Page 55 of Knot That Difficult

“Hi!” Devyn chirps, leaps out of the stool, and throws herself into my arms in a ferocious hug. I force myself to not squeeze her too tightly and purposely hold my breath when her neck brushes close to my nose. I notice Connor do the same thing when she turns to hug him, and she misses the flinch that crosses his features.

Ha. He’s just as affected by her as I am.

“I’m so glad you came!” she squeaks, her eyes bright.

I bite my lip, fighting the retort that wants to fall from my lips.

Well, we haven’t come yet.

But Connor shoots me a warning look, and instead, I smirk. “Of course. Why wouldn’t we?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know. I’m just excited. Well, nervousandexcited.” She laughs. “It’s just really good to see you guys.” She looks at Connor and frowns. “Have you even played a video game before?”

I burst out laughing, and the corner of Connor’s lip twitches.

“Chess,” he replies lowly, and she tilts her head back and laughs loudly.

“Chess? Oh, this is going to be amazing.” She grabs her drink and leans back against the stool, swirling the straw in the liquid before taking a sip.

I am not jealous of a straw. That would be insane.

“What are you drinking?” I ask, nodding to the glass.

“Oh. It’s virgin strawberry lavender lemonade.” She extends the drink to me. “Do you want to try? Or is that weird? I don’t have cooties, I promise.”

“If you had cooties, I’d be happy to get them.” I catch Connor out of the corner of my eye, looking at me incredulously.

What? If Devyn has a disease, I want it, too.

That’s not weird. I’d do the same for my pumpkin.

Besides, the drink is delicious and also tastes slightly likeher.Warm vanilla caresses my tongue along with the tartness of the lemonade, and I take a longer sip than necessary just to keep tasting her.

“This is delicious,” I purr, handing her the glass. I can still feel Connor watching me, but I don’t care.

He’s already gotten to kiss her. All I’ve been able to do is suck her straw.

“Well, what doyouwant to do?” she asks, turning to Connor. “I’ve been here a hundred times. It’s one of my favorite places in the world. You’re probably a little out of your comfort zone, right? I can help you.” She beams at him.

She’s the sweetest creature on earth, and the way she immediately turned to my pumpkin to ask what he was interested in makes me like her more.

“Where’s Ben?” Connor asks her. “Are we waiting on him?”

I forgot about Ben.

It’s probably not fair of me to have beef with her boyfriend overnothing, but here I am doing it.

“He’s still at work.” Devyn makes a face, and I have to bite my tongue.

I’m fortunate enough to work with Connor and have my own schedule.

Ben doesn’t have that same luxury, but still, I wouldn’t leave my beautiful Omega girlfriend by herself to wait for me.

“He probably won’t be here for another hour,” she continues. “So, I’ve got you all to myself.”

She looks between us, and I notice how Connor has visibly relaxed around her. He no longer looks like he feels out of place.

“Ace mentioned something about…” He clears his throat. “I think…first-personshooter?” He looks at me quizzically, as if he’s speaking a new language for the first time.

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