Page 44 of The Alpha's Chosen Outcast

The embroidery is all done on the dress and train. I’m working on the veil now and that’s almost harder than everything else because it’s so much delicate fabric.

I hear the front door open, and my breath hitches at the sound of Trey’s heavy footfalls headed down the hallway behind Violet’s signature heels. He’s back.

Does he know about the run I did with Violet last week? She said she wouldn’t tell anyone, but does that include Trey?

The sound of plastic bags mingles with their voices. I smell the sandwiches before they get to the workroom door.

Violet pops her head in, one of the bags looped over her arm. She smiles at me and waves with her other hand, pointing to the break room.

“Come on. We brought chicken cutlet parm heroes!”

I don’t even think about cleaning up. I dash past her to the break room but stop abruptly when I see Trey setting down two other bags and taking out round foil containers with paper covers on top. I inhale deeply and smile.

I don’t care about any awkwardness between us. I don’t care that I could die in less than two weeks when this wedding happens.

All I care about is sinking my teeth into one of those sandwiches. There is no place in the country (maybe the world, but I don’t have the experience to make that assertion) that has rolls and chicken cutlets made the way they’re made in the city.

Trey is pulling out garlic knots now, too, and white pizza with sundried tomatoes. He uncovers penne a la vodka, and he has a giant container of the deli iced tea that they brew in-house. It’s the unsweet kind, not like southern sweet tea.

Before I can get out the words, he’s also pulling out the strawberry sauce that one place down the block has for their iced tea.

I’ve never seen a more beautiful sight in my life. Okay, that’s an exaggeration, of course, but after weeks of being stuck in this place with only one run at the park to alleviate my stress, that’s how it feels to see those items on the table.

I’m salivating, hoping I won’t have to wait long to dig in.

It takes all of my self control to sit down at the table and wait for Violet and Trey to get situated. He pushes one of the containers toward me and an empty plate for me to pick from the communal dishes.

I open the container and see a huge chicken cutlet parm hero sitting there, covered in sauce and cheese. I pull out my phone to snap a photo for Logan. Trey scoffs.

“Oh, you’re one ofthose.” He says, with a bit of what sounds like disgust in his voice.

I put my hands on my hips after I stand and slide my phone back into my pocket.

“One of what?” I ask.

“One of those people who has to snap photos of everything they eat. Let me guess, you have a food-based Instagram account?”

I chuckle. “No. I don’t have an Instagram account at all or any social media. On the run, remember?”

“So the photo is for…” He waves his hand for me to finish.

“My friend Logan. He’s a huge foodie and fascinated by NYC.”

“I see.”

“Don’t go there, Trey. He’s only ever been a friend, and he’s completely obsessed with my other friend, Callie. Everyone sees it but her.”

Trey sits down and starts serving food on his own plate. We hear the water running in the bathroom and know Violet must be washing her hands before she comes to sit with us. I take his obvious jealousy as an opportunity to poke him further.

“How’s the search for my husband going?”

I pick up half my hero and take a huge bite, savoring it as I chew and wait for him to answer. He shrugs one shoulder and takes a bite of his own hero. He looks me in the eye as he chews along with me, both of us with full and closed mouths.

I roll my eyes. He doesn’t show that he registers anything I’ve said or has any intention of answering.

I swallow my food. “Come on, I need you to take this seriously. This is my life we’re talking about.”

Trey finishes his bite and answers me, “You think I don’t know that? It’s not easy to try to find someone else to marry my matebecause of some stupid fucking law that I can’t change for the very reason the stupid fucking law doesn’t apply to me.”

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