“Thank you,” I whispered as Jensen pulled me tighter to him.

“Have you told her about Friday yet?” Gideon asked, looking over my head to Jensen, his momentary embarrassment forgotten.

“Friday?” I asked, looking between the two alphas.

“We’re taking you out on a date,” Jensen said, his grip on me never lessening.

“A date?” I asked, confused. When had I agreed to a date?

“Yeah,” Gideon said, striding toward me and pulling me into his arms, acting like it was the most natural thing in the world. I had expected everything to go back to normal as soon as I recovered from the heat… but they were still very touchy and warm toward me.

I liked it more than I dared admit.

“Like a date, date?”

They both nodded. “Like a date, date.”

Jensen cleared his throat. “Also, Bethany is insisting we all go catch up on work while she and Joey hang out today.”

“It was all part of my master plan to get cookies.” I grinned.

Both alphas looked me over, their expressions discerning.

“Are you sure?” Gideon asked.

“Yes!” I cried, rolling my eyes. “I’ve already said that to Jensen. Now, the pair of you need to get to work. I assume Cullen is already there?”

Gideon nodded. “Text me every hour.”

“Yes, sir!” I laughed, playfully saluting him before turning to Joey. “First one to the den gets to pick the movie!” I shouted, ending the conversation with the bossy, sexy alphas.

My brain was running a mile a minute. Was I officially dating these alphas now, or were we going to go back to normal? Could we even go back to normal now that I knew how delightfully each of them could fuck me?

“Hey, Beth?” Joey asked as she played with her pasta, not looking me in the eye. I had reheated some of the restaurant food for us, quick and easy, and it even contained the odd vegetable.

“Yeah?”

“Would you come to my school in a few months for a thing?” Her shoulders were hunched, like asking made her anxious, even though I had no idea why.

But if it was important enough for her to ask, then I would go.

“Of course I will! What is it?”

“The school Thanksgiving festival. All the moms come and help man the booths.”

“I would love to come, but why don’t you ask your dads?” I asked, frowning slightly. While I liked that she was trusting me, I was more concerned withwhyshe was bringing this to me instead of to her dads.

Also, what school started planning the fall festival inAugust?

Apparently, fancy private schools like the one Joey attended.

“That’s because I didn’t tell them about it.”

That raised a few alarms. I stopped messing with the dishes and turned to Joey, giving her my full attention. “Talk to me, kiddo—why didn’t you tell them? Your dads love going to your school things.”

Joey suddenly became very interested in her pasta. “Because it’s all moms going. I don’t have a mom, but you’re always around and really nice, so I thought you could come.” She shrugged. “The teacher made it clear it wasn’t a thing for dads…”

I paused, my heart breaking for Joey. My reaction was to immediately agree, even though a small part of me worried that I would be stepping on her fathers’ toes. “Hey, I would love to come.”