked over and leaned down, taking a bite of the cake from his hand. “There’s something missing when you’re not around, West. I love you.”

Tears welled in his eyes and he dropped the cake back into the box. He leaned his head on my chest and sighed. “Alex, I love you too. I don’t know what I want to do with the house.”

I shrugged, kissing the top of his head and rubbing his back. “One day, you’ll make the decision. No pressure. No hurry.”

“Then I say yes. We say yes.”