Page 41 of Believe it or Knot

Grayson and Rafe are just as dressed down, wearing t-shirts and shorts, sunglasses on and sneakers on their feet. All three of them are so freaking sexy like this that it literally makes my mouth water.

Gage is in black jeans and a muscle tee. Showing off his… well, muscles. And tattoos and oceans of golden skin, marred by a few scars I’ve never seen before. While the other members of our little party try to blend in, Gage is standing tall, just a pair of sunglasses on his nose, his buzzed blond hair glinting in the sun.

“Yep,” I say to Liam, grinning at him. “This is it. Bigger than you were expecting, huh?”

He looks over at me. “Um, yeah, a lot bigger.”

“That’s what she said,” Gage mutters, holding out a hand to me. “Come on, biscuit. Let’s get you filled up on funnel cakes and fries and then ride the tilt-a-whirl so you can throw up again.”

I scowl at him, even as I slap my hand into his. “That happened one time when I was seven, Gage. You don’t have to bring it up every time we come here!”

He laughs and tugs me after him, toward the entrance. Liam falls into step on my other side, lacing his fingers through mine and swinging our joined hands between us. Grayson and Rafe fall into step behind us. I pretend not to notice the three extra guards behind them blending into the crowd.

They do a pretty good job of it too.

As we line up at the ticket booth, I tug Liam closer to me. “Do you all have code names? Like the president and her pack do with the secret service?”

He laughs and presses a kiss to my forehead. “No, lovely, we don’t have code names. We’re not that important.”

“You are that important.” I frown. “You should all have code names for your safety, Liam.”

He hums and taps a finger on his lips. “What would my code name be if you picked it?”

Oh, Jesus. “I don’t know… um… The big cheese.”

He laughs, tipping his head back to the sky. A fair number of people look over at us, but no one says anything. No one recognizes him, or maybe they do and they just don't care. That would be shocking. “Because I smell like cheesecake?”

I shrug and move forward with the line, taking him with me. “And because you’re so goddamn cheesy, it hurts, Liam.”

He gasps in mock outrage. “How dare you, Sorrel Forbes? I am not cheesy.”

“Oh, you absolutely are, mi amor. But that’s part of your charm.” Rafe kisses his omega’s cheek while Liam beams at him.

“Okay, fine. I’m a little cheesy.”

I nod my agreement as Gray steps up to the ticket booth and purchases our entrance tickets, and more ride tokens than we’ll ever need. But I guess that’s the beauty of being a billionaire. The teenager behind the counter lazily hands over five paper bracelets with the date stamped on them that allows us to exit and reenter the fair grounds at our discretion.

Not that I think we’ll need to leave and come back for anything. But it’s nice to have the option.

The game and food booths are mostly at the front of the grounds, with the rides closer to the back. There are buildings scattered throughout where people have submitted their quilts, animals, pies and cakes for judging. And over on the far left is a concert venue where sometimes semi famous musical artists perform.

Not anyone close to Liam Cordova, of course, but still pretty big names for our small little town.

“What should we do first?” I ask, glancing around.

I’ve been here before, so has Gage, though the last time he was in town for the fair was seven years ago, just before he left to join the army. So I’m content to let them figure out what they want to do. I’ll just go along with it.

“Rides?” Liam suggests.

“Food,” Gage counters.

“I wouldn’t mind checking out the animals,” Gray says, making all of us eye him with surprise. He shrugs. “It was recently pointed out to me that pigs are stinking cute. I’d like to verify that for myself.”

Rafe chuckles and shakes his head as Liam leans up and kisses his prime alpha. Even Gage seems to be in on the joke, but I don’t get it. I have a moment of feeling on the outside. An inside joke I’m not a part of. The four of them have obviously been spending with together without me, and I should be happy about that. Maybe Gage has finally met his pack. I want that for him.

I just want it for myself too.

You’re being ridiculous, Sorrel. You did this to yourself by needing to work, by refusing to take the time off.

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