Page 62 of Believe it or Knot

I look at him out of the corner of my eye and sigh. “Maybe, but she was scared, Rafe. I don’t want her to spend her life scared.”

He hums. “I don’t either.” With a grunt, he kicks off his shoes and slumps down on the couch. “Does it make me a bad person if I say her reaction made me like her more? Made me surer of her?”

Wearily, I run a hand down my face. “I know. I felt the same.” Everyone we’ve ever dated has thrived on attention to some extent. Some more than others for sure, but most of them… Well, they freaking loved it. They’d beam at the cameras while clutching my or Liam’s arm, play up how close we are to the cameras and the people watching.

That Sorrel didn’t want her face photographed, that she shrank away from the people outside the car, makes me feel even more sure that she’s not working some kind of angle with us. She wants us for us, not for the fame or the fortune, just us.

It’s a fucking intoxicating feeling.

“Maybe she’s just an extremely good actress.” Joey’s voice cuts through the hit of euphoria I was feeling. I should be grateful. I know it’s dangerous to trust someone so readily as we’re trusting Sorrel, and it’s good that someone wants to remind us of that. But it takes a lot of fucking will power not to snap at him. “Don’t you think that was a bit… overdramatic?”

I look at Rafe again, both of us trying to gauge the other’s reaction. It was certainly more than I thought it would be. But… “I could scent her, she was legitimately scared.” Adjusting scent to reflect emotions isn’t something that can be faked. Betas have a lighter scent and they don’t rely on it as heavily as alphas and omegas to find compatible partners, but they still betray their emotions through them.

Joey just stares at me for a moment. I can tell there’s more he wants to say, but he’s been against us spending time with Sorrel from the beginning. Probably because Liam sent a text before he and Rafe were even back from Lake Kilrose the first time, demanding that we buy a house on the lake and that money didn’t matter.

He’s not wrong. Money doesn’t matter, and the house Joey found for us is gorgeous. But it’s certainly the first time real estate has factored into one of our relationships. Not to mention my single-minded intent to rid Sorrel of the Stillwell pack.

He’s probably worried we’re all jumping in too fast.

Hell, I’m worried about it too.

But everything inside me is telling me we can trust Sorrel. She’s not like the others.

She’s ours.

I want it to be true so badly.

I want to find that missing piece of our pack, the one that will give Liam the family he’s always wanted. The one I’ve always wanted too, if I’m being one hundred percent honest.

“Right,” the beta says, drawing out the word in a way that lets me know he thinks we’re being idiots. Little prick. I’ve never really liked him. He’s far too familiar with my omega, and I get the sense that he’s angling for something more permanent most of the time than his position as an assistant. But we’ve talked about this already. He knows it’s never going to happen. When you know, you know. And my pack knows that Joey, while invaluable professionally, will never have a personal relationship with us.

Ever.

But maybe that’s why he’s so distrusting of Sorrel.

“Well, I’ll be off then.” He holds up his ever present tablet and then his phone. “You can reach me if you need me.”

I nod and turn my back as he leaves the penthouse; the elevator dings then whirs, letting me know when he’s gone.

Liam comes down the stairs looking somewhat dejected, hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans, head hanging low, making his hair flop over onto his forehead.

“She’s not going to stay,” he says. Whispers, really.

“What?” The word comes out harsher than I intended, but the idea of her leaving right now makes me feel a little unhinged.

Rafe glares at me as Liam’s head shoots up to look at me with stunned, wide eyes. I clear my throat and try again, more gently. “Sorry, what? Did she say she wants to leave?”

Liam’s shoulders lump again, and he runs a hand down his face. “No. She didn’t say it, but she’s… not happy to be here.” He kicks his foot at nothing, a pout on his full lips. “Gage was right. She hates the city. It was a dumb idea to bring her here.”

“Come here, mi amor.” Rafe holds a hand out and Liam stomps over to him, letting him bundle our omega onto his lap. “It’s an adjustment, yeah? Sorrel is from a small town and from what I can tell, she’s not very well liked among the people there.”

“Idiots,” Liam mutters. I agree wholeheartedly.

“Indeed,” Rafe acknowledges. “She’s not used to being the center of attention.” Liam relaxes against him the more he talks. “You know she doesn’t want recognition. If she did, her face would be all over her videos.”

Liam nods, a soft smile curling his lips. “Yeah. It’s such a pretty face, too.”

“It is,” I agree, heading to the kitchen and opening the fridge, letting out a breath when I see our chef left a few prepared meals for us. “She could be a star in her own right if she wanted.”

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