Page 54 of Knot All that Glitters: Part 1

I grin up at him, loving that he called it home. I know it is his home, but it feels like he included me in that as well.

“Promises, promises,” I breathe, and he growls at me again, tugging me forward.

A warm hand at the base of my spine and a scent like bergamot oakmoss and cedar urges me toward the door. “Come on, we need to go or we’ll be late for our reservation.”

“And Tic hates being late,” Jude quips, but he still tugs me toward the door.

Somehow, Creed ends up sitting next to me at the restaurant. Hale is on my other side and Ren is across from me, wedged between Tic and Jude.

The restaurant is nice, but nottoonice. Not the kind of place my father’s associates would go to, so I don’t feel that concerned that someone might see us, report us to my father or the media.

Still, I kept my head ducked toward my chest as the host guided us to our table, and once again the Calloways positioned me with my back to the windows, so anyone passing by wouldn’t get a good look at me.

“Do you want to split a milkshake with me?” I ask Ren. “They have ones with alcohol in them.”

My best friend is nodding before I even finished asking the question. “Yes, of course I do, but we should also just get straight alcohol, cause it’s a motherfucking celebration!”

“Not too much,” Creed cautions without looking up from the menu. “Neither of you needs to get inebriated.”

Ren flutters her lashes at him. “But isn’t that what we have four big strapping alphas for? To make sure we stay out of trouble?”

Jude drapes an arm over her shoulder in a side hug. There’s a momentary twist of jealousy that he’s touching her as easily as he touches me, but I push it to the side. Jude is a puppy. He needs physical affection and Ren would never in a million years go for someone I like. She isn’t wired that way. “That is absolutely why you have four alphas with you, Renny.”

“Well, that and to make sure every other motherfucker in the place knows you’re taken,” Hale mutters, leaning into my side.

My cheeks flush bright red and my stomach gets filled with butterflies at his claiming statement, while Ren laughs. “But notme, right? If I find my perfect pack tonight like Haven has found hers, I don’t want you interfering.”

“We’ll interfere,” Tic says casually, making my best friend gasp in outrage. “You’re important to Haven, which means you’re important to us. We won’t let you go off with unknown alphas, only to have you chopped up into tiny pieces.”

Ren blinks at him in shock while I feel another swell of affection for these men. “You did not just say that! No one is going to chop me up into little pieces, Atticus Calloway!”

“That’s right, they won’t, because we’ll keep you safe,” Jude says, snuggling her a little closer. When he catches me looking though he drops his arm and his cheeks flush. “Sorry, button. She feels like a little sister, so I want to hug her.”

I wave a hand and shake my head. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not,” Creed grouses from next to me.

I open my mouth to argue. Hugging Ren is one of my favorite things to do, and she’s very good at it. Makes you feel warm and protected and loved. I wouldn’t begrudge anyone feeling that. But our server comes up and the next few minutes are filled with ordering food and drinks.

By the time she wanders away to get started on our drinks, the moment has passed. So I let it drop. I don’t need to convince Creed it doesn’t matter to me. It only matters that Jude and Ren know I trust them.

As soon as the waiter retreats, Hale reaches into the pocket of his jacket, pulls out a square black velvet box and slides it onto the table in front of me. “Let’s do presents.”

My stomach lurches. “Oh, you guys didn’t need to get me anything.”

“Pfft,” Jude scoffs. “In what world would we not get our omega gifts on her birthday? Really?”

Ren slaps a hand over her mouth to muffle her squeal and I’m feeling the urge to do the same thing. But I just barely refrain.

The prime pokes the box closer to me, and I reach for it with trembling hands. It’s undoubtedly jewelry. Probably a necklace, based on the shape of the box.

They’re all staring at me as I flip open the box and then stare down at the contents.

I try to hide the disappointment at Hale’s gift, and I think I do an alright job of it. But this isn’t me. At all. Well, I guess maybe it’s the me that Frederick Bell molded, but it isn’t the me that I actually am. It’s too gaudy, toodiamondy.I’m not a fan of diamonds. But how would he know that?

It’s not like we’ve talked about my jewelry preferences. It’s generally accepted that girls love diamonds. Still, he might have noticed that I don’t wear a lot of jewelry. The items I do wear are small, simple white gold pieces with a single gem, if any.

This feels like something a businessman would have his assistant buy for the girl he’s fucking. A way to prove he’s rich, while also spoiling his current side piece.

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