Page 57 of Knot Here for You

Also, don’t think I’m not going to grill you about what the hell that is.

Last I saw you, you were with two men, now you’re with five?

Sadie:

Babe, you have no fucking idea.

I’ll tell you later.

I frown at the screen, but I know I won’t get anything else out of her for now.

I’ve resigned myself to spending the day alone, though not in this house, when my phone rings. I eye it momentarily and then sigh when I see the number on the screen. “Hello?”

“Vee?” Aurie’s voice comes through the line. “It’s Aurora Whitten.”

“Hi, Aurie. What’s up?”

She pauses for a second and then says. “I was just calling to check in. To see how things are going with the renovation. Check if you need anything.”

“Oh,” I say, readying to allay her worries. “It’s really-”

“Maybe we can get together to chat? I have a free hour.”

My brows arch. Aurie and I were friendly in high school, but not friends. Still, I was just bemoaning the fact that I would have to spend the day alone battling the memory of Asher’s fingers buried in my pussy, so at the very least I can meet with Aurie and let a discussion about paint colors distract me.

I nod even though she can’t see me, already grabbing my keys and kicking my feet into my boots. “Yeah, that sounds good. Where should we meet?”

Ten minutes later, I’m once again in Bonheur. I don’t know if Aurie knows I loved this place when I was a teen or if it’s just gotten really popular recently, but either way I’m not complaining.

She’s already here, seated at a table overlooking the street, with a cup of coffee and a yogurt parfait in front of her. I smile and wave at her, and then join the line.

I should get something healthy… well, as healthy as you can get in this place, but I instead go for a kouign-amann and an iced brown sugar oat milk latte.

Aurie grins when I drop into my chair. “Late night?”

I freeze in the middle of unlooping my bag from my neck and look at her, uncertainly. “What?”

She waves her hand. “I ran into Connor this morning. He mentioned he saw you at The Market.”

“Oh,” I blow out a breath and hang the strep from the back of my chair. “Right. Yeah, a friend of mine got a VIP pass or something, so we went.”

Aurie leans forward as I take the first sip of my coffee. “You got into the VIP area? I heard that’s only for like billionaires or something.”

I laugh and shake my head. “It can’t be. I mean, Connor was there, so it can’t be that exclusive.”

Aurie shakes her head and sips her coffee. “You’ve been gone a long time, Vee. Connor is damn close to being a billionaire. It’s like once he knew Jackson and the others weren’t going to ask him to join their pack, he set out to prove he’s better than them.”

She’s watching me closely so I know she sees the way I flinch at Jackson’s name, tossed out so casually in conversation, even if in the next moment, my gaze is on my pastry as I pull apart the flaky layers. “He’s probably better off without them, anyway. We both are.”

Aurie sighs and leans back, but she doesn’t say anything until I look at her, a sugary, slightly salty bite in my mouth. And then she pins me with a ‘no bullshit’ look. “You can’t really mean that, Vee. The six of you were inseparable.”

I swallow. “Not inseparable. Obviously not inseparable. Because here we are, separated. Have been for years. I just wish they would keep their distance now. I don’t know why they’re so intent on fixing this when it can’t be fixed.”

She arches a brow at me, eyes narrowed like she doesn’t believe me. “What?” I say, pushing away my place, my appetite gone. “Its not like anything will actually happen. They already have an omega and everyone knows Omegas don’t share.”

Aurora frowns. “Vee… They don’t have an omega.”

Coffee splatters across the table, as I do a glorious spit take before inhaling what little liquid remains in my mouth. I gasp and choke, coughing like crazy, while Aurora calmly uses a paper napkin to wipe up the mess I made.

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