63. Chapter Sixty-Three

Chapter Sixty-Three

Jack

I 'm pretty sure Beth will be fine with Gio giving me her number, but I realize we probably should have asked, about three seconds after I text her to tell her I'm outside her apartment building.

Gio gave me her number and her address and pretty much told me to get moving.

He went out for the day with a list Enzo gave him, so I could spend time with Beth while we work today. That's partly because she's already made it clear she's interested in him, and he can't let anything develop with that until she feels kind of similarly about all of us.

At which point, we're apparently going to finally tell her she's our true mate.

It's not a completely awful plan, in theory.

I just don't see how we're supposed to get close while avoiding stepping over any lines that might make it harder for her to accept a pack instead of one guy.

I'd rather just tell her, but it's not up to me.

The building's door finally opens, and I look up to see Beth coming down the front steps toward me, wearing an oversized sweater and skin-tight jeans. It's a good look on her; casual and understated but undeniably sexy. Nothing hides those curves, and the baggy sweater only makes me think about how she'll look when she steals my shirts.

"Hey!" she greets me, with a warm smile that makes her bright eyes shine.

"Hey," I echo back. "Enzo wanted me to ask if you felt like having lunch before we get started today. We're closed for the week so we can start making any changes pretty much straight away. That means the ovens will be off most of the time, but he'll put them on for mealtimes."

"So, that's why you look so casual today," she deduces, nodding slowly. "Nice shirt."

"Thanks. You like Chaos Burning?"

"Who doesn't?" she asks. "I've had a crush on that lead singer forever."

"Damn. There go my chances," I joke.

She laughs and shakes her head. "Okay. I have to ask. What's the deal with you and Gio both flirting with me? Is it some kind of friendly competitive streak, or what?"

I knew it! I knew this would happen.

If I'm sticking to Alphas orders, I can't tell her we're her mates.

The thought of going against what Enzo and Gio have decided makes my stomach churn.

They have their reasons for that, and I might have an Alpha streak, but they're the full-blooded Alphas with the genetics to prove it. I'm just a sub-type that hardly anyone wants to admit exists.

"We're both interested in you," I admit, trying to be careful with my word choices.

She's only asking about Gio and me, so that's all I can answer.

"And in case you didn't notice, we're part of a pack which means we're open to … dating the same person," I add, hoping it doesn't sound too strange to her.

It's always hard to tell how someone's going to react to anything unconventional.

Beth stares at me. I can tell she's taking it in, but I can't read her expression.

She's quiet for a little too long.

Shit. I messed up.

Should have kept it light and evaded the question.

"You're both cool with dating the same woman?" she asks, raising an eyebrow at me.

"It's not something we've done before, but we're interested in you, and you're interested in us."

I press my lips together to stop myself from saying anything more. All I can hope is that I haven't started to dig a hole that's going to be way too deep to climb out of. I feel weird about giving out limited bits of information like this, and she can probably tell I'm uncomfortable on some level.

She doesn't need to be an Omega to figure that out.

I'm not exactly used to masking what I'm feeling.

Amplifying my emotions through song writing and performance makes it pretty hard to hide from them.

I know in my heart she's ours, and I want her to know it, too.

"I'm interested," she finally tells me. "But I wasn't intending to date anyone when I met you and I didn't expect this … It's all just kind of a lot, I guess, is what I'm trying to say."

"We don't have to rush anything."

She smiles. "Good, because lunch sounds great, and I'm looking forward to getting to work."

She's not walking away. I smile back. "Then let's get going."

I don't want to waste a single minute of the time I'm getting to spend alone with her.